Tag La Follette School of Public Affairs

Study shows need for teacher training in personal finance

June 8, 2010

While 89 percent of K-12 teachers agree that students should either take a financial education course or pass a competency test for personal finance before graduating from high school, relatively few teachers believe they are adequately prepared to teach such topics, according to a study by two University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.

Scholars look at effect of red tape on citizens’ relationships with public officials

June 3, 2010

For many people, fighting City Hall means having to cut through layers of red tape.

Children of divorced parents face economic barriers, study finds

May 20, 2010

Family structure affects a child's economic mobility prospects, according to a new study co-authored by professor Thomas DeLeire of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's La Follette School of Public Affairs for the Pew Economic Policy Group's report, "Family Structure and the Economic Mobility of Children."

UW-Madison’s La Follette School to host discussion about modern-day slavery

April 19, 2010

A prize-winning author known for his global research on modern-day slavery will deliver a free public lecture this month at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as part of a daylong symposium on human trafficking.

Book explores organ transplant network, evidence-based decision-making

March 24, 2010

In an important and timely study of medical governance, professor David Weimer of the La Follette School of Public Affairs explores a regulatory approach that delegates decisions about the allocation of scarce medical resources to private nonprofit organizations.

New book puts American welfare state in perspective

March 1, 2010

A new book called "Wealth and Welfare States: Is America a Laggard or a Leader?" explores the role of the welfare state in the overall wealth and well-being of nations and, in particular, looks at the American welfare state in comparison with other developed nations in Europe and elsewhere.

Foundation funds housing assistance research of three faculty members

March 1, 2010

Three Institute for Research on Poverty research affiliates at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have received a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine the effects of Section 8 housing subsidy receipts on the economic self-sufficiency of low-income families and the educational opportunities of their children.

Institute for Research on Poverty selected as national research hub

February 1, 2010

Officials from the federal Economic Research Service have chosen the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Institute for Research on Poverty to be a national center for research on nutrition assistance programs.

Seminars will make teachers climate-change ambassadors

February 1, 2010

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will join the Madison Metropolitan School District in a three-year project to prepare science teachers to be climate-literacy ambassadors in their schools and communities.

Property tax credits offer inefficient tax relief, study says

January 28, 2010

Two Wisconsin property tax credits are not only expensive - nearly $900 million per year out of a $13 billion general fund budget - but they are a highly inefficient means of delivering property tax relief to the Wisconsin homeowners and renters for whom the property tax creates the greatest economic hardships, according to a new analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Air-quality improvements offset climate policy costs

January 22, 2010

The benefits of improved air quality resulting from climate change mitigation policies are likely to outweigh the near-term costs of implementing those policies, according to a new study.

Property tax increases drive few elderly to move out of their homes

January 7, 2010

Few elderly homeowners are forced to move from their homes because of property tax increases, according to a new study from a University of Wisconsin–Madison public affairs researcher and economists at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

Research: One in 20 Milwaukee renter-occupied households evicted each year

January 4, 2010

Eviction is such a common occurrence in the lives of Milwaukee's urban poor that one renter-occupied household in every 20 is evicted each year, according to research based on an analysis of court records and a year's worth of sociology fieldwork from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

TechShop students help nonprofits boost social-networking profiles, interactivity

December 8, 2009

College students have a reputation for spending countless hours updating their Facebook status, tweeting with friends on Twitter and watching online videos.

Early voting option can decrease turnout, research shows

November 17, 2009

Although states are moving quickly to put in place election procedures that allow for early voting, allowing people to cast ballots ahead of Election Day often results in lower turnout, according to research from a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison political scientists.

UW-Madison students foster community development on island in Uganda

November 12, 2009

Eleven University of Wisconsin–Madison students working on an island in Uganda's Lake Victoria knew they were making a difference when a member of the country's parliament came to check out the fledgling girls' soccer team they had helped put together.

Economist takes on global debt crisis in classroom, book, blog

October 29, 2009

As the financial markets melted down last fall, University of Wisconsin–Madison economist Menzie Chinn says he was surprised not only by the depth of the economic downturn that set in, but also by the certainty of Monday-morning quarterbacking from observers of the government's response to the crisis.

Goldstein, WPRI to provide new polling, insight

September 10, 2009

As part of a new partnership, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) are joining forces to conduct frequent, detailed polling of Wisconsinites.

La Follette School of Public Affairs director wins $3 million federal grant

June 18, 2009

University of Wisconsin–Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs director Carolyn Heinrich has won a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to expand her evaluation of federally mandated tutoring programs in public schools.

Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis offers large social, fiscal benefits

May 18, 2009

Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease could save millions or even billions of dollars while simultaneously improving care, according to new work by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.