Martha Derthick

Martha Ann Derthick (June 20, 1933 – January 12, 2015) was an American public administration scholar and academic. She is most known for her work on social security programs, deregulation and federalism.

Early life

Born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, on June 20, 1933, she graduated from Hiram College in Ohio in 1954. In 1962, she earned a doctorate in political science from Radcliffe College.[1]

Career

She taught and researched at Harvard University between 1964 and 1970,[2] followed by periods at the Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston College. She then joined the Brookings Institution, where she was director of the government studies program from 1978 to 1983.[3]

From 1983 to 1999, she was the Julia Allen Cooper professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia.[4]

Research

Derthick's research involved a focus on the unintended consequences of federal mandates for state welfare programs. Derthick favored federalism over centralized government.[3] Among her best known works was Policymaking for Social Security (1979).[1]

Awards

Among other awards, Derthick was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and she was twice awarded the Louis Brownlow Book Award by the National Academy of Public Administration.[2] She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1982.[5]

Death

Derthick died in Charlottesville, Virginia on January 12, 2015, after a series of strokes.[3]

Works

2002 Up in Smoke: From Legislation to Litigation in Tobacco Politics
2001 Keeping the Compound Republic: Essays on American Federalism (Brookings Institution Press)
1999 Dilemmas of Scale in America’s Federal Democracy (Cambridge University Press)
1990 Agency Under Stress: The Social Security Administration in American Government
1985 The Politics of Deregulation (with Paul J. Quirk)
1979 Policymaking for Social Security
1975 Uncontrollable Spending for Social Service Grants

References

Emily Langer, Martha Derthick, authority on Social Security, dies at 81. Washington Post, January 24, 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
Contemporary Thinkers, Martha Derthick biography. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
Sam Roberts, Martha A. Derthick, Analyst Who Untangled Public Policy, Dies at 81. New York Times, January 29, 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
Foundation for Constitutional Government, Biography of Martha Derthick; contemporarythinkers.org.
"People in Political Science". PS: Political Science & Politics. 15 (3): 498–515. 1982.