Baker Institute For Public Policy

The Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy studies a range of issues at the intersection of behavioral economics, law, and public policy. The issues include energy, health, obesity, highway safety, economic growth, finance, the environment (including climate change), savings, uses of social media, human rights, education, discrimination, and poverty. A particular emphasis is on behaviorally informed tools, such as default rules, norms, simplification, education, and warnings . There is continuing attention to the newest and best work in behavioral economics and its implications for public policy.

The Center for Human Potential and Public Policy at Harris Public Policy purpose is to understand the forces driving inequality of opportunity for children in society and to develop interventions to close the gaps in cognitive and noncognitive skills between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children. CHPPP has a special interest in interventions that draw on the principles of behavioral science and that leverage technology so that promising interventions can be brought to scale quickly and cost effectively. Directed by Professor Ariel Kalil, a developmental psychologist who studies how economic conditions and parents’ socioeconomic status affect parenting, the home environment, and child development, the center advances the distinction of Harris among public policy schools for its interdisciplinary perspective on children and families.

The John M. Olin Center for Studies in Law, Economics, and Public Policy is designed to facilitate the scholarly interests of the many distinguished law and economics scholars at Yale. The center supports the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization; a Working Paper Series; and the Law, Economics, and Organization Workshop, at which scholars from other institutions and from Yale present papers for student and faculty criticism.The center also provides an umbrella for two programs: the Program in Civil Liability, established to promote comprehensive reanalysis of the modern law of torts, products liability, professional malpractice, insurance, and other subjects related to our civil liability system; and the Program for Studies in Capitalism, which supports research on the operation of capitalism as a mechanism of economic growth, the ethical bases of capitalism, and the relation between capitalism and the poor, and between capitalism and democracy.

The Center for Environmental Public Policy (CEPP) at the Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP) takes an integrated approach to solving environmental problems. By synthesizing scientific, economic, technical, social, financial, and political understanding, CEPP collaborates to support the creation and implementation of public policies based on exacting analytical standards that carefully define problems and match them with the most impactful solutions. CEPP’s primary focus is on climate change, the key environmental challenge of our time.

The Public Law and Policy Program continues Berkeley Law’s long tradition of scholarship on issues of constitutional and administrative law, and judicial and legislative process. It focuses in particular on the separation of powers, the balance of authority between the federal and state governments, interpretation, and public policymaking. The Program advances its mission by supporting research and scholarship, and holding events to generate public discussion and understanding of the interaction between law and public policy.

Since its inception in 2000, The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy has emphasized research and analysis as a means to deepening the understanding of complex issues in philanthropy and to ensuring important topics are addressed by the field. By conducting groundbreaking studies and widely sharing the findings, the Center provides in-depth knowledge of philanthropy’s changing landscape as well as strategies for action. This empowers philanthropic decision-makers, policymakers, and civic leaders with the information and insights needed to create meaningful change, both independently and collectively.