Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, argues that in both rural and urban communities, two key factors—economic distress and supply of opioids—predict the rate of opioid deaths. "I really do want to push back against this cliché that addiction does not discriminate," Monnat says. "The physiological processes that underlie addiction themselves may not discriminate, but the factors that put people in communities at higher risk are are not spatially random."

Mathematica Policy Research has appointed Maxwell alumna Kimberlin Butler ’03 M.P.A. as their new director of foundation engagement. In her new role, Butler will lead the organization’s work with foundations, grantees, and their partners.

Maxwell alumnus John E. Hall ’00 M.P.A. has been named the new executive director of the Indianapolis Housing Agency, which provides public housing services and skills-based training programs to over 9,600 Indianapolis residents. Hall previously served as director for the City of Wichita’s Housing and Community Services Department, where he successfully implemented affordable housing preservation and health home initiatives.

"The economy has changed a lot since 1888 and in particular, when we think about who bears the burden of tariffs, we have to recognize the development of very complex supply chains for American companies," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. 

A 2019 study found that the recent closure of a local family grocery store was a major concern for local elected officials and leaders of nonprofit agencies. 

According to Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science, disillusionment can be a subtle risk of conspiracy theory media. "People may draw the conclusion that conventional politics is meaningless. If they genuinely believe that what happens in the world is a result of the hidden hand of some mysterious elite, then presumably ordinary political activity is meaningless as are the decisions of lawmakers and officeholders," he says. 

The report by Maxwell alumnus Chris Pulliam ’17 B.A. (Econ/Psc)/’18 M.P.A. examines various proposed and current tax credit policies in the United States, including the earned income tax credit, child tax credit, and workers tax credit.

"Most experts agree that there is no crisis at the southern border," William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, says about Trump's claim that a wall is needed because of a crisis at the border.

"If history has given us any lesson, it is that the U.S. government should step aside and let the Venezuelan people—with the assistance of multilateral organizations—guide this much-needed opening for democratic change forward," writes Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and the Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.  

Beginning in mid-June, the Maxwell School will host 25 of Africa’s bright, emerging public management leaders for a six-week Leadership Institute, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

INSTEX is a a new channel with Iran intended to provide a means for the European parties to comply with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, of which the United States is no longer a party. "Based on the reservations expressed by major corporations, I doubt that too many big European firms would be willing to deal with Iran through this channel," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science. 

That will be just one question considered when a new Syracuse University institute, housed at Maxwell, addresses the policy issues and social impacts associated with drones, self-driving cars, and other autonomous systems.

Generally, people find workers and taxpayers to be deserving of government benefits,” says Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science.

"What the shutdown reveals is that the Trump administration does not have a very specific game plan for what it wants," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science. "So what it is going to do is to give the Chinese negotiators reason to pause and wonder whether any sort of deal they reach would credibly exist in the future."

"More tariffs and failure to get a deal will ultimately seem to people like further failure of the government," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.