Making an Impact: 8 Accomplished African-American Economists

Dr. Margaret Simms

Margaret C. Simms is a nationally recognized economist. Her specialized interest is the economic well-being of African Americans. She is an Institute senior fellow at the Urban Institute and is the director of the Institute’s Low-Income Working Families project, a research initiative exploring challenges faced by 9 million families and their 19 million children.

Simms spent 21 years with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in several leadership positions. In 2005 she was appointed vice president for governance and economic analysis and served as interim president in 2006.

Simms has also been editor of such books and monographs as: “Job Creation Prospects and Strategies” (with Wilhelmina Leigh), “Economic Perspectives on Affirmative Action”, and “Slipping Through the Cracks: The Status of Black Women” (with Julianne Malveaux). In the 2008, The National Economic Association presented Simms with the Samuel Z. Westerfield Award. Last year her work earned her an honorary doctor of laws degree from Carlton College.