Lawrence M. Mead is Professor of Politics and Public Policy at New York University. His many previous books defined the theory behind the radical welfare reform of the 1990s, which for the first time required many welfare recipients to work as a condition of aid. His works also include close studies of how to implement work requirements. Since the 1980s, he has been an influential advisor to social policy makers in Washington, at the state and local level, and in several foreign countries.