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  • Faculty Research

  • The 150-plus faculty members and roughly 800 graduate students are responsible for research that is influential and innovative.

    Much of that research is conducted within the School’s research centers and institutes, but much is also completed by individuals working within their disciplines, toward purely scholarly ends. Similarly, much of Maxwell’s research is externally funded, and yet, much leads to the published books and articles that mark the progress of concepts and ideas in the academy.

    In a typical year, Maxwell faculty members publish dozens of books and monographs and hundreds of book chapters and journal articles. Their work provides up-to-date material for the classroom.

    It is one of the great distinctions of the Maxwell School that an institution so widely praised for its professional programs is, in fact, a home for esteemed research and scholarship across so a wide range of disciplines.      

  • Research News

    Rasmussen discusses the founding fathers’ concern for America’s future

    In his new book, “Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America’s Founders” (Princeton University Press), Syracuse political science professor Dennis Rasmussen examines why many of America’s founding fathers—George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, to name a few—were concerned about America’s future. Today, it seems as if many of their greatest fears have been realized.

    3/11/2021

     

    Landes talks to CBS about lack of COVID reporting on people with IDD

    Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology and co-author of a recent study that found that those with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) living in group homes may be more likely to die from COVID-19, says the pandemic has exposed shortcomings in the medical community "as we've made decisions on who we collect data on, what we report, who we emphasize, who gets prioritization. I think on a philosophical, underlying level, it's because we have failed to value this group," he says. Read more in the CBS News article, "COVID cases in New York group homes under scrutiny after nursing home controversy."

    3/11/2021

     

    Coffel discusses his thermal power and climate research in ESA journal

    With electricity demand set to soar—thanks to the transition to an all‐electric future and the rising use of air conditioning globally—the climate vulnerability of thermal plants is a major risk that needs to be accounted for, says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment. He discusses his recent study on thermal power and climate change in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a journal of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).

    3/4/2021

     

    Five Maxwell scholars contribute to aging studies handbook

    Four professors and a doctoral student from the Maxwell School’s Department of Sociology and Department of Public Administration and International Affairs have contributed to the completely revised ninth edition of the “Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences” (Elsevier Academic Press). In three chapters, Maxwell scholars explore a range of issues related to aging and the life course, including: the link between education and adult health, the life-course consequences of women’s direct and indirect ties to the military, and how intergenerational family ties shape well-being over the life course.

    3/1/2021

     

    Schwartz talks to Research Minutes about impact of special education

    Amy Ellen Schwartz, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs, recently co-authored a study on the impact of special education on students with learning disabilities. On this episode of Research Minutes, "Does Special Education Improve Student Outcomes," she discusses her team's findings—including new evidence on student outcomes, special education classification and impacts for various student groups—and some potential national implications for special education policy, practice and future research.

    2/26/2021

     

    Young study on coproduction, digital service delivery published in PMR

    "The impact of technological innovation on service delivery: social media and smartphone integration in a 311 system," authored by Assistant Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Matthew Young, was published in Public Management Review. Young analyzes whether technological changes to coproduction systems improve effectiveness, and whether improvements come at the expense of equity.

    2/24/2021

     

    Lambright study on globalizing public administration published

    "Charting three trajectories for globalizing public administration research and theory," co-authored by Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Harry Lambright, was published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. Lambright and his co-authors highlight three trajectories. The first is to build generalizable theories to enhance global applicability. The second trajectory is to be more inclusive of diverse perspectives in the mainstream of public administration scholarship. The final trajectory is to scale up the lens of inquiry beyond the nation-state to include global governance actors and organizations.

    2/23/2021

     

    Carboni's research on giving circles cited in Nonprofit Quarterly

    A recent study co-authored by Julia Carboni, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, found significant support for the idea that giving circles can be effective tools for economic and racial justice: "In the current context of philanthropic and wider societal attention to empowering marginalized groups, supporting [giving circles] presents philanthropy with a way to support and expand social justice and equity in philanthropy." The study, along with previous research conducted by Carboni on giving circles, was cited in the Nonprofit Quarterly article, "Can Giving Circles Democratize Philanthropy?"

    2/22/2021

     

    Monnat study on US policies, rural population health published in PPAR

    "The Unique Impacts of U.S. Social and Health Policies on Rural Population Health and Aging," co-authored by Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion Shannon Monnat, Lerner Postdoctoral Scholar Danielle Rhubart, and Lerner Graduate Fellow Claire Pendergrast, was published in Public Policy & Aging Report. The authors discuss three large, national policies/programs as exemplars of how policies differentially affect population health and aging in rural versus urban populations: the Older Americans Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They also discuss implications for policymakers and identify promising areas for research on the spatially disparate impacts of policies on population health and aging.

    2/12/2021

     

    Rosenthal cited in Financial Post article on commercial real estate

    A recent paper co-authored by Professor Stuart Rosenthal, was cited in the Financial Post article, "Why the automobile has become a kingmaker for downtown commercial real estate." The authors' empirical analysis of 56,765 commercial leases signed between January 2019 and October 2020 across 109 urban centers in the United States revealed that commercial real estate in the urban core, especially in cities where public transit accounts for a sizable share of work trips, has indeed lost value.

    2/12/2021

     

    Abdelaaty study on human rights, refugee protection published in IJHR

    "The relationship between human rights and refugee protection: an empirical analysis," authored by Assistant Professor of Political Science Lamis Abdelaaty, was published in the International Journal of Human Rights. Abdelaaty examined the relationship between a government's respect for the rights of its own citizens and that government's regard for refugee rights and found that the relationship between citizens’ rights and refugee rights is modified by economic conditions and the size of the refugee population.

    2/12/2021

     

    Liu examines how firm integration decisions are made in new study

    "The missing option in firm boundary decisions," authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Mengxiao Liu, was published in European Economic Review. Liu argues that both the integrating firm and the integrated firm matter in integration decisions. She proposes a method to incorporate both firms into the integration decision and finds support for this method in a novel dataset.

    2/11/2021

     

    Jolly study on EU's transnational-nationalist dimension published

    "A new divide? Assessing the transnational-nationalist dimension among political parties and the public across the EU," co-authored by Associate Professor of Political Science Seth Jolly and Ph.D. candidate Daniel Jackson, was published in European Union Politics. Jolly and Jackson argue that the transnational-nationalist divide is a useful framework for understanding political conflict over European integration and the recent rise of nationalism across Europe, above and beyond the traditional economic and social left-right dimensions.

    2/11/2021

     

    Baltagi celebrated in special issue of Empirical Economics journal

    Empirical Economics published a special issue to celebrate Distinguished Professor of Economics Badi Baltagi’s myriad contributions to the field of econometrics, as well as his long service to the journal. The influential work carried out by Baltagi during the past four decades or so is recognized in the issue by nineteen peer-reviewed, state-of-the-art articles, written by some of the leading researchers in econometrics. The diversity of the topics covered in "Essays in honor of Professor Badi H. Baltagi" constitutes a testament to the wide-ranging scope of Baltagi's research interests and contributions.

    2/9/2021

     

    Faricy explores public perceptions of welfare via the U.S. tax code

    In their new book, “The Other Side of the Coin: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditures” (Russel Sage Foundation), Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science, and Bucknell University professor Christopher Ellis examine how public opinion differs between two types of economic aid—direct government assistance vs. indirect assistance in the form of tax subsidies.

    2/9/2021

     

    Griffiths evaluates grievances of secessionist movements in new paper

    "Local conditions and the demand for independence: A dataset of secessionist grievances," co-authored by Associate Professor of Political Science Ryan Griffiths and Ph.D. candidate Angely Martinez, was published in Nations and Nationalism. There are more than 60 secessionist movements around the world, and they all advance arguments for why they deserve independence. In the article, Griffiths and Martinez construct a dataset of secessionist grievances. They develop a set of grievance indicators, specify how they are operationalized and detail how the grievances are categorized and aggregated. They then tally the results for each contemporary movement and discuss the broader patterns.

    2/3/2021

     

    London, Hoy examine same-sex sexuality and divorce risk in new study

    "Same-Sex Sexuality and the Risk of Divorce: Findings from Two National Studies," co-authored by Professor Andrew London and Aaron Hoy '14 M.A. (Soc)/'18 Ph.D. (Soc), was published in the Journal of Homosexuality. London and Hoy use data from the 1992 National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) and the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to examine the likelihood of divorce among the once-married. Specifically, among those who are or were married once and only once to a person of a different sex, they ask whether the components of same-sex sexuality—desire/attraction, behavior, and identity—are associated with an increased risk of divorce, net of demographic and early-life controls.

    2/3/2021

     

    Schwartz discusses her recent special ed study with Hechinger Report

    "They’re closing the gap with their general education peers by about a sixth," says Professor Amy Ellen Schwartz, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs and lead author of the recently published study, "The Effects of Special Education on the Academic Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities." "Their performance [in special ed] jumps up compared to other peers with learning disabilities who are not yet diagnosed" and still part of the general education population, she says. Read more in the Hechinger Report article, "PROOF POINTS: New answers to old questions about special education."

    2/3/2021

     

    Montez quoted in Undark article on state policies, life expectancy

    In a study published in September 2020, Professor Jennifer Karas Montez and her colleagues merged state policy data with life expectancy data for each of the 45 years to see whether there was any association. Their finding: States that implemented more conservative policies were more likely to experience a reduction in life expectancy. "We know states that we can look to: What is Connecticut doing? What did New York state do?" Montez says. "We can also look to the states that are declining and say, 'What did they do wrong?'" Thus, the U.S. offers 50 individual case studies that show how policies are linked to health, Montez says. Read more in the Undark article, "Are Conservative Policies Shortening American Lives?"

    2/2/2021

     

    Himmelreich discusses vaccine verification systems in Brookings piece

    "Building robust and ethical vaccination verification systems," co-authored by Assistant Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Johannes Himmelreich, was published in Brookings TechStream. "VRV systems present both opportunities and risks in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic," the authors say. "They offer hope of more accurate verification of vaccine status, but they also run the risk of both exacerbating existing health and economic inequalities and introducing significant security and privacy vulnerabilities." The authors argue that VRV systems ought to align with vaccine prioritization decisions, uphold fairness and equity, and be built on trustworthy technology.

    1/28/2021

     

    Landes study on signature authority, cause of death accuracy published

    "Assessing state level variation in signature authority and cause of death accuracy, 2005–2017," co-authored by Associate Professor of Sociology Scott Landes, was published in Preventive Medicine Reports. The authors examined whether variation in death certificate certifier type predicts the accuracy of cause of death reporting in the U.S. Their findings suggest that state-level differences in statutory signature authority may contribute to inaccuracies in U.S. mortality data, especially when considering myriad professional groups that can certify the cause of death.

    1/27/2021

     

    Schwartz study on special education, academic performance published

    "The Effects of Special Education on the Academic Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities," co-authored by Amy Ellen Schwartz, was published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. In the 40‐plus years since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special education has grown in the number of students and amount spent on services. Despite this growth, academic performance of students with disabilities remains troublingly low compared to general education students. The authors looked at students with specific learning disabilities (LDs), using rich New York City public school data and found that academic outcomes improve for LDs following classification into special education and impacts are largest for those entering special education in earlier grades.

    1/22/2021

     

    New study explores effect of preemption laws on infant mortality rate

    "Effects of US state preemption laws on infant mortality," co-authored by Maxwell professors Douglas Wolf, Shannon Monnat and Jennifer Karas Montez, was published in Preventive Medicine. States are increasingly preempting city and county governments from enacting policies that benefit workers, such as raising the minimum wage. The authors found that each additional dollar of minimum wage reduces infant deaths by up to 1.8% annually in large U.S. cities. Additionally, in the 25 states that preempted minimum wage increases since 2001, over 600 infants could have been saved annually if localities had been allowed to raise their wage to $9.99.

    1/19/2021

     

    Landes, London study on self-reported ADHD and adult health published

    "Self-Reported ADHD and Adult Health in the United States," co-authored by sociologists Scott Landes and Andrew London, was published in the Journal of Attention Disorders. Landes and London investigated the relationship between self-reported ADHD diagnosis status and adult health, and whether observed associations are attenuated by biomedical and socioeconomic factors. They concluded that research on adult health outcomes for those with ADHD should include consideration of the mechanisms by which a diagnosis of ADHD leads to cumulative social disadvantages that independently contribute to poorer health outcomes.

    1/19/2021

     

    Coffel explores power and climate struggle in new research paper

    Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment, discusses his latest findings on thermal power and how warming temperatures will impact every part of our power infrastructure in the SU News story, "It’s Getting Hot In Here: Warming World Will Fry Power Plant Production in Coming Years."

    1/4/2021

     

    Takeda narrates early French-Persian trade relations

    In her new book "Iran and a French Empire of Trade, 1700-1808: The Other Persian Letters" (Oxford University Press), Syracuse history professor Junko Takeda explores the political, commercial, and cultural links between eighteenth century France and Persia. Her global microhistory reveals how trans-imperial trade impacted the lives of various entrepreneurs and mercenaries living on the edge of empire, while demonstrating how French engagement with the Asian continent shaped Enlightenment political thought and policy making across the Age of Revolutions.

    12/30/2020

     

    Abdelaaty examines disparities in refugee treatment

    In her new book “Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees” (Oxford University Press), Syracuse political science professor Lamis Abdelaaty examines the factors that shape states’ responses to refugees. She asks important questions about why some states welcome refugees while others exclude them, and why some states cede control of the asylum process and refugee camps to the United Nations.

    12/27/2020

     

    New study by Cleary examines regime dynamics in fragile democracies

    "When Does Backsliding Lead to Breakdown? Uncertainty and Opposition Strategies in Democracies at Risk," co-authored by Matthew Cleary, was published in Perspectives on Politics. The authors develop an agency-based perspective to enhance the understanding of aggrandizement and to explain when it results in democratic breakdown. Relying on comparative case studies of five countries—Bolivia, Ecuador, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela—their analysis suggests that the contingent decisions of opposition actors during the process of aggrandizement have a significant effect on regime outcomes.

    12/17/2020

     

    Liu study on multi-function products, firm scope/boundaries published

    "What’s the big idea? Multi-function products, firm scope and firm boundaries," co-authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Mengxiao Liu, was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. The authors examine the implications that flow from the fact that some firms are so much better than others at the Big Idea, that is, at identifying and bundling clusters of functions. The authors also look at how firms decide whether to outsource functions or produce them in-house given the holdup problems associated with bringing ideas to market and coordinating multiple suppliers.

    12/17/2020

     

    Wiemers examines vulnerability to COVID-19 complications in new study

    "Disparities in vulnerability to complications from COVID-19 arising from disparities in preexisting conditions in the United States," co-authored by Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Emily Wiemers, was published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. Using a model validated on COVID-19 hospitalizations, the authors show large disparities across education and income in the prevalence of conditions associated with adverse outcomes, and in the overall risk of severe complications. These disparities emerge early in life, prior to age 65.

    12/14/2020

     

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