CLOSUP publications

Only one in two Michigan 3rd graders were proficient in reading at the end of 2015, according to the M-STEP, and this number is only decreasing (EdTrust Midwest, 2017). The MSTEP is the Michigan Student Test of Education Assessment, an annual...

During, and in the wake of, Michigan’s Lost Decade and the Great Recession, Michigan’s urban centers struggled to retain and attract young people. This dilemma became known as the “brain drain” and led to a number of issues, including an unwelcome...

The processes driving neighborhood change have been of persistent interest to social scientists for decades. While researchers have developed many theories of how neighborhoods change over time – from ecological models of invasion-succession to...

The Spring 2018 County-wide Fiscal Health Fact Sheets are from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), an ongoing survey of the top elected and appointed officials in every unit of general purpose local government across the state. The MPPS is...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is among citizens, between citizens and elected officials, and among the...

As the most suitable sites for wind energy development, rural areas are integral to the growth of the renewable energy sector in the U.S. A crucial aspect of siting decisions lies in the opinions of the local community, for which environmental...

This report examines American attitudes on how to respond to climate change. We look at preferences for focusing on adaptation or mitigation efforts, and at Americans’ beliefs on whether efforts to prevent further climate change can actually be...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of their jurisdictions’ fiscal conditions and the actions they plan to take in the coming year given their financial situations. The findings are based on responses from ten...

The National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) is an on-going biannual national opinion survey on energy and climate policy from University of Michigan and Muhlenberg...

This report considers how American attitudes about renewable energy policies—and solar and wind energy, more specifically—have changed over the last decade. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for state-level renewable energy...

This report presents information from Michigan's local government officials regarding the status of medical marijuana facilities in their jurisdictions as of spring 2018, as well as officials’ opinions on the impacts of medical marijuana on local...

This paper and its analyses were commissioned in order to support a paper written by Barry G. Rabe for the Academy of Arts and Sciences Project on Durability and Adaptability in Energy Policy entitled “Leveraged Federalism and the Clean Air Act: The...

Over the course of the last 10 years the National Surveys on Energy and the Environment (NSEE) has fielded 19 surveys in which Americans have been asked if they believe there is solid evidence of global warming. In the latest version of this ongoing...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature. These findings...

This report examines American attitudes about policies that could reduce emissions from the transportation sector. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for policies that require auto makers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles, and...

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders on local housing issues, including current housing capacity and condition in their community, local government policies that may hinder or help new renovation and construction,...

Transitioning our energy supply to renewable sources has become an objective for policymakers, worldwide, and wind energy has emerged as a leading alternative energy source. In the US, much of the wind energy growth has occurred in rural communities...

Due to a lack of concerted federal action to promote renewable energy, understanding and evaluating the rigors of state-level energy policies such as renewable portfolio standards is of great importance. The literature on state renewable policies...

To evaluate current Republican views on climate, this study performs an inventory of all 51 US Republican senators’ official websites. It analyzes how each member speaks of "climate change" and "energy," which types of climate change mitigation...

In the global fight against climate change, cap-and-trade programs remain one of the most effective means of greenhouse gas mitigation at policymakers’ disposal. Within the United States, several sub-national cap-and trade programs have emerged with...

Despite lacking oil and gas resources and its accompanying wealth, Jordan and Morocco are leading renewable energy producers in the Middle East and North Africa. This research paper is a comparative case study that analyzes policy intent, policy...

Solar power has historically been a high cost form of renewable energy. Other renewables like wind have dominated the market, leading to a lack of diversity within American states’ renewable portfolio standards (RPS). To combat this lack of...

The gas tax in the United States has significant implications for the environment and for infrastructure funding. In contrast to federal inaction for over two decades, many states have recently increased their own state-level gas taxes. This study...

Local policies aimed at reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change are growing in popularity in the United States, but progress on reducing vehicle emissions remains incremental. Cities are slowly shifting away from zoning policies...

Since the 1980's international climate negotiations have occurred more frequently and with increasing importance. Research on international climate agreements has largely been limited to their effectiveness, with very few considering the formation...