Policy Topics

Economics and finance

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News

Fiscal health: Mixed signals for Michigan’s local governments

Dec 11, 2019

ANN ARBOR—More than two-thirds of Michigan’s local government leaders rate their jurisdictions’ current fiscal stress as relatively low, according to a new survey by the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. On the...

New BA minor opens policy education to more U-M students

Dec 10, 2019

Starting fall 2020, the Ford School will offer University of Michigan undergraduates a 16-credit minor in public policy. The minor will have a competitive application process that will go live in April 2020. The school expects to enroll around...

State & Hill

Faculty Findings: Fall 2019

Nov 19, 2019

Mary Corcoran and Paul Courant on gender wage discrimination The gender pay gap is notoriously alive and well, decades after women entered the workforce in large numbers. Mary Corcoran and Paul Courant explored this issue together many times over...

News

Detroit neighborhood businesses blooming after tapping U-M expertise

Oct 24, 2019

Collaborations between Detroit entrepreneurs and U-M faculty, staff, and students are featured in a news story written for the University by Karen Dybis. The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) pairs Detroit business owners with...

Macmillan Learning announces publication date for new Stevenson, Wolfers economics textbooks

Oct 18, 2019

On October 17, 2019 Macmillan Learning announced two textbooks written by acclaimed Ford School economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will be available for the Fall 2020 semester. The new texts, Principles of Microeconomics and...

Alan V. Deardorff analyzes rules of origin impact on the efficacy of free trade agreements

Sep 12, 2019

Alan V. Deardorff's latest research on international trade evaluates the timely topic of rules of origins (ROOs) impact on free trade agreements (FTAs). When forming an FTA including ROOs is a necessary practice for the pairs and groups of countries...

Deardorff analyzes strength of economy in MLive

Sep 11, 2019

Though Vice President Mike Pence claims President Trump’s economic policies alone are responsible for recent increases in employment, wages, and salaries both in Michigan and nationally, Alan Deardorff, professor at the Ford School, disagrees in the...

Barr discusses fate of CFPB with CNBC

Aug 19, 2019

The fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently at the discretion of the Supreme Court. Hearing the case and a subsequent ruling would have big ramifications for consumers (i.e. all Americans), and likely on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s...

Stevenson debunks five myths about the Fed in Washington Post

Aug 9, 2019

Ford School Professor Betsey Stevenson tackled misconceptions about the Federal Reserve in a “Five myths” Washington Post column, published August 2, titled “Five myths about the Federal Reserve.” In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s recent...

Barr explains need for consumer protection for small businesses in video with Business Forward

Jul 25, 2019

The tagline “small businesses are the backbone of our economy” gets a lot of play, but the lack of state and federal policy support tells another story. In a video featuring Michael Barr, director of the Center for Finance, Law, and Policy and dean...

Paul Courant named Distinguished University Professor, chooses to honor Ned Gramlich

Jul 18, 2019

On Thursday the Regents named Paul Courant, professor of public policy, as a Distinguished University Professor, effective September 1. This distinction is the University’s most prestigious professorship, which recognizes senior faculty who have...

Susan Collins talks to Yahoo Finance during Federal Reserve conference

Jun 18, 2019

While participating in a public conference held by the Federal Reserve, Professor Susan Collins sat down with Yahoo Finance to talk about the value of taking stock of the economy while its strong.“When things are strong is when you really need to...

Amanda Kowalski receives 2019 ASHEcon Medal

May 22, 2019

The American Society of Health Economists (ASHE) awarded Amanda Kowalski as this year’s ASHEcon Medal recipient. The ASHEcon Medal is “awarded to an economist age 40 or under who has made the most significant contributions to the field of health...

Stevenson comments on farmworkers exclusion in labor statistics on Marketplace

May 3, 2019

Farm work was the heart of the American economy at one point, but the growth of cities and booming industrial revolution sent many flocking to cities, and farmworkers have been dwindling ever since. One stark illustration of this fall can be seen...

Professor Leahy's latest paper studies the economic effects of wishful thinking

Apr 12, 2019

In a new paper entitled “Wishful Thinking” published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, co-authors Andrew Caplin (a professor of economics at the New York University) and John Leahy from the University of Michigan, analyze the economic...

State & Hill

Stephanie Leiser and Sarah Mills on perception versus reality in local government budgets

Apr 10, 2019

Local government officials’ assessments of their own fiscal health is often at odds with—and worse than—what their financial statements indicate, according to work done by Stephanie Leiser and Sarah Mills. The researchers note that this could be...

News

Refereeing the Referees: Wolfers featured on podcast about fairness in basketball

Apr 8, 2019

Just in time for the NCAA championship game concluding March Madness, a new podcast investigating the idea of fairness titled Against the Rules with Michael Lewis gives insight into changing referee standards. In the first episode released April 2,...

Stevenson summarizes the boom-bust cycle, likelihood of next recession

Mar 29, 2019

While the economy experiences one of the longest period of sustained growth, many Americans are already concerned about the likelihood of the next recession. For many, the wounds of the Great Recession are only now beginning to heal and the thought...

Michael Barr addresses faltering financial protection for consumers

Mar 22, 2019

Only 10 years out of the Great Recession in which hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their jobs, homes, and savings, the Trump Administration’s deregulatory stance sounds alarms for many in the finance sector. Among the concerned is Michael...

Stevenson testifies for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Mar 19, 2019

On March 6, 2019, Professor Betsey Stevenson testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, addressing critical issues facing the modern American worker. After initial remarks by Chairman Marco Rubio and...

News

With a declining birthrate, Farley suggests it's time to reimagine policy

Mar 11, 2019

Although we may not notice in a bustling town like Ann Arbor, we are amidst a crisis—the number of births in the state of Michigan has reached its lowest point since World War II. In the last three decades, births have fallen from 153,000 in 1990 to...

News

Poverty Solutions & CLOSUP new report find local officials believe many Michigan residents struggle to make ends meet

Mar 7, 2019

AMany local governments in Michigan report poverty and economic hardships among their residents, according to a survey from University of Michigan researchers. Almost half (44 percent) of local officials say more than one in five of their...

Informing local leaders about fiscal health and economic development image

10% Happier: Stevenson and Wolfers talk wealth inequality and redistribution on NewsHour

Mar 1, 2019

More money makes you happier...right? Professors Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson say that’s accurate, to a point. “It’s a truism, but it’s false,” states Wolfers plainly on a February 28, 2019, segment from PBS’s NewsHour. “Rich people are...

Justin Wolfers says expansions don’t necessitate recessions as long as there is good policy

Feb 15, 2019

Media outlets continue to search for red flags signaling the next recession, but for Professor Justin Wolfers there’s more reason for optimism. Wolfers was featured in a CNBC video titled “Justin Wolfers: Biggest risk to strong U.S. economy is Trump...

Crying recession: Ford professor Betsey Stevenson urges people to look holistically

Jan 28, 2019

Recent economic conversations have attempted to forecast the widely-anticipated next recession, but when are these commentators correct, and when are they crying wolf? Politico Money's Ben White sat down with Professor Betsey Stevenson to dissect...

Deardorff questions the economics of Trump’s border wall and the USMCA

Jan 16, 2019

The “will they or won’t they” question continues to circulate around who, if anyone, will pay for a border wall between the United States and Mexico. President Trump has attempted to provide some clarity, but each suggestion only appears to add...

Ford Professor Betsey Stevenson casts doubt on middle-class gains from federal tax cuts

Jan 11, 2019

In the January 10, 2019 PBS NewsHour story “Evaluating Trump’s economic policies, 2 years in,” Paul Solman asked Ford School Professor, and former member of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) for the Obama Administration, Betsey Stevenson about...

News

CFLP to research opportunities for shaping central banks of the future to advance a more inclusive economy for the poor

Jan 10, 2019

The University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify opportunities for how a central bank of the future might build a financial system that serves the needs of...

News

Minimum wage delay—what is it good for? Wolfers adds perspective

Dec 10, 2018

In an attempt to forestall a citizen-led initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, Michigan GOP legislators approved a gradual increase that would get the state to a $12-minimum in 2022. However, during this lame duck session, they instead...

New research unearths the discrepancies of higher ed costs

Dec 6, 2018

Not all degrees are of equal cost in the world of higher education. That is what Kevin Stange’s, assistant professor at the Ford School, new research paper reveals, as reported in Inside Higher Ed. “Why Teaching Engineering Costs More Than Teaching...