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.
I have written about a wide range of topics including: the historical development of the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs, the role of trust funds as political-commitment devices, the evidence basis of medical care, the implementation of policy reforms such as the Freedom to Farm Act and airline deregulation, 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 explores why some sweeping policy reforms stick and others are reversed or eroded after enactment.
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 was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in 1995-1996. My research has been supported by grants from the Smith Richardson, Earhart, and D&D foundations.
My coauthors have included John Ellwood (Berkeley), Alan Gerber (Yale), Colleen Grogan (Chicago), and Julian Zelizer (Princeton). I'm beginning a new project on policy durability and change with my UVA colleague Jeffrey Jenkins.
Information about the new Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is here: Batten School
