Nancy Folbre focuses on the interface between feminist theory and political economy, with a particular interest in caring labor and other forms of non-market work. She has received a five-year fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation (the famed "Genius" grant) and also served as co-chair of the MacArthur Research Network on the Family and the Economy. She works with the Center for Popular Economics and is an Associate Editor of the journal Feminist Economics.

Dr. Folbre has been actively engaged in the creation and development of the Center for Research on Families as a steering committee member. As a Family Research Scholar, Dr. Folbre pursued a large interdisciplinary research project to investigate ways of measuring and improving the quality of co-produced care services. Dr. Folbre is also a contributor to The New York Times' Economix blog, which provides an analysis of the news using an economics framework.