Three Social Policy Institute (SPI) team members, Jason Jabbari, research assistant professor, Yung Chun, data analyst III, and Laura Brugger, data analyst III, traveled to Austin, Texas at the end of March to present SPI research at the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) 2021 Fall Conference. The theme of the conference was […]
Category: General SPI
New Year greetings from the director
Thank you for being a valued member of the Social Policy Institute community this past year. I am extremely proud of our team—staff, faculty affiliates, funders and community partners—who work so hard to make the world more equitable for everyone. Our mission to make the world more equitable by applying innovative, evidence-based solutions to complex social problems […]
Celebrating the Inclusive Growth in St. Louis Advisory Committee
After an incredible 18-month engagement and 6-part event series, the Social Policy Institute and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth honored the Inclusive Growth in St. Louis advisory committee on Dec. 7, 2021, at Justine Petersen’s Greencubator.
Israel’s next president has long-standing relationship with the Social Policy Institute at Washington University
With Isaac Herzog set to become Israel’s 11th president later this summer, the Social Policy Institute (SPI) reflects on its long-standing partnership with the future president. SPI director, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, began working with President-elect Herzog in 2010 to generate national support to create the first universal child development account program (CDA) in the world. Grinstein-Weiss, […]
SPI researchers win awards for paper at ACCI Conference & VentureCafe STL Fellowship
Stephen Roll and Mathieu Despard, researchers at SPI, recently received the CFP© Board’s ACCI Financial Planning Paper Award for their paper on income loss and financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award is given to a well-written paper that focuses on important financial planning issues which can be used by consumers, financial planning professionals, and policymakers […]
SPI & McDonnell Academy award new round of seed grants to address Covid-19-related challenges
For a second year, the Social Policy Institute and the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis partnered to provide joint seed grants to advance international policy-relevant research. Three new projects were selected to receive seed funding of up to $30,000 each. The recipients include researchers from both Washington University and McDonnell […]
Making inclusive growth a reality in St. Louis (Links to an external site)
As it continues to grow and develop, how can St. Louis ensure benefits are distributed equally throughout the region? Learn about how the Inclusive Growth in St. Louis event series with Center for Inclusive Growth and the advisory committee are addressing this concern.
Call for Proposals: Identifying and addressing the challenges of COVID-19 through artificial intelligence, technology, and big data
The Social Policy Institute (SPI) and the McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis are seeking proposals from Washington University researchers and international partners that identify and address the challenges of COVID-19 through artificial intelligence, technology, and big data. Proposals are due by Feb. 26, 2021. This is the second year the […]
A Message from the Director
As we are opening a near year, we are also experiencing the tragedy of the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It was a sad day in our nation’s history and highlights the ever-widening divisions within the country. Despite the shocking and unprecedented moment in American history, Congressional leaders were undeterred and […]
Lee twice recognized as leader in field (Links to an external site)
Hedwig Lee, professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and faculty affiliate for Social Policy Institute, was elected to the prestigious Sociological Research Association. The highly selective honor society elects up to 14 new members each year; the sole criterion for selection is excellence in research.
Michal Grinstein-Weiss and Marla Blow: Masks aren’t the only answer to keeping workers safe (Links to an external site)
Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director, SPI, and Marla Blow, vice president, Center for Inclusive Growth, co-author an op-ed highlighting the need for better workplace policies to mitigate exposure to COVID-19. “By addressing longstanding inequalities that have undervalued essential workers, these measures would ensure that no one is put in a position of choosing health over a paycheck.”
Event Replay: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Racial, Gender, and Generational Wealth Gaps
Below is a recording of the June 25, 2020 event, The Impact of COVID-19 on the Racial, Gender, and Generational Wealth Gaps, hosted by the Social Policy Institute at Washington University and the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. View Presentation Slides LEARN MORE: The Social Policy Institute […]
Opinion: Medicaid expansion is ‘no-brainer’ during COVID-19 pandemic (Links to an external site)
SPI Op-ed featured in the Missouri Times: It’s a no-brainer in a pandemic. A yes vote gives health coverage to well more than 270,000 people, saves rural hospitals from failure, and brings $1.6 billion in federal dollars into Missouri, creating jobs.
Medicaid expansion in Missouri – Needed now more than ever
On May 26, Governor Mike Parson announced the Medicaid Expansion Amendment would be moved up to the August 4, 2020 primary ballot. Despite the governor’s explanation of creating more time to budget the expansion, the move to an election with historically low voter turnout threatens the passage of the bill at a time when Medicaid […]
Gig work can be a lifeline, but it may be disappearing for those that need it
When you think of gig work—types of work where online apps and platforms allow workers to get paid for a range of services including ride-sharing, home repairs, art sales, and property rental—you might imagine a flexible job that enables anyone to earn income. If you have a reliable car and a smartphone, you can download […]
Event Replay: Jump-Starting America: How Investing in Technology & Science Revives Economies
The Social Policy Institute at Washington University and the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis invite you to a virtual conversation at 1 p.m. on June 4 with Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson, authors of Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream. Gruber […]
A message from Michal Grinstein-Weiss, director of SPI
Dear Friends, These are dark days in our nation’s history. At a time when we are trying to respond to a global health pandemic and its disproportionate health and economic toll on families of color, we are witnessing endless injustices and brutality against black and brown civilians. It is appalling and astounding. And the similarities […]
CityStudioSTL faculty course grant in partnership with SPI (Links to an external site)
The Sam Fox School and the Social Policy Institute at Washington University have awarded their first joint CityStudioSTL Faculty Course Grant to associate professor Catalina Freixas.
SPI researchers win top awards for papers at ACCI Conference
Yingying Zeng, Mathieu Despard, and Sophia Fox-Dichter received the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) Paper Award for their paper “Workplace Financial Counseling: Credit Outcomes Among Lower-Paid, Entry-Level Workers”.
Stephen P. Roll, Blair D. Russell, Dana C. Perantie, and Michal Grinstein-Weiss received the JCA Best Article of the Year for their paper “Encouraging Tax‐Time Savings with a Low‐Touch, Large‐Scale Intervention: Evidence from the Refund to Savings Experiment”.
SPI program manager Brinda Gupta appears on Humans of St. Louis (Links to an external site)
Brinda speaks on her experience of working at SPI and especially her relationship with her mentor and SPI director Michael Grinstein-Weiss.
Class of 2020 SPI staff graduate!
Congratulations to all the SPI staff who just graduated from the class of 2020!
MBA student: “We don’t need a map to know who COVID-19 hits hardest” (Links to an external site)
Olin Business School Blog: “What makes the initial statistics about COVID-19 infections by zip code so alarming is that in the zip codes with the highest number of infections, people are actually less likely to get tested because of a lack of insurance or transportation, so the real number of cases might be even higher than is presently known.”
Inspired by father who survived Holocaust, Wash U professor aims to help north St. Louis residents (Links to an external site)
Michal Grinstein-Weiss understands how trauma can have a lasting effect. Her father, Slomo Grinstein, survived the Holocaust by spending years hiding in the woods of Poland while his family was killed at concentration camps. “He always struggled a little bit between jobs — and [the Holocaust] doesn’t leave anyone, and he was never able to fully recover from the trauma,” said Grinstein-Weiss, who grew up in Israel and moved to St. Louis in 1999 to pursue a doctorate in social work. Now she’s the director of the Social Policy Institute at Wash U and working to research and develop policy to help black families in north St. Louis who have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.
Tracking COVID-19 cases by zip code highlights inequity in St. Louis region (Links to an external site)
St. Louis on the Air, Sarah Fenske spoke with Washington University’s Dr. Laurie Punch and Michal Grinstein-Weiss, the director of Washington University’s Social Policy Institute and of the Centene Center for Health Transformation. Grinstein-Weiss recently looked into COVID-19 case counts in ZIP codes across the St. Louis region.
What COVID-19 is Telling us About our “Swiss Cheese” Economy, Financial Fragility, and Public Health (Links to an external site)
Mat Despard, SPI research, writes about how he and his colleagues will use surveys to learn about the economic impacts of COVID-19 and how these impacts may vary by race, household income, assets, and debt, employment status and industry, and place.
Financial inclusion to help mitigate the economic consequences of COVID-19 (Links to an external site)
Mat Despard, SPI research, writes about policy changes that will help households better cope with the economic fallout of COVID-19 and be better prepared for future catastrophic events.
Grinstein-Weiss and Gupta: We don’t need a map to tell us where the pandemic hits hardest (Links to an external site)
Op-ed: Recent infection data from the city of St. Louis confirms it. In a map listing positive coronavirus cases by ZIP code, we see a greater concentration of cases in low-income and highly segregated ZIP codes in the city. Sadly, that data is not surprising.
We don’t need a map to tell us who COVID-19 hits the hardest in St. Louis
We don’t need a map to tell us that policymakers, health officials, corporations, and St. Louis residents themselves must continue to break down economic barriers to create partnerships and solutions that support the most vulnerable in our city – those who were already facing a disproportionate social, financial, and health burden prior to COVID-19 entering their lives.
Social Policy Institute, McDonnell International Scholars Academy award $10,000 seed grants to three research proposals
Social Policy Institute and McDonnell International Scholars Academy have jointly announced the selection of three international policy-focused proposals to receive $10,000 seed grants following a call for proposals in September 2019. The selected proposals will develop research that fosters international collaboration on policy projects and includes faculty from both Washington University and an international university.
Call for Proposals for Seed Grant Program
The new Social Policy Institute at Washington University and the McDonnell Academy are seeking proposals for collaboration between Washington University researchers and researchers at international universities. The Social Policy Institute’s focus on cross-sector collaboration and international research is a natural complement to the McDonnell Academy’s emphasis on incubating domestic and international research talent and strengthening […]
Social Policy Institute launches at Washington University (Links to an external site)
University-wide institute to advance the influence of research in innovating policy solutions