Domestic policy

News

Former Governors Bullock and Kasich: Increased engagement can address structural flaws in our democratic system

Oct 24, 2024

Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D) thinks the biggest problems with American politics can be traced to three fundamental factors: gerrymandering has drastically decreased the number of competitive districts, changes in the media environment...

News

Ford School and Brookings Institution scholars look to the future of US climate policy

Oct 24, 2024

Climate change is projected to cause 250,000 deaths per year from 2030 to 2050; its effects have already cost 3 trillion dollars and resulted in 100 million people falling into poverty worldwide. The Brookings Institution partnered with the Ford...

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News

Shaefer’s Injustice of Place wins the Richard A. Lester Book Award

Sep 10, 2024

Ford School professor Luke Shaefer’s book, The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America (Harper Collins, August 2023) is the recipient of the 2023 Richard A. Lester Book Award at Princeton University. Shaefer, the Hermann and...

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

News

Cost of living tops Detroiters’ priorities for US government

Jul 8, 2024

With Michigan poised to be a pivotal state in the 2024 presidential election, Detroiters have weighed in on their priorities for the U.S. government.Cost of living and inflation is the issue Detroiters mentioned most when asked about the top issues...

Word cloud with issues most important to Detroiters

News

Michigan metro areas divided on views on legal immigration, U-M survey shows

Jun 27, 2024

Immigration consistently shows up as the most important problem facing the U.S. in national public opinion polls, but less information has been available to understand how Michiganders view immigration.With Michigan poised to be one of the most...

Photo of an American flag backed by a gray sky

News

U-M experts explore ramifications of housing crisis on economy, emotional well-being and more

Jun 10, 2024

ANN ARBOR—The need for affordable and accessible housing is an issue that transcends political affiliation—even as it rises in significance to voters—and matters as much to our emotional and mental health as our financial well-being.Two University...

Illustration with a house and money symbols balanced on a scale

State & Hill

Demographer Paula Lantz on the challenges of designing public health policy

Apr 24, 2024

The government has a clear role in promoting and assuring the goals of public health—the prevention of illness and injury, prolonging life, and promoting the collective health of the entire population. Achieving these goals cannot be left to the...

State & Hill

Anne Coglianese: Public servants advancing the public good

Apr 24, 2024

In October 2023, Anne Coglianese launched Jacksonville’s first ever resilience strategy, which outlines 45 actions and 90 subactions to implement over the next 50...

Anne Coglianese presenting to stakeholders

State & Hill

David de Voursney: Public servants advancing the public good

Apr 24, 2024

David de Voursney implements the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Program (CCBHC) to increase the accessibility of comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder services across the United States. Since 2017, he’s worked with...

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Kamissa Camara chaired the Bipartisan Senior Study Group for the Sahel at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The study group’s comprehensive report critically assesses opportunities for peace, security, and economic development in the Sahel.Charlotte...

(Top row, left to right) Fullerton Rico, Hills, Holz, Jacob, and Leiser (Bottom row, left to right) Morenoff, Raimi, Shipan, Spencer, and Stevenson

News

Stacey Abrams, other policymakers and leading scholars to join Ford School symposium

Mar 12, 2024

The Ford School of Public Policy is happy to announce the Dean’s Symposium, which will take place April 11 and 12 at Weill Hall, with the theme, “Policy Innovation for Our Times.” The two days will feature keynote appearances by voting rights...

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Red, white, and blue balloons and stars with a large white checkmark

Publication

U-M education researchers present evidence-based findings and analysis to inform Michigan’s Pre-K-for-All goals

Dec 6, 2023

Achieving Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s aim of universal Pre-K, made in her State of the State address in January 2023, will require building upon its established programs and making some adjustments to the state’s education...

News

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

Nov 10, 2023

Over half of Michigan local officials currently rate their jurisdiction’s overall relationship with the State government as just fair or even poor, while 34% of local officials say it is either good or excellent. It is an important relationship...

Publication

Axelrod autobiography gives insight to his “Passion for Cooperation”

Nov 10, 2023

Ford School professor emeritus Robert Axelrod has had a 50-year career that has made him what some people have called “one of the most influential social scientists of his generation.” After being recognized by President Kennedy for being a...

News

Majority of Flint residents support reparations for Black Americans, CRJ survey shows

Nov 7, 2023

More than half of Flint residents favor reparations for Black Americans, although levels of support vary depending on whether the proposal refers to reparations as a broad concept or specific reparative policies like cash payments or financial...

News

Owen-Smith gets grant to help measure public investments in emerging industries

Nov 6, 2023

The Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS) has received a $4.5 million federal grant to study how public investments in emerging industries can impact economic development in key technological areas. Jason Owen-Smith, executive...

Publication

Thacher studies history to inform today's police reform

Oct 27, 2023

Although some may view reducing the harms of policing as a contemporary issue, David Thacher encourages modern reformers to consider the past in the Journal of Criminal Justice. Using original archival research, Thacher examined the use of summons...

News

Raimondo addresses labor market changes

Oct 24, 2023

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo addressed labor market challenges in a conversation with Ford School economics professor Betsey Stevenson. She noted the vast number of people and agencies within the Department of Commerce – nearly 47,000...

News

Michigan’s smaller local governments need help accessing state and federal grants

Oct 11, 2023

As unprecedented state and federal funding opportunities have emerged over the past 18 months with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, Michigan local government leaders have expressed their concern...

News

Inflation and the labor market since 2020: A successful soft landing?

Oct 10, 2023

The threat of inflation seems to be receding and the possibility of a 'soft landing' is improving, according to a panel of economists at the Ford School. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy Brad DeLong, and Ford...

DeLong, Stevenson, Wolfers, and Hausman headshots

News

Michelmore and Pilkauskas discuss the benefits of tax credits

Oct 9, 2023

Over the past few months, Ford School associate professors Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas have been discussing their research and insights on the 2021 Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit in a wide array of outlets. Here...

Natasha Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore

In the Media

Luke Shaefer praises Minnesota child tax credit

Oct 9, 2023 Minneapolis Star Tribune

Luke Shaefer, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minnesota's initiative appears to be one of the most ambitious child tax credits in the nation. It covers one of the broadest age ranges — through age 17 — and the $1,750 maximum credit may be one of the...

In the Media

Dominguez: Yen appreciation not a threat to U.S. economy

Sep 21, 2023 Marketplace

Kathryn Dominguez, Marketplace: If the yen jumps around too much, anyone that wants to trade with Japan might hold off. Supply chains could seize up. Kathryn Dominguez, a professor at the University of Michigan, said this is not the time for that to...

Kathryn Dominguez speaks to prospective students at the Ford School's Spring Preview

Publication

Housing shortages across Michigan alarming local leaders - Michigan survey

Sep 14, 2023

Michigan local officials are reporting alarm at the lack of housing options across the state. Those concerns include single-family homes and multi-family units, and cut across affordable, entry-level and mid-level housing availability. The...

News

Applications open Oct. 2-13 for Ann Arbor’s guaranteed income for low-income entrepreneurs

Sep 8, 2023

Entrepreneurs, self-employed people, owners of formal or informal small businesses, gig workers and people with side hustles who have low incomes can apply Oct. 2-13 to receive monthly payments from Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG...

News

The Ford School, LSA, and Wallace House Partner for Public Discourse

Aug 25, 2023

On a Monday evening in late November, throngs of University of Michigan students, faculty, staff, and Ann Arbor residents waited expectantly outside the Michigan Theater to attend the premier showing of the film, “She Said.” The movie chronicles...

In the Media

Natural disasters can have an effect on climate skeptics - Raimi

Aug 3, 2023 Associated Press

Kaitlin Raimi, Associated Press: And highly visible events in places where they’re not normally expected — like heat waves in places without air conditioning infrastructure, or wildfire smoke on the East Coast and in the Midwest — can be more...

Publication

Mapping poverty in America: Shaefer’s new book explores “The Injustice of Place”

Aug 3, 2023

America is rife with "internal colonies," where systemic violence, resource extraction, and corruption among decision makers have contributed to generations of poverty and disadvantage. These communities suffer from environmental degradation, lack...

In the Media

Michigan auto insurance rates should not be affected by high court ruling - Nothaft

Aug 3, 2023 Detroit News

Amanda Nothaft, Detroit News: It's difficult to imagine how the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association would suddenly come up short for individuals it had been tasked with paying for years ahead of the 2019 law change, said Amanda Nothaft,...