Policy Topics

Poverty and social policy

Showing 151 - 180 of 1249 results

In the Media

Cooney on Detroit guaranteed income proposal

Apr 4, 2023 WDET

Patrick Cooney, WDET: "It’s no surprise that when people get cash material hardship drops. But the fact that material hardship was so high in the first place in the richest country on Earth…that is a big...

News

National Academy of Sciences appoints Shaefer chair of new committee on economic and social mobility

Apr 3, 2023

As inequality and downward social mobility are on the rise in the United States, research on the causes and solutions is urgently required. To influence the direction of future research, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine...

Photo of Luke Shaefer in the Ford School's Towsley Reading Room

News

Detroiters' views on reparations connected to perception of racial wealth gap, other inequality

Mar 29, 2023

Detroiters' perceptions of the racial wealth gap, the legacy of slavery and other forms of racial inequity are strongly connected to their support for reparations and policies that address racial inequity. Overall, 63% of Detroit residents...

Detroiters Reparations Racial Inequality March 2023 policy brief image

In the Media

Stevenson stresses importance of childcare to construction industry

Mar 25, 2023 States News Service

Betsey Stevenson, States News Service: "I think that the important takeaway is that women can be an important source of labor for the construction industry. While child care is important for women, it is equally important to note that construction...

In the Media

Shaefer: SNAP cuts will hurt families

Mar 19, 2023 Michigan Advance

Luke Shaefer, Michigan Advance: "I want to stress how incredibly successful the expansion of the safety net was during the COVID crisis — the expansion of SNAP, extended unemployment insurance, the expanded child tax credit, as well as rental...

News

Lantz warns of medicalization of public health

Mar 19, 2023

How does the medicalization of public health undermine effective community-based governance responses? Paula Lantz, James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy, dove into this question on Ethics Talk, a podcast produced by the American Medical...

News

Poverty Solutions marks impact of action-based research in 2022

Mar 15, 2023

From informing how the U.S. Census estimates populations to reimagining land contracts as a path to homeownership and inspiring state legislation that would aid homeless youths, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan continued to tackle the...

News

President Ono salutes the Ford School, Luke Shaefer, in Inauguration address

Mar 8, 2023

As President Santa. J. Ono was inaugurated as the 15th president of the University of Michigan on March 8, he laid out a vision for change and challenge to continue to address the world’s greatest problems. In his address to an audience of students,...

News

Many households will struggle with ending of federal pandemic aid

Mar 1, 2023

The federal government has ended its pandemic aid for millions of low-income families on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The average person will receive about $90 less in benefits per month, possibly hundreds of dollars...

Photo of a nearly empty fridge, with only an apple inside

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Local Public Officials at the Ford School

Publication

Stevenson provides lessons, advice for 118th Congress

Feb 6, 2023

As the 118th Congress begins, Americans’ trust in Congress and government is at an all-time low. Economist Betsey Stevenson lends her expertise to members of Congress in a new article for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. First, Stevenson says,...

In the Media

Americans' increasing requests for assistance a sign that "people are hurting"

Jan 26, 2023 USA Today

USA Today: The report's other finding that 55% of surveyed adults sought benefits shows how much people are hurting, said Luke Shaefer, a leading expert on social safety nets and professor at the University of Michigan. “The best indicator we...

News

Bohnett Fellows create impact in the City of Detroit

Jan 26, 2023

Each year, the Ford School’s David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellowship provides three talented master’s students with tuition support, health care, and a funded internship with the City of Detroit. Last summer, 2021 Bohnett...

Headshots of Emma Jabour, Terri N. O'Neal, and Olivia Vaden

In the Media

Stevenson breaks down new GDP numbers

Jan 26, 2023 MSNBC

Betsey Stevenson, MSNBC: "I think what we have learned is that when we give families and people enough money, to mean that we don't have a bunch of people who are at risk of eviction, losing their house, not putting food on the table, it gives them...

News

Ford School names Weill Scholars and Weill Youth Policy Fellows

Jan 24, 2023

Seven outstanding master’s students have been named as 2022 Weill Scholars and Weill Youth Policy Fellows. Weill Scholars Shirley Araiza Santaella (MPP ‘24), David Castro (MPP '24), Moriah Nacionales-Tafoya (MPP ‘24), Juan Sandoval (MPP ‘24), and...

Headshots of Shirley Araiza Santaella, David Castro, Christiana Verdelus, Juan Sandoval, Moriah Nacionales-Tafoya, Eneida Hysi, and Paloma Ramos

Publication

Public bank could address Chicago residents' complaints about private bankers, lenders

Jan 22, 2023

New research from the University of Michigan points to the potential of public banking to better serve the financial needs of Chicago residents as the volume of complaints about private banking services has increased exponentially over the past...

News

Announcing winter 2023 Ford School events

Jan 11, 2023

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the winter 2023 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise...

Headshots of Peter Meijer, Jelani Cobb, Jeh Johnson, Andy Levin, and Angela Harrelson

In the Media

Childcare is a societal issue - Stevenson

Jan 10, 2023 Care for Business

Betsey Stevenson, Care for Business: "It drives me crazy when I hear people describe (childcare) as a personal problem. It’s so many uniquely American, right? ... The inflation we’re facing right now has nothing to do with money, and has everything...

News

Puerto Rican Opinion Lab: Understanding how U.S. policies affect islanders

Jan 5, 2023

Mara Ostfeld, PhD, associate faculty director at Poverty Solutions, assistant research scientist at the Ford School of Public Policy, research director at the Center for Racial Justice, and faculty lead for the Detroit Metro Area Community Study,...

In the Media

Pilkauskas: Child Tax Credit "lost in the wash of stimulus money"

Jan 3, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Natasha Pilkauskas, Los Angeles Times: "It’s baffling to me that it (the expanded Child Tax Credit) wasn’t more popular." The enhanced payment may have been lost in the wash of stimulus money Americans received at the height of the pandemic,...

News

Ford School faculty launch open online courses

Dec 19, 2022

Three Ford School faculty have developed exciting new online courses to equip learners and professionals around the globe with interdisciplinary skills that help them engage in and inform complex public policy decision-making processes. Elisabeth...

Headshots of Liz Gerber, Paula Lantz, and Shobita Parthasarathy

State & Hill

Meet interim dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes

Dec 19, 2022

Distinguished sociologist Celeste Watkins-Hayes works at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and institutions, with a special focus on urban poverty and race, class, and gender studies. She’s particularly interested in the lived...

News

Shaefer and Hanna-Attisha urge Congress to renew expanded Child Tax Credit

Dec 14, 2022

In a new commentary, Luke Shaefer, Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy, and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, an MSU professor of public health, call on Congress to do one last thing in their lame duck session: renew the...

News

Students find inspiration from racial justice changemakers

Dec 7, 2022

In October 2022, students from the Ford School and members of the greater University of Michigan community gathered together to hear “Racial Justice Changemakers”—social justice leaders, artists, and advocates—share their diverse journeys into...

Masterclass in Activism panelists' Brar, Bass, and Wyatt conversing together

In the Media

Pilkauskas: increase of multi-generational households following the pandemic

Dec 7, 2022 NPR

Natasha Pilkauskas, NPR: "Another thing that also explains part of the increase is that marriage rates have...

News

Ostfeld appointed research director of the Center for Racial Justice

Dec 5, 2022

Political scientist Dr. Mara Celicia Ostfeld has been named the inaugural research director of the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. In this role, Ostfeld will lead the development of the...

Mara Ostfeld speaking at a Poverty Solutions event.

News

Tompkins-Stange weighs in on no-strings-attached donations

Dec 5, 2022

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is changing the world of education philanthropy by giving no-strings-attached, multimillion-dollar donations to schools. Megan Tompkins-Stange, associate professor of public policy, analyzed the donations, and the...

News

EPI examines education impacts of the Flint Water Crisis

Dec 4, 2022

Eight years ago, the Flint water crisis captured national attention when the city’s tap water was shown to be contaminated with lead. Since then, researchers have been rigorously studying this crisis and measuring the effects of this lead exposure...

Photo of the Flint Water Plant water tower in Flint, Michigan

Publication

Allen investigates effect of overlap in school and farming calendars on children's education

Nov 30, 2022

In rural countries, families often have to choose between sending their children to school or keeping them home to help with farming—often having a detrimental impact on educational outcomes. In a new study featured in World Bank Blogs, PhD...

In the Media

Shaefer applauds expanded Child Tax Credit

Nov 25, 2022 The New York Times

Luke Shaefer, The New York Times: "It’s worlds ahead of the kind of evidence we usually...

Photo of Luke Shaefer seated in Weill Hall's Great Hall