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Politics and Policy

Understanding the Healthcare Impact of Mass Firings in Washington‌‌

The scale of cuts to the federal healthcare workforce is now coming into focus. Dr. Howard Forman explains the potential life-and-death consequences of cuts to key programs and the departure of longtime leaders. ‌

A federal worker who lost her job leaves the Department of Health and Human Services on April 1. 
  • How Should the U.S. Government Respond to COVID-19?

    On March 12, a group of public health experts assembled by Yale SOM’s Dr. Howard Forman released a proposal for a set of emergency public health, healthcare, and emergency support measures to respond to the growing COVID-19 outbreak.

    Federal officials testifying about the response to COVID-19 at a House Oversight Committee hearing on March 12, 2020. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
  • Study: Pharmaceutical Ads Drive Prescriptions—And Save Us All Money

    Yale SOM’s Michael Sinkinson found that fewer people get life-savings statins during primary season, when pharmaceutical ads are displaced by political ads.

    Illustration of a pharmaceutical ad on a TV
  • Study Suggests That Local Chinese Officials Manipulate GDP

    A study by Yale SOM’s Frank Zhang suggests that local Chinese governments often push through projects without long-term economic value, or fabricate numbers outright, in order to meet GDP targets.

    A construction worker in China
  • Should We Worry about the Trillion-Dollar Deficit?

    We asked William English, a professor in the practice of finance and a former economist at the Federal Reserve, how the deficit and the ballooning national debt affect the economy and the ability of Congress and the Fed to fight future recessions.

    A pile of bound copies of the federal budget
  • Aspiring to Be the Next Silicon Valley? Think Twice

    A study by Yale SOM researchers suggests that when venture capital funding in a metropolitan area increases, industries with customers outside the region suffer and income inequality widens.

    Silicon Valley in evening
  • Should Government Run on Rules or Principles?

    Janhabi Nandy ’09, an official at the Treasury Board of Canada, makes the case that a nuanced, principle-based approach can make government more effective.

    Ottawa's Parliament Centre Block. Photo: Michael Runkel/Alamy Stock Photo.
  • How Meritocracy Worsens Inequality—and Makes Even the Rich Miserable

    Yale Law School’s Daniel Markovits argues that rather than democratizing American society, meritocracy has contributed to increasing inequality and the decline of the middle class.

    An illustration of people in business attire starting a race with one ahead of the others
  • Three Questions: Prof. Andrew Metrick on Paul Volcker’s Legacy

    Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, died on December 8 at age 92. Prof. Andrew Metrick reflects on Volcker’s contributions to the Fed and economic policy.

    Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker before a hearing in August 1980. Photo: James K. W. Atherton/The Washington Post via Getty Images.
  • By Intervening in Disciplinary Process, Trump Weakens Military Command Structure

    Leadership experts Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale SOM and General Thomas Kolditz of Rice University write that Trump’s interference in the Gallagher case violates a key principle of military law and undermines the military command structure.

    Former Navy
  • Three Questions: Prof. Jacob Hacker on Tax Rates for the Rich 

    A recently published book argues that the richest Americans now pay lower tax rates than any other income group. We asked Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker to explain how this situation developed and why it’s proved politically difficult to raise taxes on the rich.

    A cartoon of a map with a huge bag of money