Mohammad Ferdosi
Mohammad Ferdosi is a Research Fellow at CERC Migration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He previously held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Critical Policy Studies at TMU and earned his PhD in Political Science (Comparative Public Policy) at McMaster University in 2022, with earlier training in Sociology and Economics. His research expertise lies in public policy, labour legislation, and welfare programs, with a particular focus on basic income and social assistance.
Ferdosi employs mixed-methods approaches, often in collaboration with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, to study new social policies. He has authored more than 40 publications, secured 10 research grants, and collaborated with policy leaders including Hugh Segal, Kathleen Wynne, and Guy Standing. Internationally, he has contributed to projects with UNESCO and the ILO. His current research examines Ontario’s largest social assistance reform, assessing its impact on low-income job seekers and pathways to stabilization, employment, and training.
Reports on Ontario Basic Income and Social Assistance
Ferdosi, M., & Graefe, P. 2025. Survey analysis of Ontario’s Integrated Employment Services: Experiences of job-seeking social assistance recipients with OW/ODSP person-centered supports and Employment Ontario employment services. https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/32193 (external link)
Ferdosi, M., Graefe, P., & McDowell, T. 2024. Redefining futures: The role of basic income in career and educational development in Ontario. Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation. (PDF file) https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/arts/school-of-public-policy/reports/Report-Redefining-Futures-The-Role-of-Basic-Income-in-Ontario.pdf
Ferdosi, M., Graefe, P., Lewchuk, W., & Ross, S. 2023. Not back to normal: Social assistance in post-pandemic Ontario. COVID Economic and Social Effects Study. McMaster University, School of Labour Studies. https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/28922 (external link)
Ferdosi, M., McDowell, T., Ma, A., David, K., Ederer, R., & Martin, B. 2023. Life on basic income: Stories from Southern Ontario. Carleton University, School of Social Work. (PDF file) https://carleton.ca/cspsc/wp-content/uploads/Life-on-Basic-Income.-Final-report.pdf (external link)
Ferdosi, M., Graefe, P., Lewchuk, W., & Ross, S. 2021. COVID, labour markets and employment: Factsheet 1–8. COVID Economic and Social Effects Study. McMaster University. https://labourstudies.mcmaster.ca/research/impact-of-covid-on-ontario-workers-workplaces-and-families/ (external link)
Ferdosi, M., McDowell, T., Lewchuk, W., & Ross, S. 2020. Southern Ontario’s basic income experience. McMaster University, School of Labour Studies. https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/28173 (external link)