Maxwell School News and Commentary

Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science, argues that extensive family ties of political leaders, given Iran’s lack of effective political parties, influence decision-making. 

"The unemployment rate has been low for some months now (relative to the recent past), but there has not been noticeable pressure on wages," says Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics.

"What this deal really is signaling is that this administration is going to go forward with a 25% tariff on autos," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "That's going to greatly upset our partners in the EU, in Japan."

Professor of Economics Mary Lovely says negotiators should seek specific policy changes that will address the reason for these tariffs in the first place—U.S. allegations that China treats American firms unfairly with respect to their technology and intellectual property.

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, considers key elements of Vladimir Putin's "code" to be the idea of statism, habit of control, and emotion of respect. 

“There have been so many things over the last couple of years that it is just impossible to point to one thing that is going to be a particular problem, or more of a problem than the rest,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

"The tweet that he [President Trump] released on Monday morning where he admitted the purpose of the 2016 meeting was to get more information on an opponent...if that was the purpose of the meeting, that was clearly unlawful." He added, "now, Mr. Mueller and his team have all the more reason to want to talk to the President."

"For [Elise] Stefanik, she is betting that the district will distinguish and appreciate the nuance of her approach toward the president— of supporting at a distance, in order to help with the district," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher.

"New York has some of the most restrictive laws that govern our elections of any state in the country" says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. She adds that New York is "one of the few states that doesn't have early voting and one of the few states that has very restrictive rules on changing on one's party registration," concluding that the state's electoral laws are "outdated."