Margaret A. Golfin, Ph.D.

Margaret A. Golfin, Ph.D. is an economist with 28 years of experience in social science research. In her 18 years of manpower research with CNA, she has conducted scientific research and analyses of training, education, recruiting, retention, and advancement issues. She has investigated the feasibility of using postsecondary institutions as sources of high-quality enlisted recruits and as providers of outsourced enlisted training; the effectiveness of incentive pays including enlistment bonuses, Assignment Incentive Pay, College Loan Repayment and Selective Reenlistment Bonuses; trends in the use of computer-based training and the effectiveness of that type of delivery method; capacity of the Reserve to meet GWOT requirements, especially in Limited-Supply/High-Demand occupations; the effect of various policies on enlisted advancement, attrition, and retention; the potential for increasing lateral entrants into the enlisted ranks; and the effect of Individual Augmentation assignments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other GWOT locations on the advancement of enlisted Sailors. Golfin’s current research includes analysis of the effectiveness of DoD’s Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus and the development of metrics to monitor the performance of the Defense Language Program. In addition to her work at CNA, she has six years of experience in teaching undergraduate students, and three years of experience as a research assistant to economists, demographers, and mineral geologists.

Education

• Ph.D., Agricultural Economics, Cornell University, 1989 (Major: International Development; Minors: International Nutrition and Quantitative Methods)
• M.S., Public Management and Policy, The Heinz School (formerly the School of Urban and Public Affairs), Carnegie-Mellon University, 1981
• B.A., Mathematics, The Alternate College, State University of New York College at Brockport, 1979