Policy Topics

Public and nonprofit management

Showing 121 - 150 of 718 results

News

Michigan local government officials report improved fiscal health after a year of COVID-19, but not to pre-pandemic levels

Dec 16, 2021

Michigan’s local governments report improvement on many fiscal health measures after a year of struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic, but for much of the state the situation has stayed the same or continues to decline, according to a new Michigan...

In the Media

Josh Hausman explains how COVID has broken the economy

Dec 10, 2021 The Atlantic

With his opinion article in The Atlantic, Josh Hausman, associate professor of public policy and economics, suggests high inflation rates may last for years. He describes the reasons behind inflation—including a consumer shift from services to...

News

CLOSUP and Ivacko applauded for partnering with city of Flint

Dec 8, 2021

News outlets are applauding Tom Ivacko and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy's announcement about a project with the city of Flint that will examine whether a new fiscal reporting mechanism can help create transparency in local fiscal...

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...

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

News

The infrastructure bill: U-M Ford school experts can discuss

Nov 15, 2021

After months of haggling and horse-trading, Congress has passed—and President Joe Biden is poised to sign—a more than $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The law will usher in long-sought investment in roads, rail, bridges, broadband, the power grid...

Fellow members of Congress and the Cabinet celebrating President Biden's signing of the bipartisan infrastructure deal

In the Media

Ivacko on federal infrastructure dollars in Michigan

Nov 15, 2021 The Detroit News

“The federal (infrastructure) funding is probably a once-in-a-lifetime lifeline, and it certainly is going to move the needle. But Michiganders need to understand that we have a long-term challenge. This federal money will last for a while, it will...

Publication

Supporting 'Preschool for All' in Washington state

Nov 12, 2021

Policy Brief from the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative outlines a vision for high-quality universal preschool in the state of Washington High-quality preschool helps prepare children for kindergarten and promotes their...

Photo of a teacher and three young elementary school students around a classroom table

News

Stevenson talks American jobs, federal bills, and the tampon tax

Nov 11, 2021

Betsy Stevenson weighed in on labor market recovery, the job market, the tampon tax, and more. On labor market recovery While most of the United States seems to be recovering from the worst parts of the pandemic, the job crisis it caused is...

Photo of Betsey Stevenson leading a class

In the Media

Michelmore explains how the Child Tax Credit may effect labor force participation

Nov 10, 2021 Washington Post

In the debate over the expanded Child Tax Credit, economists disagree on how many parents will leave the labor force. Katherine Michelmore speaks to the Washington Post about her research and why previous estimates are too high. "We’ve since done...

Photo of Katherine Michelmore teaching a Ford School class

In the Media

More emphasis needed on vaccine accessibility, overcoming institutional mistrust—Parthasarathy

Nov 5, 2021 MLive

Speaking with MLive, Shobita Parthasarathy observed the complexities behind vaccine hesitancy. “We’re letting social institutions, government institutions off the hook the more that we focus on the individual as the source of the hesitancy,” she...

News

Jenna Bednar featured in new documentary film

Nov 1, 2021

A new award-winning documentary film, “Solutions,” made its U.S. debut at the United Nations Association Film Festival on October 31. Jenna Bednar, professor of public policy and political science, is one of 20 experts featured to "examine the...

In the Media

Supreme Court hears challenge to EPA authority -Shipan's Congressional delegation analysis

Oct 30, 2021 Washington Post

Charles Shipan and co-author Pamela Clouser McCann write in an Washington Post Monkey Cage analysis that the Supreme Court's decision to hear a case challenging EPA authority "could undermine Congress’s constitutional authority to delegate power to...

News

Off the field, University of Michigan and Michigan State University work together on the big issues

Oct 28, 2021

When Michigan’s Independent Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (MICRC) held a public hearing recently in Grand Rapids, two students were assisting attendees with submitting citizen comments and suggestions for the Commission’s consideration. Working...

News

David Bohnett Foundation Leadership & Public Service Fellows reflect on summer experiences

Oct 28, 2021

Since 2010-11, the David Bohnett Foundation Leadership and Public Service Fellowship has provided three talented master’s students each year with a funded internship with the City of Detroit. The 2021 fellows—Adam Flood (MPP/MPH ‘22), Kristina...

Headshots of Kristina Curtiss, Adam Flood, and Clare Knutson

Publication

Michigan local government leaders report lingering impacts from COVID-19 pandemic, improvements overall from the start of the crisis

Oct 27, 2021

Local leaders from across the state have reported lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report, and worsening outlooks for how much longer some of those impacts will last. While the numbers of local communities reporting on...

News

Dean Barr elected as a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow

Oct 12, 2021

Michael S. Barr, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, will join the National Academy of Public Administration's 2021 Class of Academy Fellows—a group of 39 leaders in the field of public administration dedicated...

Publication

Federal unemployment money boosted health care spending

Oct 12, 2021

Emergency federal dollars given to the unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic bolstered health-care spending as jobless rates skyrocketed, a new University of Michigan study found. But the negative consequences of unemployment and moderating...

Publication

Child Tax Credit providing critical help, but not reaching more than 1 in 10 eligible families

Oct 6, 2021

In March, Congress expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to provide low- and middle-income families with monthly payments of $300 per child under 6 and $250 per child ages 6-17. The expanded CTC is already estimated to have reduced child poverty by...

Publication

Michelmore and Pilkauskas find EITC boosts employment, with decreasing impact as children age

Oct 4, 2021

Existing research has largely overlooked the variation in maternal employment effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) depending on the age of their children. In a new study, Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas, both associate...

Natasha Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore

In the Media

Tompkins-Stange on "breaking up the philanthropy boys club"

Sep 30, 2021 The New York Times

Although philanthropy used to happen in a room full of men, the sector is shifting. There has been an uptick in not only women involved in philanthropy, but also the sector's support of women and girls' organizations. “Philanthropy has been a...

Publication

Michigan local economies still struggling with the pandemic effects

Sep 29, 2021

Michigan's local economies are still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but at a much lower rate than at the start of the crisis in spring 2020, according to a University of Michigan statewide survey of local government...

Two post-it notes on a business' front door, reading "Sorry we're closed" and "COVID-19"

In the Media

Human oversight of automated decision-making doesn't work, says Green

Sep 28, 2021 Protocol

Commenting on his recent research, Ben Green told Protocol, “The point is not to say: Let's just allow these algorithms to be used without the human oversight. But if we're only comfortable with these algorithms because we have human oversight, we...

News

Green calls for increased regulation with government use of algorithms

Sep 22, 2021

Do algorithms help or hinder human decision-making? In a recent op-ed for The Hill, Ben Green, an assistant professor and postdoctoral scholar, argues that policymakers need to consider how humans interact with AI when regulating the use of AI in...

In the Media

Raimi describes hardships of renewables transition

Sep 8, 2021 Casper Star Tribune

The transition towards renewable energy is necessary, but that doesn't mean it comes without hardships. In Wyoming, where the fossil fuel industry has thrived for many years, the state must find a new area for revenue according to Daniel Raimi,...

Publication

Shipan explores how policies spread across the United States in new book

Sep 7, 2021

In his new book, Why Bad Policies Spread (And Good Ones Don’t), Charles R. Shipan, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Michigan, and co-author Craig Volden, professor of public policy and politics at the...

Publication

Should complex, high-stakes government decisions be reliant on predictive algorithms?

Aug 27, 2021

Machine learning is increasingly used for government decision-making to predict adverse outcomes. For instance, many cities and states in the U.S. have adopted pretrial risk assessments that inform decisions about whether to release criminal...

Alumni spotlight

Susan McLaughlin (MPP/MBA' 93) manages financial crises in three decades at the Fed

Aug 13, 2021

Throughout nearly three decades at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Susan McLaughlin (MPP/MBA '93) has worked a wide range of roles, most of them closely involved in the Fed's interactions in financial markets. In addition, she has had her...

News

Most Michigan local leaders express confidence in safety, efficacy of COVID vaccines, MPPS shows

Aug 11, 2021

Most Michigan local government officials have been confident in the safety and efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines, yet leaders' views on vaccine safety are highly correlated with partisanship, according to the spring 2021 wave of the Michigan...

Alumni spotlight

Nick Occhipinti (MPP ‘08) works across differences for the environment

Aug 10, 2021

Nick Occhipinti (MPP ‘08) describes himself as “your friendly neighborhood lobbyist” — but, his job entails so much more than that. “When I win, nobody makes any more money, nobody gets a raise, but Michigan’s air, land and water get a little...