Public Policy
Why Connecticut’s Investments Are Underperforming
Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian and their team found that Connecticut’s return on its pension fund investments is among the worst in the nation. Their analysis of all 50 states offers some avenues for improvement.
The Language We Speak Predicts Saving and Health Behavior
Languages differ in how much they distinguish between the present and the future. Professor Keith Chen found that speakers of languages that do not rely on the future tense make more future-oriented choices, including saving more money, retiring with more wealth, and smoking less.
Medical School Gift Restriction Policies Affect Doctors' Prescribing Behavior
Professor Marissa King compared the prescribing patterns of doctors who graduated before and after their medical schools introduced conflict-of-interest policies that restrict industry gifts. Her research showed that doctors who experienced gift restrictions during medical training are less likely to prescribe newly marketed medications.
What is environmental security?
A country runs out of drinkable water. What's its next move? And how will its actions affect neighboring countries? The national security community has developed data, expertise, and plans for responding to threats caused by environmental problems.
What has happened to the labor market in the Great Recession?
With 14 million people out of work in the U.S., labor markets are receiving a lot of attention. Yale SOM's Lisa Kahn did groundbreaking work on the impact of graduating into a bad economy. She offers her take on what's happening now and what to expect.
Are our institutions up to the job?
The massive problems associated with sustainability, from climate change to resource preservation, require coordinated, society-wide responses. Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom argues for the importance of giving local institutions enough power to better manage common resources—though it’s not easy.
Do you need a nudge?
Richard Thaler outlines how principles from behavioral economics can help policymakers and managers achieve better outcomes.
How do we manage disasters?
Healthcare is a field known for its complexity and fragmentation. Managing a massive cross-sectoral healthcare project is always a challenge. Coordinating the healthcare response to a disaster puts a strained system under even more pressure. John Piescik ’81 looked into the way the healthcare system responds to disaster for MITRE a not-for-profit company that operates three federally funded research and development centers. His findings may have implications well beyond healthcare, providing a means to manage solutions to some of the complex problems facing society.