Policy Writing

My policy summaries and op-eds provide insight into how research can inform policy.

Policy Briefs

• Terri Sabol & Diane Schanzenbach. Does the Impact of Universal Pre-K on Access Vary Based on Neighborhood Poverty Rates? IPR Rapid Research Report. April 2024.

• Terri Sabol & Diane Schanzenbach. The Impact of Chicago’s Universal Prekindergarten Expansion on Access to School-Based Pre-K. IPR Rapid Research Report. December 2023.

• Economist letter on the Thrifty Food Plan. February 13, 2023.

• Diane Schanzenbach. The Impact of SNAP Emergency Allotments on SNAP Benefits and Food Insufficiency. IPR Rapid Research Report.

• Diane Schanzenbach. SNAP Supports Rural Families. American Enterprise Institute. April 2022.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Fighting Hunger in the U.S. Econofact. May 10, 2021.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Who Does Not Have Enough to Eat in America? Econofact. November 25, 2020.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Not Enough to Eat: COVID-19 Deepens America’s Hunger Crisis.  Food Research and Action Center report, September 2020.

• Lauren Bauer, Abigail Pitts, Krista Ruffini & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. The Effect of Pandemic EBT on Measures of Food Hardship. The Hamilton Project, Economic Analysis, July 30, 2020.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Abigail Pitts. Food Insecurity During COVID-19 in Households with Children: Results by Racial and Ethnic Groups. IPR Rapid Research Report, July 9, 2020. Summary.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Abigail Pitts. How Much Has Food Insecurity Risen? Evidence from the Census Household Pulse Survey. IPR Rapid Research Report, June 10, 2020. Summary.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Abigail Pitts. Food Insecurity in the Census Household Pulse Survey Data Tables. IPR Rapid Research Report, June 1, 2020. Summary.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Abigail Pitts. Estimates of Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Crisis: Results from the COVID Impact Survey, Week 2 (May 4-10, 2020). IPR Rapid Research Report, May 18, 2020.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Abigail Pitts. Estimates of Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Crisis: Results from the COVID Impact Survey, Week 1 (April 20-26, 2020). IPR Rapid Research Report, May 13, 2020.

• Phillip Levine & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Income Assistance for Low-Income Workers During the COVID-19 Crisis. Econofact, May 7, 2020.

• Marianne Bitler, Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Why the Safety Net Might Not Respond as Effectively to COVID-19 As It Should. The Milbank Quarterly, April 30, 2020.

• Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Policies to Strengthen Our Nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In Vision 2020: Evidence for a Stronger Economy, Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Who Would Be Affected by Proposed Changes to SNAP? Econofact, August 1, 2019.

• Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Strengthening SNAP as an Automatic Stabilizer. In Boushey, Heather, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh, eds., Recession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American Economy. The Hamilton Project at Brookings and Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Betsy Thorn. Food Support Programs and their Impacts on Very Young Children. Health Policy Brief, Health Affairs, March 28, 2019.

• Lauren Bauer, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Jay Shambaugh. Work Requirements and Safety Net Programs. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2018.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Can Benefits and Incentives Promote Work? Point-Counterpoint. Employment Policies Should Work with the Labor Market: A Response to Dr. Mead. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 37(4): 903-911. 2018.

• Kristin F. Butcher & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Most Workers in Low-Wage Labor Market Work Substantial Hours, in Volatile Jobs. Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: Policy Futures. July 24, 2018.

• Lauren Bauer & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Children’s Exposure to Food Insecurity is Still Worse Than It Was Before the Great Recession. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, June 2018.

• Lauren Bauer, Patrick Liu, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Jay Shambaugh. Reducing Chronic Absenteeism under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, April 2018.

• Sandra Black, Audrey Breitwieser & Diane Schanzenbach. What Happened to Women’s Rising Participation in the Workforce? Econofact, December 6, 2017.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. The Future of SNAP: Continuing to Balance Protection and Incentives. In Agricultural Policy in Disarray: Reforming the Farm Bill, American Enterprise Institute, November 2017.

• Sandra Black, Audrey Breitwieser & Diane Schanzenbach. The Recent Decline in Women’s Labor Force Participation. In The 51%: Driving Growth through Women’s Economic Participation, The Hamilton Project, October 2017.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Lauren Bauer, Ryan Nunn & Megan Mumford. Who is Out of the Labor Force? The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, August 2017.

• Jesse Rothstein & Diane Schanzenbach. What Does the Seattle Experience Teach Us About Minimum Wages?” with Jesse Rothstein. Econofact, August 7, 2017.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn Lauren Bauer & Audrey Breitwieser. The Closing of the Jobs Gap: A Decade of Recession and Recovery. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, August 2017.

• Stephanie Larson Howard & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten? ‘Redshirting’ May Do More Harm than Good. Education Next, 17(3), Summer 2017.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn & Gregory Nantz. Putting Your Major to Work: Career Paths after College. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, May 2017.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Lauren Bauer & Audrey Breitweiser. Eight Economic Facts on Higher Education. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, April 2017.

• Nicholas Eberstadt, Ryan Nunn, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Michael R. Strain In Order That They Might Rest Their Arguments on Facts: The Vital Role of Government-Collected Data. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution and AEI, March 2017.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Audrey Breitwieser, Megan Mumford, Gregory Nantz, Michael Greenstone & Sam Ori. Twelve Economic Facts on Energy and Climate Change. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, March 2017.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn & Greg Nantz. If You Build It: A Guide to the Economics of Infrastructure Investment. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, February 2017.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Megan Mumford & Lauren Bauer. Money Lightens the Load. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, December 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Megan Mumford & Lauren Bauer. Lessons for Broadening School Accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Lauren Bauer, Audrey Breitwieser, Megan Mumford & Gregory Nantz. Twelve Facts about Incarceration and Prisoner Reentry. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Lauren Bauer, Megan Mumford & Audrey Breitwieser. Seven Facts on Noncognitive Skills from Education to the Labor Market. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn & Megan Mumford. The Economics of Private Prisons. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2016.

• Lauren Bauer & Diane Schanzenbach. The Long-Term Impact of the Head Start Program. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, August 2016.

• Lauren Bauer, Ryan Nunn & Diane Schanzenbach. The Changing Landscape of American Life Expectancy.The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, June 2016.

• Lauren Bauer, Ryan Nunn & Diane Schanzenbach. Who is Poor in the United States? The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, June 2016.

• Lauren Bauer, Megan Mumford, Ryan Nunn & Diane Schanzenbach. Where Does All the Money Go: Shifts in Household Spending Over the Past 30 Years. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, June 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Lauren Bauer, David Boddy & Gregory Nantz. Nine Facts about the Great Recession and Tools for Fighting the Next Downturn. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, May 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach & Lauren Bauer. Are Nutrition Policies Making Teenagers Hungry? The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, April 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Lauren Bauer & Gregory Nantz. Twelve Facts about Food Insecurity and SNAP. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, April 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, Megan Mumford & Lauren Bauer. Who Has Access to Charter Schools? The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, March 2016.

• Julien Lafortune, Jesse Rothstein & Diane Schanzenbach. Can school finance reforms improve student achievement? Washington Center for Equitable Growth Policy Brief, March 16, 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach, David Boddy, Megan Mumford & Greg Nantz. Fourteen Economic Facts on Education and Economic Opportunity. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, March 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach & David Boddy. An Additional Measure of the Hamilton Project’s Jobs Gap Analysis. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, February 2016.

• Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. The Safety Net as an Investment. IPR Policy Brief, January 27, 2016.

• Jane Dokko, Megan Mumford & Diane Schanzenbach. Workers and the Online Gig Economy. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, December 2015.

• David Boddy, Jane Dokko, Gregory Nantz, & Diane Schanzenbach. Six Economic Facts about Health Care and the Health Insurance Market after the Affordable Care Act. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, October 2015.

• Elizabeth Cascio & Diane Schanzenbach. Expanding Preschool Access for Disadvantaged Children. In Melissa S. Kearney and Benjamin H. Harris, eds., Policies to Address Poverty in America, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, June 2014.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Does Class Size Matter? Policy brief, National Education Policy Center. February 2014.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Strengthening SNAP for a More Food-Secure, Healthy America. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, December 2013.

• Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. The Safety Net: An Investment in Kids. Spotlight on Poverty. July 2013.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Leaving children behind … by design. Milken Institute Review Quarter 1 2008, pp. 18-25.

• Derek Neal & Diane Schanzenbach. Many U.S. Children are Left Behind by Design. VoxEU.org, August 2007.

• Robert Greenstein & Diane Whitmore. Beneficiaries of Proposed Social Security-Related Tax Cut Have Significant Wealth. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Policy Brief, September 2000.

Consensus Report

Rebalancing: Children First. A Report of the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Childhood in the United States.

Podcasts

• The Virus is Peaking, but Help is Going Away. The Atlantic’s Social Distance. Oct 26, 2020.

• The Social Safety Net in the Era of COVID-19. Econofact Podcast. August 24, 2020.

Testimony & Expert Reports

• Dr. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach on the subject of “Recognizing and Building on the Success of Pandemic Relief Programs” before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, September 22, 2021.

• Dr. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach on the subject of “Ending Hunger in America: Challenges, Opportunities, and Building the Political Will to Succeed” before the U.S. House Committee on Rules, April 28, 2021.

• Declaration of Diane Schanzenbach, Ph.D. on the Make the Road case on the public charge rule. September 9, 2019.

• Dr. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach on the subject of “Nutrition Programs: Perspectives for the 2018 Farm Bill” before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry September 14, 2017.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach on the subject of “Exploring Opportunities to Strengthen Education Research While Protecting Student Privacy” U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education 6/28/17.

• Dr. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach on the subject of “Pros and Cons of Restricting SNAP Purchases” before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture February 16, 2017.

Op-eds

• Diane Schanzenbach. We can end hunger for all our neighbors. Sun-Times. 10/13/22.

• Diane W. Schanzenbach, Hilary Hoynes & Melissa S. Kearney. How lifting children out of poverty today will help them tomorrow. The Conversation. 4/26/21.

• Melissa S. Kearney & Diane W. Schanzenbach. Romney’s plan to help families and promote work. The Hill. 2/17/21.

• Dalton Conley & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Invest in School-Based Health Centers to Improve Child Health. Milbank Quarterly Opinion. December 23, 2020.

• Joseph Glauber, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Vincent Smith. Congress should help hungry Americans, not rich farmers. The Hill. 12/22/20.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Children are going hungry—it’s time to increase food stamp benefits. The Hill. 5/22/20

• Lauren Bauer & Diane Schanzenbach. States should replace grab-and-go school meals with cash to families. The Hill. 4/15/20.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Evidence Drives the Best Policies. LinkedIn. December 16, 2019.

• Diane Schanzenbach. How much of a difference does the number of kids in a classroom make? The Conversation. October 31, 2019.

• Diane Schanzenbach. We need a safety net that protects low-wage workers. Biden Forum. October 3, 2018.

• Diane Schanzenbach & Michael Strain. Act Now to Save the 2020 Census. Bloomberg Opinion.

• Diane Schanzenbach & Michael Strain. America’s Small investment in government data has big payoffs. The Hill. 3/7/17.

• Robert E. Rubin & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. In Defense of Federal Food Aid. Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2016.

• Diane Schanzenbach. What would Milton Friedman think of Food Stamps? Crain’s Chicago Business. 10/11/13.

• Hilary Hoynes, Patricia Anderson, Kristin Butcher & Diane Schanzenbach. Don’t Call Retreat in the War on Hunger. U.S. News. September 26, 2013.

• Diane Schanzenbach & Jenell Wright. Cancer Study Surveyed the Wrong People. St. Louis Beacon. March 26, 2013.

• Diane Schanzenbach. Proposals to ban purchase of sugary drink with food stamps won’t work. The Christian Science Monitor. March 13, 2013.

• Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. Naming a child policy czar. Need to Know on PBS. January 16, 2013.