Bringing research to the public

Lucy Wang was a co-author of the paper published in the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics that “argue[s] that common explanations for why companies choose to outsource, such as cutting costs and access to specialized expertise, don’t tell the whole story. A bigger factor, the study suggests, is how a firm's own patent portfolio shapes the decision." While focused on pharmaceuticals, the researchers say the findings could apply to other industries where companies must carefully balance innovation with protecting existing products.

Elizabeth Evans and faculty at UMass Chan Medical School “are principal investigators on a five-year, $7.6 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which will study the impact and determine best practices of the federal Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy Section 1115 waiver in pilot correctional facilities.” Evans says, “We’re trying to help give information back to policymakers and the public on what’s an effective and worthwhile investment of our common resources. I think this new study will put us in a position to make those types of recommendations.”

Amanda Paluch was interviewed for WHMP-FM's SciTechCafé segment about how moving and not being sedentary impacts health. She says, "we do not need 10,000 steps a day to see health benefits" and that 6-8,000 steps are beneficial for people of older ages.