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New IPPSR Policy Research Database Launched

Need to know how Medicaid expansion affects the health of recipients? Want to understand the effects of lead exposure on children? How about the effects of right-to-work or emergency managers?

IPPSR now has a new tool to let you explore the research on these questions and nearly every other policy question facing Michigan and the nation.

We have launched a new database of policy-relevant research. Our team of student policy fellows summarizes scientific articles and books of interest to policymakers and the public. We highlight the policy implications of each publication, categorize them by issue area and the level of government where they focus, allowing you to easily search for the research most useful to you.

We are just getting started on summarizing research; let us know if we have missed a publication that might be of interest. We are committed to continuing to update our audience about new publications and research relevant to issues before the Michigan Legislature.

We are looking for research that is discussed in media coverage or policy debates, providing links to the original research, the news stories, and public critiques.

With this launch, we are especially focused on a few types of research:

  • Randomized controlled trials of policy. Experiments with randomized assignment (just like trials of new pharmaceuticals) offer the best evidence that policy has a causal effect. We have rounded up studies where policy is randomly assigned to populations, such as via lottery. Such precise approaches increase confidence that policies actually have real effects.
  • Michigan related studies. We have located studies that take place in Michigan, that review Michigan policy choices, or that are conducted by researchers from Michigan.
  • Hot topics in the Michigan Legislature. We hope to find the most relevant evidence on issues as the policymaking community debates them. We instruct our students to find the latest, best research linked to policy and public interest.

Dig in. Start reading our first summaries of nearly 150 scientific studies on public policy.