Robert Walker is Professor Emeritus and Emeritus Fellow of Green Templeton College. He joined the Department as Professor of Social Policy in April 2006 when he also became a Fellow of what is now Green Templeton College. He was formerly Professor of Social Policy at the University Nottingham and before that Professor of Social Policy Research, Loughborough University where he was Director of the Centre for Research in Social Policy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was awarded an MBE in 2012 for his services to social policy research. His current research includes two major international studies. The first, funded by the ESRC and DFID, seeks to establish whether 'shame-proofing' anti-poverty programmes, remodelling them to promote human dignity and to reduce stigma, improves their overall effectiveness. The second study, being undertaken with ATD Fourth World, is a deeply participative study working with people experiencing poverty in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Tanzania, Britain, France and the USA to the define the dimensions of poverty that should be considered within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, he is undertaking research exploring the representation of poverty in China through the medium of film.
Chen, Y., Walker, R. and Hong, l. (2017) ‘Subjective experiences of older people in poverty in urban China and the role of social policy’, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, Published on-line: 4th August, DOI: 10.1080/02185385.2017.1358660
Li, M. and Walker, R. (2016/7) ‘Targeting Social Assistance: Dibao and institutional alienation in rural China’, Social Policy and Administration DOI: 10.1111/spol.12261
Li, M. and Walker, R. (2016) Shame, stigma and the take-up of social assistance: Insights from rural China, International Journal of Social Welfare 26: 230–238.
Walker, R. (2014) The Shame of Poverty: global perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Griggs, J. Hammond, A. and Walker, R. (2014) Activation for all: welfare reform in the United Kingdom 1995-2009. Pp 73-100 in Lødemel, I. and Moreira, A. (eds.) Activation or Workfare? Governance and the Neo-Liberal convergence. New York: Oxford University Press,
Surender, R. and Walker, R. ed., (2013) Social Policy in a Developing World, . Cheltenham: : Elgar
Ferragina, E., Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2013) Poverty, Participation and Choice: The Legacy of Peter Townsend. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Walker, R. et al (2013) "Poverty in Global Perspective: Is Shame a Common Denominator?", Journal of Social Policy, 42: 2 215-233
Chase, E. and Walker, R. (2013) "The co-construction of shame in the context of poverty: beyond a threat to the social bond", Sociology 47: 4 739-754
Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2012) "Labour market disadvantage and the experience of recurrent poverty", Emmenegger, P., Häusermann, S., Palier, B. & Seeleib-Kaiser, M ed.,The Age of Dualization. New York: Oxford University Press, 52-70
Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2012) "Things get better (and sometimes worse): Poverty dynamics and children", CPAG ed., Ending child poverty by 2020: progress made
Walker, R., Chase, E. and Lødemel, I. (2012) "The Indignity of the Welfare Reform Act", Poverty 143 9-12
Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2010) Recurrent Poverty: the impact of family and labour market changes. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2010) "Poverty, adolescent well-being and outcomes later in life", Journal of International Development 22: 8 1162-1182
Tomlinson, M. and Walker, R. (2009) Coping with Complexity: Child and adult poverty, London: CPAG.
