Publication

How political leaders use combat spectacles to symbolize national power and purpose

Jun 17, 2026

In an age when established political institutions and movements command diminishing loyalty, combat spectacles provide more than excitement. They create communities of feeling and, under the right conditions, powerful engines of political commitment....

Publication

Behind every overconfident leader might be a 'rational sycophant,' veteran U-M game theorists find

Jun 11, 2026

New research from veteran game theorists reveals that rational sycophants may lead to more catastrophic outcomes in an interconnected world.

Publication

Michigan’s Medicaid expansion improved both health and finances

Jun 10, 2026

U-M report shows individuals, hospitals and primary care clinics all experienced positive impacts, but raises concerns about cost-sharing provisions that all states must soon enact.

Publication

'From STEM to earn': High school programs aimed at diversifying the field drive gains in college, salaries

Jun 4, 2026

High school students participating in pipeline programs aimed at increasing diversity in STEM fields are more likely to enroll in—and graduate from—elite colleges with a related degree, according to a study by Sarah Cohodes.

Publication

Overburdened bureaucrats, not corruption, are delaying public benefits in India

Jun 4, 2026

Yusuf Neggers co-authored an article in VoxDev about how improving access to existing government data can reduce delays in public benefit delivery and strengthen safety nets for vulnerable households.

Publication

Parthasarathy proposes people-first technology regulation

May 21, 2026

Shobita Parthasarathy publishes her third column in Science, “'Sacrifice subjects' and a proposal for people-first technology regulation."

Publication

Immigration enforcement fears are reshaping daily life for Michigan immigrants, U-M study finds

May 19, 2026

A new report documents widespread immigration enforcement fears among immigrant Michiganders in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge with the words 'ICE' in the background

Publication

U-M and MSU team partner to study impact of prenatal and infant cash prescription program in Flint, Michigan

May 11, 2026

A new peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Pediatrics provides rigorous, population-level evidence that the Rx Kids program, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, is associated with substantial reductions i...

Publication

Large, profitable oil and gas companies pass environmental risks to smaller, undercapitalized firms

May 11, 2026

Oil and gas companies use wells to extract the raw materials eventually sold to consumers as everyday goods. But what happens when wells begin to yield less product? Large oil and gas companies transfer low-value wells to companies with smaller po...

Publication

Lockable phone pouches in schools improve student well-being over time, not test scores or bullying

May 8, 2026

A popular device for restricting cell phone use in middle and high schools is effective at achieving that aim, leading to short-term disruption but ultimately positive effects on student well-being, new research finds.

Publication

Michigan's local governments make progress on budgeting, but many lag on long-term planning

May 6, 2026

In a time of economic volatility, relatively few local governments in Michigan report they are doing long-term financial planning—though many say they'd like to be doing more—according to the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey report.

Illustration with a house and money symbols balanced on a scale

Publication

What really wins wars? Atran weighs in

Apr 30, 2026

In a recent opinion essay, anthropologist Scott Atran argues that the decisive factor is often not superior firepower, but the presence of “devoted actors,” people whose personal identity is fused with a group’s collective identity and anchored in no...

Publication

Sharing a family photo helps migrant workers elicit employer empathy

Apr 29, 2026

Researchers studying Filipino domestic workers, in collaboration with the Philippine government through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, found that small gestures—providing a small gift of dried mangos and showing a family photo to new em...

Publication

Medicaid expansion helped enrollees’ long-term financial health, study finds

Apr 28, 2026

New research from Ford School courtesy professors John Ayanian and Helen Levy shows that enrollment in the Michigan Medicaid expansion program improves participants' long-term financial health.

Graphic with stylized images of a blue pig in a lightning storm with an umbrella being held over it on a yellow background

News

Community water fluoridation has no negative impact on cognitive function, new study shows

Apr 21, 2026

New research from Pamela Herd, the Ford School's Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy, shows no negative relationship between community water fluoridation (CWF) and adolescent or adult cognitive function.

Publication

International migration drives long-run economic development back home

Apr 1, 2026

In “Abundance from Abroad: Migrant Income and Long-Run Economic Development,” published in the American Economic Review, University of Michigan economist Dean Yang and co-authors Gaurav Khanna (UC San Diego), Emir Murathanoglu (Oberlin College), and ...

Publication

Lantz: Despite technical challenges, Section 1115 Medicaid waivers can improve health-related social outcomes

Mar 27, 2026

New research from demographer Paula Lantz analyzes the challenges and opportunities state policymakers experience when using Section 1115 Medicaid waivers. The study was co-authored by Ford School student Sofia Hiltner and published in Health Affairs...

Publication

Power beyond realpolitik

Mar 4, 2026

While international affairs are often reduced to contests of strength and strategic interests, anthropologist Scott Atran’s recent Quillette contribution challenges this assumption, arguing that moral culture and shared values are the true foundation...

Publication

Hausman: Electricity producers have financial incentives to block regional market integration despite cost reductions

Feb 27, 2026

New research on electricity market integration from Ford School professor and economist Catherine Hausman has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Publication

Should schools lower the chronic absenteeism threshold? New EPI research suggests they should

Feb 6, 2026

New evidence from the Ford School's Education Policy Initiative (EPI) shows absenteeism may hurt student's academics long before it is considered a chronic pattern. These findings, published in a January working paper, were recently featured in Educa...

Publication

Jacob and Weiland raise concerns about potential bias in traditional retention studies

Jan 30, 2026

In a recent article published in the Journal of Public Economics, University of Michigan professors Brian Jacob, Christina Weiland, and Jordan Berne (who earned his doctorate in economics from U-M), along with Katharine Strunk, dean of the University...

Headshots of Brian Jacob and Christina Weiland

Publication

Fiscal stress rising among Michigan communities, particularly in small, rural towns, U-M survey finds

Dec 17, 2025

Fewer than half of Michigan’s smaller and more rural communities report good fiscal health, reflecting a trend of rising financial stress among local governments across the state and growing concerns about having enough money to keep up with increase...

Road closed sign and barriers blocking a road under construction, with railway crossing and clear skies in the background.

Publication

New nuclear requires strong governance to avoid making old mistakes

Dec 1, 2025

University of Michigan researchers call for policies to ensure that small modular reactors serve the public interest without creating and worsening familiar problems.

Nuclear power plant with four steam-emitting cooling towers located in a green landscape with a winding road.

Publication

Automatic Medicaid renewals increase coverage, reduce procedural denials, and administrative burden

Nov 19, 2025

A recent evaluation led by University of Michigan professors Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan found that reducing administrative burdens by automating Medicaid renewals helps eligible beneficiaries remain in the program and increases Medicaid coverage fo...

Headshots of Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan

Publication

Faculty sexual misconduct decreases in-field degree completion by up to 7%, Cohodes finds

Nov 13, 2025

Sarah Cohodes, associate professor of public policy at the Ford School, recently coauthored “The consequences of faculty sexual misconduct,” the latest in a series of working papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Publication

Youth Policy Lab evaluates Michigan youth mental health initiative, provides blueprint to further develop mental health services for youth

Nov 13, 2025

The Youth Policy Lab evaluated the effectiveness of Michigan's Project AWARE in improving mental health infrastructure in public schools, especially in rural communities

The cover photo of the project aware grant report: the image of the middle part of the body of two people sitting close to each other during a conversation.

Publication

Scott Atran on what sustains war: will to fight versus military might

Nov 7, 2025

Although wars are commonly thought to be sustained by military power, evidence shows that individuals’ willingness to fight can be so profound that they persist even against overwhelming odds. From World War II to the ongoing Gaza War, anthropologist...

Publication

U-M experts identify feedback loops linking culture and institutions

Nov 5, 2025

Ford School political scientist Jenna Bednar and co-author Scott Page, John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor, offer a new framework to understand the complex interplay between institutions and culture in a special issue of the Journal o...

Publication

Paula Lantz analyzes the negative effects of restrictive reproductive care

Oct 30, 2025

When the Supreme Court abruptly ended the constitutional protection of access to abortion care in 2022, experts predicted that restrictive laws would have negatively impact reproductive care, and maternal and infant health outcomes. Paula Lantz exami...

Publication

Local officials in Michigan report plummeting engagement with residents despite myriad methods

Oct 28, 2025

Officials across Michigan report alarming declines of engagement with their constituents despite more widespread use of various outreach methods and activities in the latest installment of the Michigan Public Policy Survey.