Economists tend to consider public policies from the perspective of efficiency or equity, but do not always consider their political feasibility. However, legislation cannot take effect without the political support required to pass it, no matter how efficient or equitable it may be. In this episode of EconoFact Chats,

The Republican Party seems to be divided: Is it the old guard, advocating for small government and tax cuts? Or has it moved into more of an America-first, isolationist space under the leadership of President Donald Trump? In this episode, Jacob Hacker of Yale University joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang to discuss how

Conservative parties operating in modern democracies face a dilemma: How does a party that represents the interests of moneyed elites win mass support? The dilemma sharpens as inequality widens — the more the haves have, the more have-nots there are who want to tax them. In their new book, Let Them Eat Tweets: How the

The Republican party has increasingly relied on incendiary appeals from the social right to win over voters, while advancing policies that cater less to the average voter and more to wealthy donors. That’s according to political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson. In their fourth book together, "Let Them Eat Twee

Consider this a two-part episode. This week, my 2011 conversation with JACOB HACKER & PAUL PIERSON, authors of WINNER-TAKE-ALL POLITICS: How Washington Made the Rich Richer - and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. Next week, a NEW one w/ NANCY MacLEAN on her book DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS, which reveals the GOP’s strategy

Aired 04/17/11 JACOB HACKER the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University, is the author of The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream and The Divided Welfare State. PAUL PIERSON is Professor of Political Science and holder of the Avice Saint Chair o