According to Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, the opioid crisis is not disproportionately rural, but mortality rates among different rural areas vary drastically, depending on factors such as work stability and social infrastructure like churches or sport leagues. 

Colleen Heflin and Michah Rothbart, professor and assistant professor, respectively, of public administration and international affairs, have received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to research the relationship between student participation in the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school readiness. The results of the study will help the USDA understand both the effectiveness and efficiency of the SNAP program.

According to Stuart Rosenthal, professor and chair of economics, market-rate housing filters down at a rate of almost 2 percent per year—fast enough to make a big difference. Housing filters fastest in the middle of the country, but it filters down on the expensive coasts, too, he found. 

Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, explains how Trump overperformed in places with high rates of drug use, suicide, and family distress. According to Monnat, Trump's message of economic nationalism and promises to bring back manufacturing jobs resonated with people in these areas who felt left behind by globalization and the decline of traditional industries.

"The workforce is not going to be as dynamic as other parts of the country," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. "It's going to be a pull on our economy going forward," because children growing up in poverty traditionally have lower educational attainment and wages.

"The unemployment rate has been low for some months now (relative to the recent past), but there has not been noticeable pressure on wages," says Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics.