“Wherever mathematics has entered it has never again been pushed out by other developments. The mathematization of an area of human endeavor is not a passing fad; it is the prime mover of scientific and technological progress.”
Oskar Morgenstern, Mathematica’s first chairman of the board
Mathematica, one of the first organizations to “mathematize” the evaluation of public policies and their impacts on public well-being, is considered a pioneer of social policy research. In 1968, Mathematica conducted the first social policy experiment in the United States, the New Jersey Negative Income Tax Experiment, to test ways of encouraging low-income individuals to work.
In the more than four decades since the Negative Income Tax Experiment, Mathematica has grown from a small group of mathematics and economics professors in Princeton, New Jersey, into a company with close to 1,100 employees in six locations across the country, serving federal agencies, state and local governments, foundations, universities, professional associations, and businesses. Throughout this momentous growth, Mathematica’s mission has endured: improving public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on information collection and analysis.
To commemorate our contributions to public policy analysis and research, Mathematica will share classic facts and findings each week of this year on our Twitter feed (@MathPolResearch) using the Throwback Thursday hashtag (#tbt). These findings cover our major topic areas--health, education, early childhood, family support, nutrition, employment and training, disability, and international development--and span our company’s history, from 1968 to today.