Charles Ballard

It’s all about politics, tariffs and the popular vote – read that as redistricting -- in June’s State of the State Podcast.

Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research fielded three well-known voices on the State of the State Podcast: Interim IPPSR Director Arnold Weinfeld, economist Charles Ballard and Corwin Smidt, associate professor of political science.

New challenges and new opportunities will be created with the advent of self-driving commercial and consumer vehicles, Institute for Public Policy and Social Researchers concluded in the latest edition of IPPSR’s State of the State Podcast.

Michigan residents are worried about a spill of the Line 5 underwater oil pipeline in to the Straits of Mackinac and are even more concerned about a rupture during winter’s icy conditions, new Michigan State University research finds.

Michigan residents support a transition from coal-fired energy to more solar and wind powered electricity, a new Michigan State University research report finds.

Public support of natural gas-generated electricity was more mixed, says MSU College of Engineering researchers who queried Michigan residents through a combination of interviews, focus group and general public attitudes.  

As 2018 comes to a chilly close, Michigan’s residents warmed to President Donald Trump, cooled to outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder and look forward to a sunny economy in 2019.

 President Trump’s favorable ratings continued to climb, with 34.4 percent of Michigan residents giving him an “excellent” or “good” review, according to results from Michigan State University’s latest State of the State Survey (SOSS.) 

With mid-term elections less than two weeks away, Democrats appear to lead in two top-of-ticket races, the latest results from Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey indicate. Michigan’s attorney general race is likely too close to call, results show.

“I think the biggest takeaway from the recent Michigan primary election is that most of the polling was correct,” says MSU economist Charles Ballard, who runs the State of the State surveys. “The November election is shaping up to be what we thought it was going to look like several months ago.”

Michigan consumers are basking in the warmth of a strong economy, but just slightly warmer toward their top elected leaders, results from a new Michigan State University State of the State Survey indicate.

Of those taking part in the latest survey, more than half – 60.9 percent -- declared their financial circumstances good or excellent.
 

State of the State is a monthly discussion with MSU researchers who provide context and evidence to inform Michigan policy debates.

Matt Grossmann, political scientist and Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR), Charles Ballard, economist and Director of the State of the State Survey, and Arnold Weinfeld, associate director of IPPSR, engage in a lively discussion of Michigan policy and current events each month.

Michigan State University scholars Matt Grossmann, Charles Ballard, and Arnold Weinfeld continue their analysis of the most recent State of the State Survey results. In this second part of the conversation, the group focuses on Michigan residents’ views of the governor’s race and ballot propositions.

Michigan residents were more upbeat about the economy this winter than about their elected leaders in Michigan State University’s latest State of the State Survey (SOSS), released February 23.
 

Each month, MSU professors Charles Ballard and Matt Grossmann engage in a lively discussion of Michigan policy and current events. This Month on State of the State: k-12 education finance and policy with guest Kristi Bowman.

Each month, MSU professors Charles Ballard and Matt Grossmann engage in a lively discussion of Michigan policy and current events.

Grossmann directs MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR), and he’s a political scientist at MSU. Ballard is an economist at MSU and directs IPPSR’s State of the State survey.

Each month, MSU professors Charles Ballard and Matt Grossmann will aim for a lively discussion of Michigan policy and current events. They’ll run down 3 or 4 hot topics, pointing to research on each policy issue. In this edition, they cover income tax cuts, Detroit’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters, and the proposal for a part-time legislature.