Biography
Eric M. Patashnik is Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Political Science, and Director of Brown's Master of Public Affairs program.
Patashnik is the editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. He is also Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Before coming to Brown, Patashnik held faculty positions at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA, and the department of political science at Yale University. During his time at UVA, he served as associate dean and acting dean at the Batten School. Patashnik is the author and editor of several books including Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine (with Alan Gerber and Conor Dowling, Princeton University Press, 2017), which received the Don K. Price Book Award and Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted (Princeton University Press, 2008), which received the Louis Brownlow Book Award.
Patashnik received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
Research
My current research projects include a study of the response of physicians and medical societies to the opioid epidemic and a study of the incentives for policy entrepreneurship in an era of partisan polarization.
Publications
Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine (with Alan S. Gerber and Conor M. Dowling). (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017)
Congress and Policy Making in the 21st Century (co-edited with Jeffery Jenkins). New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, 5th edition (with Eugene S. Bardach). (Washington: CQ Press, 2016)
Living Legislation: Durability, Change, and the Politics of American Lawmaking (co-editor with Jeffrey A. Jenkins) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008).
Promoting the General Welfare: New Perspectives on Government Performance (co-editor with Alan S. Gerber) (Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 2006)
Putting Trust in the U.S. Budget: Federal Trust Funds and the Politics of Commitment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000). [Chinese translation, 2009]
Teaching
- MPA 2445 Introduction to Public Policy
- MPA 2765 System Dynamics: Policy Analysis for a Complex World
- Foundations of Public Policy
News|Recent News
July 9, 2018
The Washington Post
Progressive political candidates motivated by Bernie Sanders' insurgent run against Hillary Clinton in 2016 are advocating for Medicare for all as part of their platforms. Professor Eric Patashnik said that the political viability of the idea will ultimately depend on its details -- such as whether the program would eliminate the private-insurance system altogether.
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June 13, 2018
The Washington Post
An opinion piece co-written by Eric Patashnik, argues that the law’s political vulnerabilities and Republican electoral dynamics drive conservative efforts to uproot it and yet conservatives are unlikely to be able to repeal it.
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February 23, 2018
Innovation Hub
Eric Patashnik joins Innovation Hub to discuss evidence-based medical procedures and his recent book, Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine.
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January 11, 2018
U.S. News & World Report
Political scientist Eric Patashnik comments on the banned practice of earmarks, saying "Restoring earmarks is not strong enough medicine to cure the dysfunctions of today's Congress. Polarization runs much too deep. But it is still a sensible thing to do."
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December 28, 2017
Vox
Professor Eric Patashnik in Vox, "Eventually, the war over Obamacare will end. When it does, there may be an opening to have a sensible conversation about ensuring that patients receive treatments grounded in sound science."
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November 8, 2017
Health Affairs
Eric Patashnik in Health Affairs, "Medical societies have a responsibility to educate doctors not only about the financial costs of unnecessary treatments but also about how their own practice styles can lower the quality of care patients receive."
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