Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
harvardmwc.bsky.social
Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
@harvardmwc.bsky.social
Increasing social and economic well-being, equity, and opportunity through data-driven research, hands-on training, and collaborative public engagement. Part of @harvardkennedy.bsky.social. hks.harvard.edu/centers/wiener
Workers in states without paid sick leave (PSL) mandates may still get coverage through multi-state firm spillover, according to a new report published by the @shift-project.bsky.social. Read more: www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
Employees of multi-state firms may benefit from paid sick leave policy spillover
Schneider, Harknett. Beyond borders: Does firm-level exposure to state and local paid sick leave mandates lead to intra-firm spillovers?. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 45, e70061. October 2025
www.hks.harvard.edu
November 18, 2025 at 8:35 PM
New research from @shift-project.bsky.social finds that, while one may think that the ACA’s employer shared responsibility provision requires that employers offer ESI or potentially face penalties, various exceptions to the provision limit its reach: www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
Employer-sponsored insurance is often out of reach for service-sector workers
www.hks.harvard.edu
November 13, 2025 at 4:55 PM
At last week's 2025 Stone Lecture, former FTC Chair Lina Khan reflected on the shape of economic power in America. Read our recap of the speech and watch the full recording:
www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wien...
Lina Khan Delivers 2025 Stone Lecture in Economic Inequality
www.hks.harvard.edu
October 24, 2025 at 5:24 PM
A new report from the Wiener Center's @shift-project.bsky.social offers the first direct, large-scale comparison of working conditions for drivers and fulfillment employees at Amazon, UPS, and FedEx. @harvardkennedy.bsky.social's Daniel Schneider explains the findings in the full report here.
1/7 Over the past decade, Amazon’s market power has soared. But how do Amazon workers fare relative to their counterparts at UPS & FedEx? A new Shift Project brief offers an inside look into work at one of the world’s biggest companies. shift.hks.harvard.edu/amazon-drive...
Amazon Drives Low Wages: The Unraveling of Workplace Protections for Delivery Drivers - The Shift Project
Read the Full Article Amazon has revolutionized shopping and challenged traditional brick-and-mortar retail. But at the heart of this logistics […]
shift.hks.harvard.edu
October 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
What's the point of tariffs? And can they bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States? HKSl Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy and Academic Dean for Strategy and Engagement Gordon Hanson weighs in on the history and use of tariffs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_r2....
Will President Trump's tariffs bring back jobs? Harvard economist weighs in
YouTube video by Harvard Kennedy School
www.youtube.com
June 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Daniel Goetzel (RtE Practitioner in Residence and former Program Director, NSF TIPS Directorate) takes us behind the scenes of the CHIPS and Science Act and NSF Regional Engines Program. He draws on his experiences and interviews with people who made it happen.

www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wien...
The Untold, Behind the Scenes Story of the CHIPS and Science Act: Launching the NSF Regional Innovation Engines Program
www.hks.harvard.edu
May 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
I joined @samseder.bsky.social and @emmavigeland.bsky.social to discuss Trump's trade tantrums, whether Jon Voight is behind them, and what better industrial policy would look like.

Please subscribe to and join @majorityreport.bsky.social!
www.youtube.com/live/a5LSpTp...
Trump Spins Tariff Fallout w/ Todd Tucker | MR Live | Majority Report
YouTube video by The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder
www.youtube.com
May 6, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Congratulations to HKS's @marcellaalsan.bsky.social for being named to the 2025 STATUS List (compiled by @statnews.com)—recognizing her as one of the most influential people shaping the health and life sciences across biotech, medicine, health care, and policy: www.statnews.com/status-list/...
April 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
I spoke with @bostonglobe.com for their weekend big read (pre-"Liberation Day" on 4/2, pre-"UnLiberation Day" on 4/9) about tariffs - when they're useful, when they're not, and what role they might continue to play in the clean energy transition.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/10/o...
Tariffs are dumb . . . right? - The Boston Globe
Trump’s trade war is reckless. But his appetite for protectionism is more widely shared than you may realize.
www.bostonglobe.com
April 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Maya Sen on defying court orders:

“Even if defying the Supreme Court carries significant political costs, those costs may be relatively meaningless — especially if the standoff involves elections or an expansion of his own authority.”

Read the full article below:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
If Trump is contemplating defying the Supreme Court, he should remember Nixon first
The president almost certainly would not be impeached. But that doesn't mean he would emerge politically unscathed.
www.msnbc.com
March 31, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Maya Sen says U.S. courts weren't designed to check an authoritarian president. They move too slowly, and rely on the legislative branch to keep the executive in line—something this GOP Congress refuses to do. My latest PolicyCast. www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
If the U.S. courts can’t defend the rule of law, who can?
With a Republican Congress reluctant to check Trump’s power, fears of a constitutional crisis are growing. Political scientist and Harvard Kennedy School Professor Maya Sen, who studies the federal ju...
www.hks.harvard.edu
March 20, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Clock's ticking! Senior Fellows applications deadline is just around the corner - March 3rd. Don't miss this incredible opportunity, finish and submit your applications today at www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcb...
Senior Fellows Program Details and Application Information
The Senior Fellows Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government brings experienced professionals together to tackle global business and government challenges...
www.hks.harvard.edu
February 28, 2025 at 5:19 PM
HKS's @marcellaalsan.bsky.social and the Health Inequality Lab recently awarded more than $130,000 to Ph.D. students across Harvard to support their dissertations related to social equity or health equity: news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Ph.D. students awarded more than $130,000 in Social Equity and Health Equity stipend funding
Professor Marcella Alsan and the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy have awarded 28 students up to $5,000 each.
news.harvard.edu
February 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
What’s happening today in US democracy cannot be fully addressed by any one discipline - it’s a question of law, politics, history etc

That’s one reason I was happy to have a dialogue with HKS colleagues Alex Keyssar (history) and Sarah Wald (law)

Excerpt =>

www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
Are we headed for a constitutional crisis? Kennedy School scholars on the Trump administration and the rule of law
Faculty experts at Harvard Kennedy School see unprecedented challenge to the rule of law and to constitutional norms and consider how the courts and other institutions will respond.
www.hks.harvard.edu
February 27, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Gordon Hanson, @drodrik.bsky.social, & my chapter for @nber.org's upcoming volume on place-based policy. We discuss the history of innovations in place-based policies in the US & unpack the "supply chains" through which these policies are implemented in different domains | www.nber.org/papers/w33511
February 25, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
I wrote a short piece on NIH funding cuts that takes a pragmatic look at the situation

TLDR: people here probably won’t like it, but I don’t think indirects of 70% are coming back any time soon

www.wsj.com/opinion/high...
Opinion | A Compromise on University Funding
The 15% research cost cap is too strict, but there’s a solution.
www.wsj.com
February 25, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Under the Biden administration, tariffs paired with clean energy investments fueled record manufacturing growth.

Tariffs can yield benefits—but only when used strategically.

@toddntucker.bsky.social explores the trade-offs of Trump's vision of tariffs: rooseveltinstitute.org/public...
How Should Progressives Respond to Trump’s Tariff Threats? - Roosevelt Institute
Throughout his campaign and during his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has invoked the threat of tariffs on imported products more than perhaps any president in US history. And yet, he has also backed off of many of these threats almost as quickly.
rooseveltinstitute.org
February 20, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Thank you @JPAL_NA for featuring our work! Excited that the study was recently accepted in @JHealthEcon (link in next tweet). A short 🧵:
x.com/JPAL_NA/stat...
x.com
x.com
February 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Postdoc opportunity on industrial policies and related topics at the Reimagining the Economy program at Harvard www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/...
CID Visiting Researcher Program
www.hks.harvard.edu
February 18, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Professional update:

I've joined the Reimagining the Economy Project @harvardkennedy.bsky.social @harvardmwc.bsky.social as a senior research fellow, alongside Gordon Hanson, Dani Rodrik (@drodrik.bsky.social), @rohansandhu.bsky.social, and their excellent team.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Heather Boushey and Todd Tucker join Malcolm Wiener Center and the Reimagining the Economy Project as senior research fellows
The Harvard Kennedy School’s Malcolm Wiener Center and Reimagining the Economy Project welcome Dr. Heather Boushey and Dr. Todd Tucker.
news.harvard.edu
February 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
HKS's Mark Shepard ponders the future of America's patchwork health insurance system under Trump: www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
An HKS scholar explores options for the U.S. health insurance system under Trump
Mark Shepard, a Harvard Kennedy School expert, looks at the crossroads facing the American health insurance system, a patched-together outlier.
www.hks.harvard.edu
February 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
On Saturday, February 8, Christopher "Sandy" Jencks—renowned sociologist, caring mentor, and the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy, Emeritus—passed away. The HKS community reflects on his monumental presence in the field and in their lives: www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese...
A giant in his field and a caring mentor, Christopher “Sandy” Jencks has died at 88
Jencks helped pioneer the study of inequality and developed generations of scholars.
www.hks.harvard.edu
February 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Wrote up some of my thoughts on why courts can’t be the only line of defense on US constitutional governance

Thanks to The Conversation for publishing it!

theconversation.com/why-federal-...
Why federal courts are unlikely to save democracy from Trump’s and Musk’s attacks
The problem goes beyond the political leanings of judges to the speed of change and the administration’s apparent willingness to ignore court rulings it dislikes.
theconversation.com
February 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
HKS's @marcellaalsan.bsky.social joined the History Channel's HISTORY This Week podcast to discuss the American Medical Association's historical resistance to national health care: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
When America Almost Had Universal Healthcare
Podcast Episode · HISTORY This Week · 02/10/2025 · 36m
podcasts.apple.com
February 10, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
What should/will Trump do on the proposed Nippon - US Steel merger?

I spoke with Morgan Chalfant of @semafor.com about the stakes, and the sector's unique dynamic of labor unions being stewards of long-term investment.
www.semafor.com/article/02/0...
Is Nippon Steel buying US Steel a US national security risk?
Trump’s recent comments revive a debate about foreign investment and US national security.
www.semafor.com
February 10, 2025 at 8:50 PM