DO WHAT WORKS

This collection of essays, edited by Jolin and Medina, calls for the implementation of data-driven public policies.

The editors and authors of this book believe that the public’s faith in the efficacy of policymaking, both at the federal and state level, will be improved by harnessing modern data analytics. Taken together, these essays offer a counter to right-wing cynicism toward public interventions and the perception that progressives throw good money after bad within ineffective social programs. One example of effective policies cited in the book is the state of Maryland’s 2024 ENOUGH Act, which helped to streamline the distribution of nearly $50 million in childhood anti-poverty funding toward the most effective programs in the state’s system. In Ohio, state leaders harnessed data and quantitative analysis to better allocate resources related to its water infrastructure. Known as the H2Ohio initiative, the program has enabled the state to target phosphorus runoff from farms and to protect hundreds of wetlands. Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act mandated the use of phonics-based instruction for young readers. As a result, the state improved dramatically in its scores on national reading assessments, particularly in underprivileged communities. Collectively, the essays make a robust case for the use of data to implement evidence-based policy solutions. Rather than speaking in abstract terms about this potentially esoteric topic, the authors in this collection offer tangible examples of the ways in which different states have made use of statistical analysis to shape government interventions. In some ways, this reliance on technology is nothing new in administrative governance, and some of the essays cover the degree and specificity of data that’s now available through artificial intelligence, keeping this collection up to date. The book’s bipartisan lens will help it appeal to readers regardless of their political affiliation.

A thoroughly researched look at how new analytical tools can help policymakers of all political stripes solve old problems.