Policy Topics

Analytic methods

Showing 91 - 120 of 615 results

Publication

Stange examines data bias caused by college graduates' out-of-state migration

Sep 7, 2022

When examining the effect on the labor market of post-secondary education in a particular state, researchers often use administrative outcome data – statewide statistics that look at university graduates and the effect on their employment. Yet when...

News

Meet our new faculty: Megan Stewart

Aug 19, 2022

New Ford School associate professor Megan Stewart is an expert in international political conflict and revolutionary movements internationally and in the United States. Most recently, Stewart was an assistant professor in the School of International...

News

U-M Youth Policy Lab and TRAILS to study effectiveness of student mental health programming

Aug 18, 2022

The University of Michigan’s Youth Policy Lab (YPL) and TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) have been awarded a $3.8 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The...

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News

IES grant supports EPI in evaluation of Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program impacts

Jul 13, 2022

The state of Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) has a unique structure that distinguishes it from other state need-based financial aid programs. Currently funding some 25,000 students annually, the program is a “first-dollar" scholarship...

Photo of the sun rising over the U-M campus

News

New study on the impact of preschool through early adulthood to offer policy insights

Jul 13, 2022

The next phase of one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of early childhood education launches this summer with a $1.5 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education. The grant, funded by the...

Photo of young children and their teachers in a classroom. By Yan Krukov

News

EPI faculty and affiliates receive nearly $10 million through four national education research (NCER) grants

Jul 13, 2022

Four research projects conducted by affiliates of the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the University of Michigan received a total of nearly $10 million in new grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of...

Headshots of Kevin Stange, Christina Weiland, Robin Jacob, and Daniel Kreisman

Publication

Michigan poverty map identifies regional needs related to child care, health care, affordable housing

Jun 16, 2022

A new data map displaying a variety of poverty and well-being metrics across Michigan holds implications for how federal American Rescue Plan Act funds could be used to address the state’s most pressing needs. Poverty Solutions at the University...

News

A 20-year review of Flint finances shows consequences of lack of investment

Jun 8, 2022

The turmoil surrounding the City of Flint, MI – most infamously the Flint Water Crisis – has become a cautionary tale for other Rust Belt cities struggling to balance their budgets, provide services, and attract new business. A 20-year review of the...

Photo of a large metal arch with a sign reading "Flint: Vehicle city" at a gateway to Flint, Michigan

News

Kopelman: How to win without winning

May 29, 2022

Written by Shirli Kopelman We are fortunate to have known leading intellectual and longtime Michigan faculty member Anatol Rapoport (1911-2007) as a father, friend, and colleague. He was a mathematical psychologist, philosopher, and pioneer of...

News

STPP research on AI highlighted in Nature Q&A

May 3, 2022

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy was highlighted in a Q&A with Nature magazine, acknowledging recent research on Large Language Models (LLMs) by the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program's Technology Assessment Project....

Glasses rest on a desktop with various coding windows open on a screen behind

Publication

Stange and co-authors study cost differences across fields of study at colleges and universities

Apr 29, 2022

Determining the monetary value of an education often is calculated based on what students pay in tuition and fees compared to what they earn after graduation. But, Kevin Stange, Ford School associate professor of public policy, and four other...

Publication

New language-learning algorithms risk reinforcing inequalities, social fragmentation, per U-M study

Apr 27, 2022

The use of large language models could transform many facets of modern life, including how policymakers assess public sentiment about pending legislation, how patients evaluate their medical care and how scientists could translate research findings...

News

Ford School highly ranked in latest survey, recognized again as the #1 social policy program

Mar 28, 2022

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan is recognized again as one of America’s top graduate programs in public affairs, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. According to the rankings, based...

Image of Weill Hall with the words "Top-ranked. World-class."

In the Media

Farley breaks down population trends following pandemic

Mar 25, 2022 News Nation

The COVID-19 pandemic made big cities less attractive, with no events to attend or restaurants to sample. Reynolds Farley, a research scientist at the Population Studies Center, discussed the trend. “Cities growing and declining, that’s strongly...

Photo of Ren Farley speaking into a megaphone as he leads a tour of U-M students in downtown Detroit

Publication

Atran studies important differences between Islamist terrorist groups and other criminal groups

Feb 21, 2022

Islamist terrorist organizations are often described as similar to other criminal organizations, like gangs. A new study, “Willingness to sacrifice among convicted Islamist terrorists versus violent gang members and other criminals,” published by...

Publication

Atran establishes values, strength of beliefs, and character as essential in the will to fight in wars

Feb 15, 2022

During the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest war, the Taliban suffered high casualties and territorial losses against a well-funded and well-armed opponent. Despite these circumstances, the Taliban endured the lengthy war, and ultimately emerged...

In the Media

U-M listed as one of America's best universities for social science research, including public policy

Jan 31, 2022 Forbes

The Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, recently released by the National Science Foundation (NSF), measures the dollars spent annually on research and development at American colleges and universities. The survey summarizes the...

News

Ford School faculty named among “Top 2% Scientists”

Jan 26, 2022

Stanford University named 16 Ford School faculty on their “Top 2% Scientists” list, representing the most-cited scientists with career and single-year impact in various disciplines. The faculty researchers join over 180,000 scientists...

News

Ford School hosts NFBPA research poster contest, invites all students to participate

Jan 24, 2022

In partnership with the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is proud to host the FORUM 2022 research poster contest, which recognizes and awards research conducted by students at undergraduate,...

Photo of the Great Hall from the 2nd floor balcony

News

Achieving comprehensive immigration reform in 48 hours!

Jan 23, 2022

Excitement was in the air as some 150 senators, ambassadors and representatives of national and international interest groups eyed each other at an eventing meeting, anxious, suspicious, hopeful that a comprehensive immigration reform package, so...

Publication

Lack of information related to pollution exposure key issue for low-income households

Jan 20, 2022

A lack of information is an often overlooked but important cause of pollution exposure among low-income households or communities of color, according to University of Michigan researchers. The researchers say the disproportionate exposure of...

Publication

Student questions fuel productive change - Stevenson

Jan 12, 2022

How can professors encourage students to question them? In a recent article, “Sparking Student Curiosity,” Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, lays out her philosophy on teaching and guiding critical thinking. Since they...

Photo of Betsey Stevenson leading a class

Alumni spotlight

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius focuses on people-centered medical research

Jan 10, 2022

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius is pursuing her PhD in neuroscience at Michigan Medicine, studying the molecular underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease. She will go on to UCSF for her postdoctoral training, where she will investigate pathological brain...

News

Jacob and Weiland rank in annual Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings

Jan 10, 2022

Education Week has unveiled the 2022 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, which rank the 200 university-based scholars in the United States who did the most last year to shape educational practice and policy. Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland

Alumni spotlight

Beza Merid, PhD: STPP gave me insights into how policy can develop justice-based health innovations

Dec 23, 2021

Beza Merid was a faculty affiliate with STPP when he became a research fellow in cardiology at Michigan Medicine. Now at Arizona State University, he appreciates how influencing innovation policy can create better health outcomes for underserved...

Publication

IES Predoctoral Fellows Moffett and Wessiman, Weiland, and colleagues explore effects of pre-k classroom organization

Dec 16, 2021

What are the best ways to judge how instruction in pre-kindergarten classrooms is organized? Linkages between facets of classroom organization such as better organization of materials, smooth transitions, and clear routines are thought to make...

Publication

Axelrod - "Preventing extreme polarization of political attitudes"

Dec 15, 2021

After the 2020 general election and the January 6 insurrection, the country seems more politically polarized than ever. Ford School professor Robert Axelrod, the William D. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, along with Joshua J....

Publication

Earned Income Tax Credit affects intergenerational marriage and childbirth decisions, says U-M study

Dec 3, 2021

Children of Earned Income Tax Credit beneficiaries delayed marriage and first births, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Michigan professor, suggesting the cost-effectiveness of the federal program. Little has been known...

News

University of Michigan and the City of Flint partner on new fiscal reporting pilot program for transparency, better governance

Dec 1, 2021

The water crisis in Flint and the bankruptcy in Detroit were separate events that had a common theme -- they had been caused in part by fiscal challenges decades in the making. Avoiding similar tragedies in the future could be tied to greater...

News

Leveraging technology to improve education outcomes

Nov 29, 2021

Researchers from U-M campuses and all across the country are using education data provided by the State of Michigan to study a wide variety of topics ranging from the effects of COVID-19 on public school enrollment to the role of neighborhood...