I am a political scientist specializing in the study of U.S. public policy. I received both my doctorate in political science (1996) and master of public policy (1989) from U.C. Berkeley. Before moving to UVA in 2002, I taught at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and in the Yale Department of Political Science.
My research seeks to contribute to the literatures on public policy and American Political Development. I have written about a wide range of topics including: the political origins and evolution of the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs; the politics of federal trust funds; the role of interests, institutions, and ideas in American national budgeting; the evidence basis of medical care; and the strategic use of pork projects to build winning coalitions for general-interest legislation.
My latest book is Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted (Princeton University Press, 2008). It uses a comparative historical approach to explore why some sweeping policy reforms stick and others are reversed or eroded after enactment in the American polity.
My two other books are: Promoting the General Welfare: New Perspectives on Government Performance (co-edited with Alan S. Gerber, Brookings Institution Press, 2006) and Putting Trust in the U.S. Budget: Federal Trust Funds and the Politics of Commitment (Cambridge University Press, 2000).
My essays have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Governance, P.S., Policy Sciences, Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Social Service Review, and in many edited volumes.
I am a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
My research has been supported by grants from the Smith Richardson, Earhart, and other foundations.
My coauthors have included Alan Gerber (Yale), Jullian Zelizer (Princeton), John Ellwood (Berkeley), and Colleen Grogan (Chicago)
I am currently working on a multi-year research project on the politics of medical evidence and comparative effectiveness research with Alan Gerber (Yale University). I'm also beginning a new project tentatively entitled "Living Legislation: Political Development and Contemporary American Politics," with my UVA colleague Jeffrey Jenkins.
Information about the new Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is here: Batten School
My wife Deborah Gordon is a policy consultant specializing in transportation, energy and the environment. See: Deborah Gordon
