Politics
Speaker Mike Johnson’s ‘Profiles in Courage’ Moment
Yale SOM leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and co-author Steven Tian write that the House Speaker displayed rare courage in learning on the job and defying extremists in his own party—and draw historical parallels to an ideological conversion that changed the course of the Cold War.
Don’t Expect Pollsters to Break Their Losing Streak
Polls predicted a “red wave,” but Democrats held the Senate and fought to a near-draw in the House. Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian write that after a series of polling misses, it’s time to acknowledge the fundamental flaws in pollsters’ approach.
The Good News You Aren’t Hearing about U.S. Energy Policy
Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian write that energy industry analysts are getting it wrong about the Biden administration’s progress on energy independence and supply.
The Role of Business after Roe
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, access to reproductive healthcare varies widely from state to state. In a recent Yale SOM conversation, alumni and faculty discussed how businesses can advocate for the preservation of that access on behalf of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
Are Student Loans Worth It?
We asked SOM’s Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, whose current work focuses on assessing the costs and benefits of debtor protection policies and understanding the role that consumer debt plays in the macroeconomy, to put President Biden’s decision to forgive student debt in context.
Taken to an Extreme, Gerrymandering Could Lead to a One-Sided Congress
A new study by Yale SOM’s Kai Hao Yang and Alexander Zentefis finds that partisan gerrymandering, pushed to the limit, could exclude the views of half the country from the legislative process.
Perceptions of Shifts in Public Opinion Are Wildly Off Base
People greatly overestimate how conservative people were in the past, leading to an exaggerated impression of liberal progress, according to a study by Yale SOM’s Jason Dana and Adam Mastroianni of Columbia Business School.
A Year Later, Most CEOs Are Keeping Their Post-Insurrection Promises
Recent news stories have asserted that corporate leaders are reneging on their pledges to withhold contributions to members of Congress who voted against certifying election results on January 6, 2021. But Yale SOM's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who hosted one of the meetings where those pledges were made, writes that CEOs remain deeply troubled by threats to democracy, and that campaign records show that most corporate PACs aren't giving to election objectors.
Without a Local Newspaper, Americans Pay Less Attention to Local Politics
Prof. Michael Sinkinson and his co-authors look back at when television, not the internet, was the new technology chipping away at newspaper circulation. They find that when readership diminished, engagement with local politics did too.
COVID Outcomes in Two States Show That Leadership Matters
Yale SOM’s Anjani Jain and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld on how the rhetoric and policies of Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Ned Lamont of Connecticut have shaped their states’ responses to the resurgence of COVID-19—with profound implications for their constituents.
When Should CEOs Speak Out?
Many corporate leaders are overcoming their hesitancy about wading into divisive social issues. Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld offers some guidelines for when and how business leaders should weigh in.
