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Center for Policy Research News

Public Health Insurance Expansions and the Uniformity of Insurance for Families

Sarah Hamersma, Daniel Grossman, Sebastian Tello-Trillo

Co-authored by Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, the article was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

April 16, 2026

Differences in COVID-19 Experiences Between US Working Age Adults With and Without ADHD

Nastassia Vaitsiakhovich, Shannon M. Monnat, Andrew S. London, Scott D. Landes

Co-authored by sociologists Shannon Monnat, Andrew London and Scott Landes, the study was published in SSM - Mental Health.

April 7, 2026

Two Special Spatial Weight Matrices and Their Effects on Estimation, Testing in Spatial Regressions

Badi H. Baltagi, Long Liu

The article, co-authored by Distinguished Professor of Ecconomics Badi Baltagi, was published in Economics Letters.

April 6, 2026

See related: Research Methods

Wanting Children: Family-Planning Policies and the Engineering of America’s Population

Leonard M. Lopoo

Leonard M. Lopoo, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs, has written Wanting Children: Family-Planning Policies and the Engineering of America’s Population (University of Chicago Press, 2026). The book traces how America’s first reproductive policies were shaped by eugenicists focused on limiting births among lower-income and minority populations. 

April 1, 2026

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Will Deepen the Farm Crisis, Not Solve It

Rebecca Schewe and Rick Welsh
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) promises billions in new farm subsidies, but most of that money won’t go to the farmers who need it most. This brief describes how the OBBB’s changes to agricultural subsidy programs will disproportionately benefit large farms and non-farming investors, accelerating farm loss and consolidation across the United States.
April 1, 2026

Policy Design Complexity and Policy Outputs: Theory and Methods

Brandon Charles, Saba Siddiki, Matia Vannoni, Christopher Frantz, Nicholas Oesterling

The article, co-authored by Saba Siddiki, professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maxwell Ph.D. students Brandon Charles and Nicholas Oesterling, was published in Policy Design and Practice.

March 24, 2026

Harrington Meyer Quoted in Business Insider Article on the Roles of Grandparents

University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer says that many grandparents who take on additional caregiving responsibilities struggle with expenses, sometimes sacrificing meals for themselves, delaying medical care or making significant lifestyle changes.

March 17, 2026

Does the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Help Workers? Hamersma Discusses in Wisconsin Watch Article

“They’re [employers] not passing it along to the workers in the form of higher wages. They’re just sort of being like, ‘Awesome, I got more money,’” says Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

March 10, 2026

Making US Food Pantries More Old-Age Friendly

Madonna Harrington Meyer, Winston Scott

The article, co-authored by University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer and Ph.D. student Winston Scott, was published in the Journal of Aging and Social Change.

March 4, 2026

Rising Waters, Falling Taxes: The Impact of Hurricane Sandy on Property Tax Assessments in NYC

Wei Guo, Qing Miao, Yusun Kim, Yilin Hou

Co-authored by Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, the study was published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

February 26, 2026

Why the US Must Measure Food Insecurity in Old Age

Madonna Harrington Meyer, Colleen M. Heflin

The article, co-authored by Maxwell professors Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen Heflin, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.

February 23, 2026

Rothenberg Speaks With VoxDev About His Research on Special Economic Zones in Indonesia

“When we look at the effects of the [Indonesia's Integrated Development Zone] program on a variety of different measures—things like average wages in a district, employment rates, population growth, migration, consumption expenditures, poverty—we really find no difference in those outcomes...between the districts that were affected by the program compared to the districts that weren't,” says Alexander Rothenberg, associate professor of economics.
February 20, 2026

Political Climate’s Role in Association Between Political Conservatism, COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Rachel E. Dinero, William B. Monti, Brittany L. Kmush
The article, co-authored by Associate Professor of Public Health Brittany Kmush, was published in PLOS One.
February 18, 2026

Are the Kids Alright? Maxwell Expert Panel Examines Youth Mental Health

The public event in Washington, D.C., capped a day-long gathering that included conversations on research findings and meeting with lawmakers.

February 10, 2026

Self-Reported Survey vs. Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Measures of Cocaine Use on a College Campus

Shona McCulloch, Dessa Bergen-Cico, Teng Zeng, David A. Larsen

The study, co-authored by Dessa Bergen-Cico and David Larsen, both professors of public health, was published in PLOS One.

February 5, 2026

Gap Analysis in Therapeutic Services for Birthing Individuals with Perinatal Mental Health Disorders

Md Koushik Ahmed, Robert H. Keefe, Brittany Kmush, Emily Shuman, Kathleen Walker, Robert A. Rubinstein, Robert Silverman, Andrea Shaw, Sandra D. Lane

Published in Social Work in Public Health, the article was co-authored by Robert Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Sanda Lane, professor emerita of public health; and Brittany Kmush, associate professor of public health.

February 5, 2026

Who Should Be on Electronic Monitoring: Conceptualizations of Ideal Supervisees

Gabriela Kirk-Werner

The article, authored by Assistant Professor of Sociology Gabriela Kirk-Werner, was published in Punishment & Society.

February 3, 2026

Heflin Discusses USDA Sec. Rollins’s Three-Dollar Meal Claim With The Bulwark

“I was very confused,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, about Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’s three-dollar meal claim. “USDA has several established meal plans that they estimate the cost of each month. And none of those comes out to $3.”

February 3, 2026

Bright, Blurred Boundaries in the US Military: Experiences of Immigrants and Children of Immigrants

Amy Lutz, Iwona Franczak

The study, co-authored by Professor of Sociology Amy Lutz and Ph.D. student Iwona Franczak, was publised in the Journal of International Migration and Integration.

January 26, 2026

Heflin Discusses SNAP Work Requirements, Food Insecurity Data in Mother Jones Article

Around half of early retirements between the ages of 55 and 65 are the result of health issues or difficulties maintaining employment, often compounded by challenging state processes to seek exemption from it, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “It’s really important for states to be thinking about the administrative burden.”

January 23, 2026

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