Within the majority of courtrooms throughout the U.S. you will find statues of lady justice in all sizes. Generally, she is depicted as a woman wearing a toga in a powerful pose, holding a scale in one hand, sword in the other, and is blindfolded. Lady justice is said to stem from Greek and Roman…
Tag: Public Policy
Ph.D. Spotlight: Is State Safety Net Capacity Adequate to Meet Basic Needs?
The decentralization of welfare allows governments to experiment and create a variety of goods in response to differences in constituent pressures, institutional constraints, and resource constraints. An important measure of the performance of a state’s social safety net is how effective it is at protecting the less fortunate during a contracting economy. State governments influence…
COVID-19 in Florida: Disparities in the Black Population
This article was first posted October 19th, 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic caused statewide shutdowns and social distancing regulations across the nation in March 2020, the State of Florida reopened on May 18, 2020. Shortly after its reopening, hospitals and testing centers reported a drastic increase in positive COVID-19 tests. In July 2020, Florida became…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Metropolitan Planning Organizations: The Usage of Regional Organizations and Coordination
Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs) are a growing field of research within the public administration context. These organizations provide a unique area of governance within their particular boundaries due to their amorphous nature interacting with all branches of government, providing a broad array of planning and policy options. Historical governance literature dictates that the role of…
Social Science Scholar: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Policy Scholars Program, and Public Service Weekend.
My initial project plan was to immerse myself in various educational systems in different countries around the world in order to formulate a wholistic and ground-level understanding of educational policy in different systems. To do so, I had planned on doing a project with three separate components. First, I would have traveled to a university…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Essays in Public Economics
The essays in this dissertation explore the intersection of public policy and personal decisions: attending college, adopting a child, or choosing the right neighborhood. These selections have an enduring effect on an individual’s life and are constantly influenced by government policy. In three essays, this dissertation examines policy-induced variation of personal decisions and the effects…
Income Tax Withholding and Government Growth
Prior to World War II most Americans paid no income tax. The standard deduction was high enough that people who had factory or office jobs didn’t earn enough income to owe any income tax. That changed when the standard deduction was lowered in 1940 (and again in 1941 and 1942) to raise revenues to finance…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Executive Turnover, Policy Change and Evolution of Interlocal Collaboration Network
Public officials’ turnover could play an important role in improving the quality of democratic governance. Public officials’ turnover happens at all levels of government. Politicians are vacated from their offices after the loss of regular elections or political appointees are fired or voluntarily resign for policy failure. Their departure is a mechanism to ensure that…
Sedentary Time Linked to Weather for Kids in Mexico City
Global increases in sedentary behavior – like sitting or lying down – are worrisome for public health as they may be harbingers of increased mortality and morbidity, such as obesity and high blood pressure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 25% of adults and more than 80% of adolescents across the world are not physically…
Policy Pub: What’s Next? Comprehending Post-Election
To learn about these topics in more depth, please navigate here to watch the full Policy Pub webinar presented by FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. The FSU Alumni Association, in partnership with the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, the LeRoy Collins Institute and the FSU Institute of Politics, hosted this…