National Dialogue
Women and Minorities


Darcy Olsen

Cato Institute

Darcy Olsen's research interests include child care, education, health care, welfare, and Social Security issues. In particular, she studies the ways entitlements affect women, children and the poor. Before assuming her present position at Cato, Olsen worked for three years as a transitional house manager and drug counselor for the D.C. Coalition for the Homeless and was managing editor of Regulation magazine. She is a frequent guest on television and radio programs nationwide and has appeared on the Today show, NBC nightly news, and CNN. Her articles and editorials have been published in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and journals including Investor's Business Daily and the Journal of Commerce. Olsen holds a bachelor's degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a master's degree in international education from New York University.

Selected publications:

"The Advancing Nanny State: Why the Government Should Stay Out of Child Care," Cato Institute Policy Analysis (1997)

"Greater Financial Security for Women with Personal Retirement Accounts," Cato Institute Briefing Paper (1998)

"Universal Pre-School is No Golden Ticket: Why the Government Should Not Enter the Pre-school Business," Cato Institute Policy Analysis (1998)


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