UMass Amherst School of Public Policy

To restore democracy, end shareholder primacy at U.S. corporations and on Wall Street The role of corporations and big financial institutions in the U.S. economy and how shareholder primacy shapes the American capitalist system.

"U.S. policymakers can reform corporate governance so that workers have a voice in corporate decision-making and can improve their own and the American public’s experience of economic growth and democracy," writes @lenorepalladino.bsky.social (economics & @sppumass.bsky.social) in a new essay:

Wu, Paik win NSF grant to study philanthropic giving trends

Viviana Wu, public policy, and Anthony Paik, sociology, have been awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation grant to build a first-of-its-kind database tracking trends in foundations' nonprofit grantmaking: www.umass.edu/news/article... - with @sppumass.bsky.social

I'm looking forward to giving a presentation by Zoom to public policy faculty at the American University in Cairo next Wednesday, September 17. Zoom link here if you are interested.

MPP/MPPA Virtual Information Session on Weds., September 3, 2025, at 12 noon ET.

Considering a career in public policy? Join @sppumass.bsky.social on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at noon ET for a virtual information session on public policy and administration master's programs. Register now at umass.tfaforms.net/327?campaign...
#umass #publicpolicy #graduateschool #publicpolicycareers

Cover of "Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders" by Betsy Schmidt

Elizabeth Schmidt, professor of practice in the School of Public Policy(@sppumass.bsky.social), has a new book that translates convoluted #nonprofit legal frameworks into terms that nonprofit leaders without a law degree can understand. www.umass.edu/news/article...

Polite Political Punditry May Be Quietly Silencing Women on TV | UMass Amherst UMass Amherst researcher finds more representation—and adversarial exchanges—help women to be heard in political commentary.

New research examines how political TV discussions reproduce or mitigate gender inequality. “Our study shows that even ‘professional talkers’ with strong incentives to maximize their airtime experience gendered conversational norms,” says @kshoub.bsky.social, public policy (@sppumass.bsky.social):

Northeastern Governors and Canadian Premiers Unite Against Trump In the shadow of the G7 summit in Alberta, regional American and Canadian leaders met in Boston to confront their shared economic crises—and surviving Trump.

I spoke with Gabrielle Gurley of @prospect.org for this story, about the state of Canada-US relations

prospect.org/world/2025-0...

The gradual centralization of the US political system has stoked policy instability, with presidents now ruling by emergency powers and executive action. Writer @alasdairroberts.bsky.social‬ asks: What happens when the wrong person’s in charge? thewalrus.ca/trump-presidency/

Opinion: Annual G7 summits are important. So why aren’t Canadian summits a thing? If we accept that the convening power of annual summits are productive, then we should restore them to Canadian political life

My oped in today's @theglobeandmail.com about the need for annual Canada Summits

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

AI isn’t magic. It’s just weird A new paper argues that AI should be treated as a ‘normal’ technology like electricity or the internet. But it’s far more unknowable

Every so often, my editors get a headline just right. My column in Prospect this month: "Artificial Intelligence isn't magic. It's just weird." It's about the excellent "AI as Normal Technology essay and the ways in which AI is absolutely not normal: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/techno...

A “good company” doesn’t fight democracy, dodge regulation, or exploit workers.

It innovates—it doesn’t extract.

You can hear our whole convo with @lenorepalladino.bsky.social on what makes a company good at the following link or wherever you get your podcasts: pod.link/pitchforkeco...

How to Build the '90s DOGE "Congress ate dessert first and cut the number of people without simplifying the rules”

ICYMI: John Kamensky on the Statecraft podcast discussing the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, DOGE, and more.

www.statecraft.pub/p/how-to-bui...

Thank you to the @umassamherst.bsky.social @sppumass.bsky.social students who invited me to Policy in Action Day held in partnership with the Civic Action Project (CAP).

Here are my remarks to the brilliant and rising generation:
senatorjocomerford.org/thoughts-for...

Pervasive racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. petrochemical workforce The burden of petrochemical pollution on communities of Color is well established, but the corresponding distribution of economic benefits is unclear.…

New research coauthored by Michael Ash - "Pervasive racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. petrochemical workforce" in Ecological Economics.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

UMass Downtown to Host ‘Politics & Policy’ Lecture and Discussion Series | UMass Amherst The conversations, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 24, May 6 and June 10 in the university’s new multipurpose retail, event and meeting space at 108 North Pleasant St. in downtown Amherst, are free a...

Don't miss the upcoming discussion series on "Politics and Policy" at UMass Downtown this spring and summer.

www.umass.edu/news/article...

Top US companies spent three times as much on buybacks as taxes after Trump cuts – report As president proposes new cuts, data shows 11 corporations collectively recorded nearly $500bn in profits since last cuts

ICYMI: @lenorepalladino.bsky.social commenting on stock buybacks in The Guardian.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

The AI race shows no country can stay in its lane The rise of China’s DeepSeek reveals the weaknesses of isolationism as an economic policy

"The AI race shows no country can stay in its lane" - my column for Prospect on DeepSeek argues that economic nationalism is a disastrous way to approach complex tech in an interconnected world: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/views/column...

India’s Nascent Blue Economy: Structural Constraints and Climate Change Challenges As the Indian government finalizes its blue economy policy, there is a clear case for open, inclusive, and transparent dialogue with all stakeholders.

Shanthie D'Souza on India's blue economy:

thediplomat.com/2025/03/indi...

The alumni Q&A Session in the ILC

5) Q&A Session: Students from UMass Women into Leadership (UWiL), @sppumass.bsky.social, and the political science department had the chance to learn from our alumni experts about working in DC and navigating career prospects after graduation.

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

ICYMI: Read Joya Misra's ASA presidential address: "Sociological Solutions: Building Communities of Hope, Justice, and Joy."

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
#umassspp #sociology #asa

Party Power is Key to Autocrats Maintaining Control Amid Corruption | UMass Amherst UMass Amherst study finds entrenched ruling parties can insulate nondemocratic regimes from being toppled by anti-government protests.

Rosemary Pang on how party control of institutions in autocratic governments can mitigate destabilizing effects of corruption.

www.umass.edu/news/article...
#umass #autocracy

India’s 2025 Budget: A Missed Opportunity to Meet Climate Targets The country must engage in climate diplomacy while simultaneously making consistent and meaningful efforts at home. It has failed to do so.

New from Shanthie D'Souza: "India’s 2025 Budget: A Missed Opportunity to Meet Climate Targets" in The Diplomat.

thediplomat.com/2025/02/indi...

Musk isn’t disrupting the government. He’s breaking it Elon Musk’s Doge team seems to be using Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘move fast and break things’ motto. That’s not what voters asked for

It is only a matter of time before indiscriminate firings damage morale and the ability of government agencies to do their job. But that is almost certainly the point, writes @ethanz.bsky.social.
www.prospectmagazine...

A Brief History of Government Reform | The Ripon Society There have been more than 15 attempts to reform the U.S. government since the early 1900s. Are the lessons of these past efforts even relevant in this age o ...

John Kamensky and Mark Abramson with "A Brief History of Government Reform" in the February 2025 Ripon Forum.

riponsociety.org/article/a-br...

How a computer that 'drunk dials' videos is exposing YouTube's secrets YouTube is about to turn 20. An unusual research method is unveiling statistics about the platform that Google would rather keep secret.

The BBC just published an excellent dive into Ryan's (@antisomniac.bsky.social), Kevin's (@ze.vin), and Ethan's (@ethanz.bsky.social) random sampling work on YouTube, with visualizations based on data pulled from from Kevin's fantastic TubeStats project.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The Current State of the Gaza Conflict: Ceasefire, Humanitarian Crisis, and Political Tensions The Gaza conflict remains a significant and ongoing crisis, despite a ceasefire agreement that came into effect on January 19th, 2025. This agreement has brought some respite, but it is under intense ...

Read David Mednicoff's interview with the Wyoming Star regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank. nmg.ninja/2025/02/12/t...

😍 Come join us for the Spring 2025 Study Abroad Fair on Monday, February 24 from 4pm to 6pm at the Student Union Ballroom!

Don't miss out on finding your next #studyabroad adventure! #beumassabroad #studyabroadfair

How to make Canada better in a crisis, with Alasdair Roberts Peter Mazereeuw talks with Alasdair Roberts about the reasons Canada's governments have struggled to work together to achieve big things, and how to build better political practices to help Canada sur...

Alasdair Roberts on The Hill Times Hot Room podcast discussing how to improve Canadian governance in a time of crisis. Draws upon his recent book The Adaptable Country.

www.hilltimes.com/podcast/how-...
#canada #publicmanagement #umassspp

Episode 2329: Ethan Zuckerman on how the United States learned to love online censorship Why America is no longer the home of the free internet

A few recent podcast appearances from our faculty:

Ethan Zuckerman on the Keen On podcast discussing internet censorship, the TikTok ban and more: keenon.substack.com/p/episode-23...
#umass #umassspp #publicpolicy

The Risks of Climate Change to the United States in the 21st Century CBO assesses how climate change will pose risks to the United States through its effects on economic activity, real estate and financial markets, human health, biodiversity, immigration, and national ...

Gregor Semieniuk, asst. professor of public policy and economics, was recently cited in a Congressional Budget Office report titled, "The Risks of Climate Change to the United States in the 21st Century." Read the full report here: www.cbo.gov/publication/...
#umass #umassspp #climatechange #cbo