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Robert M. La Follette
School of Public Affairs
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Telephone: 608.262.3581
Fax: 608.265.3233

Last updated:
October 6, 2009

Publications: The Policy Report

The La Follette Policy Report, a biennial publication, is a compendium of research by La Follette School faculty and their affiliates. To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the printed version, e-mail publications@lafollette.wisc.edu.

Vol. 19, No. 1, Fall 2009

Director's Perspective: Restoring Confidence, Economic Growth
Carolyn Heinrich discusses the key role of research and analysis in guiding policy in times of economic upheaval. Page 1
Reflections on the Causes and Consequences of the Debt Crisis of 2008
Menzie Chinn and Jeffry Frieden look at what fueled the global economic crisis. Page 1
What the Stimulus Package Says about President Obama’s Plans for Health Care Reform
Pamela Herd suggests what can be expected in terms of health care reform. Page 6
Putting Community Colleges First
Sara Goldrick-Rab demonstrates why two-year campuses need a greater federal investment. page 8
The Impact of the Economic Crisis on State Governments
Andrew Reschovsky outlines the fiscal health of state governments and their prospects for the future. Page 12

Higher Education Issue: Vol. 18, No. 2, Spring 2009

Director's Perspective: Growing Importance of Higher Ed for Economic Well-Being
Carolyn Heinrich notes that higher education should become more accessible and more affordable when the economy slows down. Page 1
Differences in Higher Education: Investments, Costs, and Outcomes
Timothy Smeeding examines the links between socioeconomic status and college attendance, then makes some policy suggestions for the United States based on what goes on in other countries. Page 1
The 'Payback' from a College Degree
Robert Haveman describes the new web-based calculator that lets potential university students compare their lifetime earnings with just a high school diploma to those gained after completing a University of Wisconsin–Madison degree.
Accreditation as Self-Regulation: Past, Present, and Future
Former University of Wisconsin–Madison chancellor John Wiley outlines the importance of accreditation and self-review in attracting students and serving the general public
Is the University of Wisconsin–Madison Becoming More Elite? A Partial Answer
A new analysis of census and University of Wisconsin–Madison admissions data by Barbara Wolfe and John Witte finds that family income does not affect the campus' decision to admit a student.

25th Anniversary Issue: Vol. 18, No. 1, Fall 2008

Director's Perspective: La Follette School Builds on University's Dedication to Public Service
In honor of the La Follette School's 25th anniversary, Carolyn Heinrich explores the La Follette School's history and role. Page 1
The Wisconsin Idea and the La Follette School
Robert Haveman shares a history of the Wisconsin Idea and situates the La Follette School within the context of the University of Wisconsin-Madison serving the entire state. Page 3

Health Care

Sobering News: How We Can Reduce Wisconsin's Top-Ranked Drinking Problem
Carolyn Heinrich shows how state policies affect the accessibility and affordability of a pharmaceutical agent for treating alcohol addiction. Page 7
BadgerCare Increases Public Health-Care Coverage for Families Leaving Welfare
Barbara Wolfe finds that more families going off welfare get health-care coverage through state programs. Page 10

Education

The Crisis in Funding Public Education in Wisconsin
Andrew Reschovsky suggests a revision in the formula state lawmakers use to grant state aid to school districts. Page 12
The Performance of Charter Schools in Wisconsin
John Witte explores what kind of students attend charter schools and how that affects their academic achievement. Page 15
Public Schools and United Way Close Racial Achievement Gap
Leslie Ann Howard and Kathy Hubbard describe how a collaboration among university researchers, United Way staff, volunteers, community members, journalists and school district employees closed the racial achievement gap at the third-grade reading level. Page 19

Governance

New Perspectives on Public Sector Turnover
Donald Moynihan shares some ideas on how public managers can use social networks and social interactions to retain employees. Page 22
Menominee Nation Assessment Project
Dennis Dresang highlights an analysis the Menominee Nation asked the La Follette School to conduct of its needs and resources. Page 25

Welfare

Housing Subsidies Influence the Recipients' Earnings and Quality of Neighborhood
Robert Haveman demonstrates how Section 8 housing vouchers help recipients move to better neighborhoods and ultimately increase their earnings. Page 28
Child Support Research and Shaping Public Policy
Maria Cancian describes a 10-year study of Wisconsin's approach to child support for families in the state's cash welfare program, which has helped to shape federal policy taking effect in October 2008. Page 31
The Effect of Child Support Enforcement Efforts on Nonmarital Child-Bearing
Geoffrey Wallace finds that more stringent enforcement of child support does not affect non-marital childbearing. Page 33

Outreach

Students Practice Wisconsin Idea through Public Affairs Workshops
Terry Shelton reports on the impact of the La Follette School's public affairs workshops and the anlaysis and recommendations our students generate for state agencies, the City of Milwaukee, and elsewhere. Page 35
La Follette School Outreach Disseminates Public Policy Research, Education
Terry Shelton outlines how the La Follette School staff and faculty carry out the Wisconsin Idea. Page 38

Vol. 17, No. 2, Winter 2008

Director's Perspective: Work by New Faculty Showcases Relationships between Information, Decision-Making
Barbara Wolfe welcomes work by new faculty, emphasizes importance of good information in decision-making. Page 1
Welfare Reform’s Influence on Childbearing by 15- to 17-Year-Olds
Thomas DeLeire and Leonard M. Lopoo find that rule changes under welfare reform have led to a modest decrease in childbearing by 15- to 17-year-olds.
Interest Group Competition on Federal Agency Rules
Susan Webb Yackee find that federal bureaucrats do listen to comment made during the notice-and-comment periods for proposed rule changes, and they tend to back the dominant side. Page 3
Master or Servant? Agency Slack and the Politics of IMF Lending
Mark Copelovitch shows how staff members of the International Monetary Fund and the five countries that control the decision-making affect the size of loans. Page 11
Does Learning By Doing Improve Energy Technology?
Gregory F. Nemet finds that the learning curve, a tool for predicting improvements in technology, is just one of several models policymakers should consider when weighing how to support emerging energy technologies. Page 17

Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring-Summer 2007

Director's Perspective: La Follette School Focuses on Education
Barbara Wolfe touches on challenges governments encounter in funding education at all levels. Page 1
How Successful are Research Universities in Enrolling Low-Income Students?
Matthew P. Steinberg, Patrizio Piraino, and Robert Haveman examine the prevalence of Pell Grant recipients at universities to gauge economic diversity on those campuses. Page 1
Financing Schools in the New South Africa
Andrew Reschovsky sheds light on the challenges the post-apartheid government in South Africa faces while addressing funding and resource disparities. Page 3
The Performance of Charter Schools in Wisconsin
John Witte, David Weimer, Arnold Schober, and Paul Schlomer find generally positive results for the effects of Wisconsin charter schools relative to traditional schools. Page 11

Vol. 16, No. 2, Fall 2006

Director's Perspective: La Follette Welcomes APPAM, launches initiatives
Barbara Wolfe highlights La Follette School's hosting of national research conference, research on access and weekly seminar series. Page 1
Childhood Interventions that May Lead to Increased Economic Growth
Barbara Wolfe and Nathan Tefft identify childhood interventions that may bolster levels of education, amounts and distribution of earnings, employment, worker productivity and human capital of subsequent generations. Page 1
Welfare and Child Support Policy: Who Should Benefit When Child Support is Paid to TANF Families?
Maria Cancian and Daniel R. Meyer evaluate Wisconsin's experiment with letting families receive all child support from noncustodial parents without the state reducing benefits received through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Page 3
The Debate about the Undervaluation of Chinas Renminbi
Yin-Wong Cheung, Menzie D. Chinn, and Eiji Fujii recount the uncertainties about determining the equilibrium value of Chinas renminbi. They explore various economic models used to determine this value and the implications of pursuing each approach. Page 15

Vol. 16, No. 1, Spring-Summer 2006

Director's Perspective: Schools of Public Affairs to gain in importance
Donald Nichols predicts that schools of public affairs and universities will become more important to taxpayers. Page 1
Human Resource Management in the Wisconsin Court System
Dennis Dresang reports on his project, conducted with La Follette School students, to help the Wisconsin State Supreme Court revamp its personnel system. Page 1
Demand- and Supply-Side Determinants of Conditional Cash Transfer Program Effectiveness
Carolyn Heinrich evaluates a scholarship program for Argentine youth and shows that it helps to offset families' costs of education and encourages youth to work harder toward completing their education. Page 3
The Political Roots of Disability Claims: How State Environments and Policies Shape Citizen Demands
Joe Soss and Lael R. Keiser find that who receives receives federal disability payments varies by state and is affected by the education level, civic involvement and ethnic makeup of each state's population. Page 9

Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall 2005-Winter 2006

Director's Perspective: Hurricane response, political scandals challenge public's trust in government
Donald Nichols notes that allegations of political corruption and responses to natural disasters may lead people to question their trust in the government. Page 1
Welfare Patterns after the Welfare Revolution
Maria Cancian, Daniel R. Meyer, and Chi-Fang Wu examine the effect of policy changes on how families use welfare cash benefits, food stamps and Medicaid. Page 1
Ensuring A Minimum: Social Security Reform and Women
Pamela Herd explores how three approaches to reforming Social Security would affect women. Page 3
The Current Account Deficit: Causes and Challenges
Menzie Chinn charts why the United States might want to worry about its increasing deficits. Page 17
Can Technology Reinvigorate Citizen Participation? Lessons from the Digital Town Hall Meeting
Computer technology can use advance citizen input into governmental planning and decision-making. Donald Moynihan looks at cases in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Page 21

Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 2005

Director's Perspective: On Partisan Expertise
Donald Nichols on the challenges of providing non-partisan expertise in a partisan world. Page 1
Assessing the Global Digital Divide
Menzie Chinn and Richard Fairlie compare determinants of computer and Internet use around the world and consider how to combat the global digital divide. Page 1
Improving Performance Management in Public Programs: Lessons from the Workforce Investment Act System
Carolyn J. Heinrich examines the effect of a greater emphasis on performance accountability on employment assistance programs operated under the federal 1998 Workforce Investment Act, which replaced the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982. Page 3
Enhancing Criminal Sentencing Options in Wisconsin: The State and County Correctional Partnership
Pär Jason Engle and David Weimer suggest that states and counties could save on incarceration costs by diverting felons who commit less serious crimes to county-based community corrections programs. In return the state would give counties block grants based on the historical number of sentence years given to such felons. Page 15
The Middle Way to Property Tax Reform
In light of increasing property taxes in Wisconsin, Donald Nichols proposes a deferral plan that would help older adults stay in their homes and ensure that local authorities would still receive the funds they are due from increased assessments. Page 19

Vol. 14, No. 2, Winter 2003-2004

Health-Care Symposium

Vol. 14, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2003

Living in a Technological World
State Fiscal Crises
Social Policy and Governance Abroad

Vol. 13, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2002-2003

When Work Alone is Not Enough
Linking Campaigns and Policymaking in Wisconsin
Juvenile Delinquency
Finance Policy
Corporate Tax
Homeland Security

Vol. 13, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2002

Tokyo Confronts Terrorism
Wisconsin's Structural Deficit - Our Fiscal Future at the Crossroads
Using the Full Toolbox - Environmental Policy in Britain
The Economic Well-Being of Women Leaving Welfare
Devolve and Protect - Implications of September 11th

Vol. 12, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2001-2002

Economic Development: The Role of State and Local Government in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Ideas: The Continuing Role of the University in the State and Beyond
School Performance and Housing Values
Youth Violence Seminar: The Wisconsin Idea in action at the La Follette School of Public Affairs
Terrorism and the Role of Public Administration

Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2001

Financing Health, Education, and Welfare in the New South Africa
Putting Performance Management to Work in the Federal Government
Winners and Losers in the Public Arena: The Economics of Professional Sports Stadiums
Milwaukee's Snow and Ice Control Service

Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall 2000-2001

What's so Scary About Trade, the WTO, and Globalization, Jeffrey R. Bernstein
Social Insurance and the Older Worker: An Overview, Robert Haveman
Genetically Modified Organisms: Why the U.S. is Avoiding a Trade War, Mark A. Pollack and Gregory C. Shaffer
Wisconsin Manufacturing in the Global Economy: Past, Present, and Future, Donald A. Nichols