Kenneth A. Swinnerton holds a Ph.D. in economics from Georgetown University. He holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves currently as the Chief of the Division of Economic and Labor Research in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the United States Department of Labor. In this capacity, he also serves as the Chair of the Working Party on Employment at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Dr. Swinnerton's research activities have covered issues such as the economics of core labor standards, economic causes and consequences of child labor, the labor market implications of financial crises, the informal sector, economic welfare analyses of minimum wage laws, job stability, and the employment impacts of trade agreements. Among others, Dr. Swinnerton has had papers appear in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, and the Journal of Labor Economics.

Kenneth Swinnerton joined IZA as a Research Fellow in his personal capacity in February 2009.