Overview
Jamila Michener is an Associate professor in the department of Government. Her research focuses on poverty, racial inequality and public policy in the United States. Her recent book, Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press) examines how Medicaid--the nation’s public health insurance program for people with low income--affects democratic citizenship. Unpacking how federalism transforms Medicaid beneficiaries’ interpretations of government and structures their participation in politics, Fragmented Democracy assesses American political life from the vantage point(s) of those who are living in or near poverty, (disproportionately) Black or Latino, and reliant on a federated government for vital resources.
Michener’s research has been supported by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Ford Foundation. She received her MA and PhD from the University of Chicago and her undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Prior to working at Cornell, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar at the University of Michigan.
Research Focus
Jamila Michener studies American politics and policy, with a particular focus on the political causes and consequences of poverty and racial inequality. Her work explores the conditions under which economically and racially disadvantaged groups engage in the political process, the effects of that engagement, and the role of the state in shaping the political and economic trajectories of marginalized communities.
Publications
2018. Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
2018. “Gentrification, Demobilization and Participatory Possibilities” (with Diane Wong) in Richard Hays (ed.) Neighborhood Change and Neighborhood Action: The Struggle to Create Neighborhoods that Serve Human Needs. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
2017. “Social Class as Racialized Political Experience.” The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics 15(1): 93-110.
2017. “People, Places, Power: Medicaid Policy Concentration and Local Political Participation.” Journal of Health, Politics, Policy and Law 42(5): 865-900.
2016. “Race, Poverty and the Redistribution of Voting Rights.” Journal of Poverty and Public Policy 8(2): 106-128.
2013. “Neighborhood Disorder and Local Participation: Examining the Political Relevance of ‘Broken Windows.’" Political Behavior 35(4): 777-806.
In the news
- Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures holds first event
- Personal crises reduce voter turnout, but may prompt other political action
- Poverty is a political choice, Michener tells NYS Senate
- Michener to direct new Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures
- New faculty award celebrates community engagement across Cornell
- ‘No one wins when immigrants cannot readily access healthcare’
- Michener advocates ‘Broadening the Tent’ at White House
- Learn & travel with Cornell alumni, faculty this summer
- Michener testifies to House on role of universal health insurance
- A&S Student starts first term on Ithaca's Common Council
- Tenant groups build power in marginalized communities
- Cornell, Ithaca College effort moves housing project forward
- Michener testifies to House committee about health care
- Lewis, Michener honored for diversity contributions
- Juneteenth reverberates with triumph, pain, past and present
- Employers are Begging for Workers. Maybe That's a Good Thing.
- Faculty examine racism ‘embedded’ in US health care
- Health inequities the focus of ‘Racism in America’ webinar on March 29
- Search committee set for policy school’s founding dean
- Latina and Black women lost jobs in record numbers. Policies designed for all women don’t necessarily help.
- Migrations initiative wins $5M Mellon grant for racial justice
- Polls, voters and election 2020: A&S webinar on Oct. 19
- Democracy 20/20 webinar to assess ‘deep state’
- Panel: Pandemic has exposed long-standing health inequities
- A&S initiative launches with webinar about abolishing police
- Webinar to examine systemic racism, health equity
- American Democracy Collaborative launches webinar series
- A&S faculty paving way for policy school, superdepartments
- George Floyd’s killing was just the spark. Here’s what really made the protests explode.
- COVID-19 impact: Jamila Michener on the federal government
- How responding to the new coronavirus is making the safety net for gig workers less flimsy
- Michener views ‘Obamacare’ through lenses of race, politics
- Coronavirus K-12 closures impact safety, stability for vulnerable students
- ‘Making the turn’: from inmate to scholar
- Government prof honored with best book award
- Grants create engagement opportunities for students
- ‘Serendipity’ leads to summer research for history major
- Warrior-scholars gain skills, confidence from Cornell experience
- Carpenter Advising Awards presented to four faculty members
- Quality of Medicaid varies as a result of public policy
- Professor Jamila Michener wins Early Career Award
- Institute nurtures promising social scientists with ‘dream’ semester
- 36 Cornellians named to Presidential Task Force
- People who get Medicaid are made to feel powerless
- Why We Shouldn’t Drug Test Poor People
- ISS supporting faculty research projects, conference
- Why are lower-income Americans apolitical?
- Students explore criminal justice through new minor