Patrick Cooney

How Kohn Professor Luke Shaefer and the pandemic paved the way for an expanded Child Tax Credit By Lauren Slagter The passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in March ushered in a "euphoric" couple of weeks for Luke Shaefer, the Hermann and...

ANN ARBOR—Michigan's auto insurance reform law has contributed to an 18% drop in average premium costs from 2019 to 2020—the steepest decline in the country over that time period, according to new analysis by Poverty Solutions at the University of...

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...

A new program aims to replace roofs for low-income seniors and homeowners with disabilities in Detroit. Patrick Cooney, assistant director for policy impact at Poverty Solutions, spoke to Bridge Detroit about the long-term impacts of this type of...

The federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits are ending, but the expanded child tax credit plan was rolled out in July. After those first deposits, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a decline in food insecurity. "It’s heartening to see that expanded...

After the Michigan House of Representatives voted to end the extra unemployment aid early, Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at Poverty Solutions, and Luke Shaefer, the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and...

In order to get more people back into the labor force, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently proposed the idea of paying people who go back to work. Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at Poverty Solutions, explained that...

Following the release of his study crunching numbers from the U.S Census Bureau's Household Pulse Data, Luke Shaefer, the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy, associate dean for research and policy engagement, and...

The New York Times highlighted a recent study by Luke Shaefer and Patrick Cooney, released by Poverty Solutions, which shows, "that sharp declines in food shortages, financial instability and anxiety coincided with the two most recent rounds of...

McDonald's workers are striking for better wages all across the country, including in Michigan. Many argue against a higher minimum wage, saying that it would cause job loss. Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty...

Businesses and companies need more workers right now, but they can't find them. Patrick Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty Solutions, attributed most of the gap between supply and demand of labor to public health. "Our...

More people around the country are looking to remodel their homes, but because of disruptions in the global supply chain, the price of remodeling has spiked. Pat Cooney, assistant director of economic mobility at U-M Poverty Solutions, pointed out...

Patrick Cooney and Luke Shaefer write an opinion for Bridge Michigan. "While a lot of people are hurting right now, we have also found the data tell a pretty simple story: when government acts to buffer families by stabilizing their finances,...

Material hardship in the United States rose significantly in the final months of 2020 and was particularly high for households with children, according to new research from Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. The rise in hardship...

As the Biden administration embarks on its first hundred days, experts from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy have produced a series of policy briefs on key issues. Download a PDF of this brief or read the web-formatted version...

As the Biden administration embarks on its first hundred days, experts from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy have produced a series of policy briefs in their areas of expertise. All of the prepared briefs can be downloaded...

After months of studying the cost of auto insurance, Joshua Rivera (MPP ’17) finally had the data he needed to see how much Michiganders spend to keep their vehicles insured. What he found shocked him. "When I saw that 97% of the zip codes...

The Motor City developed with cars in mind, but for a majority of its population-particularly those who are low-income-access to a car is financially impossible. Michigan’s notoriously high auto insurance rates are a main culprit, according to...