The economics of tariffs is surprisingly simple: they are a tax, which raises the price that buyers pay and that competing sellers inside the country can...
Moynihan: "State capacity” is hard to define and measure, and is perhaps seen as boring, but capacity is the hidden glue that holds public policy together, or, when debased, causes public policy to fall apart. If you care about the quality of...
Cavaillé: A large and growing number of voters have found in political figures like Trump, Meloni, Orban, and Le Pen a home to express their grievances over the state of the economy, their own socioeconomic status, and immigration...
Dean Watkins-Hayes, at the Congressional Breakfast in DC, with Michigan in Washington undergraduates Ajay Morelli, Malinda Brunk, Rachel Ellisen, and Isaac Davis, and Riecker Fellow Hope Wang (MPP...
In an effort to spark democratic engagement on college campuses, the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy co-hosted the Big Ten Democracy Summit in February. More than 150...
In the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump has unleashed a whirlwind of policy shifts that have sent ripples across the globe. The responses to his administration's actions have ranged from applause to skepticism.Ford School...
Ford School professor Betsey Stevenson has been widely sought for her insights, and concerns, about the implications of the Trump administration's proposed tariffs. Here are some of the notes Stevenson has shared with news outlets over the past few...
As the political polarization in America rises, navigating across differences to find common ground—and policy solutions—has never been more important. This semester, four students—Rebecca Coyne (MPP ‘26), Ella Kinder (BA '25), Breah Marie Willy (BA...
Former Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo shared his positive outlook for the future of transatlantic relations, despite stirred uncertainty from the Trump Administration in a community-wide discussion at the Ford School on April 15th, 2025,...
Five faculty-led research projects from across the University of Michigan have received Presidential Awards for Understanding Democracy to enhance understanding of democracy’s operation and promise. The awards are part of the universitywide Year of...
A group of Ford School graduate students were recognized for their research on furthering constructive dialogue as part of the Year of Democracy's three-day symposium to investigate the relationship between information and democracy....
Reflecting on recent stock market instability, the Ford School's Betsey Stevenson told Bloomberg in an interview that, "I do think that he [Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chairman] is going to reassure financial markets that we have a strong and...
In a conversation with Fox News, Javed Ali, professor at the Ford School, offered insights on Israel's current military strategy. Ali stated, "Now that we're almost a full month into the resumption of high-intensity IDF operations in the Gaza Strip...
"The fact that both sides [Iran and the U.S.] are meeting in the same location, this is a major development. Both sides have not sat down for decades since the last nuclear deal that was agreed to under President Obama," said the Ford School's Javed...
The Ford School's Rusty Hills has shone a light on the historic legacy of former President Gerald R. Ford, from the White House to the Ford School. In an opinion piece for the Detroit Free Press, Hills highlights lessons he learned from President...
Current government operations under the Trump administration are pointing to signs of democratic backsliding. The Ford School's Don Moynihan has stated that Americans have put too much faith in the law. Quoted in an article from the Financial Times,...
“Civility is the bedrock of our free and democratic society,” Tonya Schuitmaker, a former Republican member of the Michigan Senate, told the recent panel on Promoting Civic Discourse - Democratic and Republican politicians on bridging the political...
The Ford School's Don Moynihan spoke with The Daily Beast and commented on the removal of government history from various agency websites, specifically targeting topics involving DEI or POC and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. "It's this sort of...
In a discussion with ABC News, the Ford School's Javed Ali spoke with the network about recent changes in Israel's combat tactics. "It looks like we are back to the type of operations that Israel conducted in the aftermath of October 7th, until...
The Trump administration has recently come out against Columbia University with threats to impose massive funding cuts if the institution does not comply with the administration's demands. President Trump has urged Columbia to take stronger action...
Ford School professor Justin Wolfers tried to explain Donald Trump's thinking on the economy. He said, "There is an underlying economics of trump, and you won't be surprised I think it's dead wrong." Wolfers said, "There's the zero sum thinking and...
The Ford School's Kenneth Lowande recently presented at the University of Oklahoma's annual Teach-In conference. There, Lowande was asked to comment on the power of the president and why Donald Trump has upheld a strategy of implementing countless...
Ford School professor Betsey Stevenson discussed the rational behind implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but she said, "with China that they may have been trying to compete with very low-cost manufacturing" however “I don't think you can make...
Rusty Hills, Ford School lecturer, commented on the president's address to Congress, calling it "classic Trump." He said, "The speech was a campaign rally held under the capitol dome. It was a two hour long ‘Greatest Hits’ tour." In the speech,...
Don Moynihan, Ford School professor says his worries about donors dining with Trump is "where there doesn’t seem to be a clear line between Trump’s businesses and the presidency.” He says, “The concern is less about fundraising and more about access...
Kenneth Lowande, Ford School professor, talked impacts of the Trump administration and expansion of presidential powers. Lowande discussed the breaking of norms, saying, "Their goal is to change the rules of American government that have existed for...
“To what degree do you trust them?” asks the Ford School's Don Moynihan of the some 54,000 to 104,000 Trump loyalists expected to assume public service positions after Trump's wave of mass federal firings. “That is quite a different proposition than...
"There’s a fundamental realignment of power here," said Don Moynihan, a public policy professor at the Ford School, commenting on the mass federal firings carried out by the Trump administration. “This administration is saying we have much more...
Center for Racial Justice Postdoctoral Fellow Kristina Fullerton Rico explores what she calls the dangerous implications of President Trump's deportation policy in an essay in The Conversation. Citing extensive social science research on U.S....
