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Michael Hankinson

@hankinson.bsky.social
1.4K followers 485 following 110 posts

Political Scientist at George Washington University; How can we build things society needs, but few want nearby? www.mhankinson.com

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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Yesterday, Delaware's VRA was signed into law. Crucially, DEVRA defines "method of election" to include proportional & semi-proportional systems, and lets courts order changes to election method as a remedy. We show how these non-district tools improve representation while districts often fail👇
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Districting has been the standard remedy for minority vote dilution in local government for over 40 years. Does it work? It requires a map that would actually improve minority representation and a council willing to draw it. As we show, the first is impossible in most cities. 1/
Two maps of Anaheim, California, divided into six city council districts and shaded by Latino share of citizen voting-age population. The top map is the plan Anaheim adopted, in which no district has a Latino majority. The bottom map is a legally valid alternative with two majority-Latino districts, created by shifting Latino voters from one central district into two neighboring ones.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
In Philly, I have seen vague orange signs warning about irresponsible development ("Their Profit. Your Loss!"). The Inquirer traced them to the Carpenters union, working to mobilize residents into zoning meetings. My work w/ Asya Magazinnik & Anna Weissman helps explain their logic.
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BUILD Research Network @buildssrc.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
@buildssrc.bsky.social grantee @hankinson.bsky.social says that the way to get a NIMBY to say yes is to pay them. Most have a price.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
A few clarifications on what this paper does and does not say. We estimate willingness-to-accept: what payment would move residents from opposing nearby housing to supporting it. That's not an endorsement of paying any off any specific group. 1/
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Can you pay NIMBYs to say yes to housing? Rogé Karma covers my ongoing work with Glaeser, Gyourko & Davis in The Atlantic. Most people have a price — it rises with proximity, project scale, and suburbia. And cash beats parks funding, though local legislators prefer the reverse. Gift link below.
theatlantic.com
A Perfectly Crude Solution to America’s Housing Shortage
If you can’t beat the NIMBYs, pay ’em.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
As stigma returns to pub. health, @jdbk.bsky.social & I assess its role in re opioids. People favor of their own racial group re treatment v. punishment, but these biases are likely moderated by blame via one's pathway to addiction. Article: tinyurl.com/7pmt96ze NYT www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/w...
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Very cool! Especially as local electoral reforms come on the menu via state VRAs
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Pilots announcing the visibility and wind direction at the destination to the entire cabin == me describing the identification strategy of a paper cited in my slides to my undergrad lecture.
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Laura Kettel @laurakettel.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
This is an excellent paper, very happy to see it in the AJPS!
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Daniel de Kadt @dandekadt.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Beautiful paper, read, set in your classes, think about, cite, extend, etc.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Building affordable housing ➡️ support for funding housing. Nearby homeowners ⬆️ support; renters ⬇️ support. Both are “the policy adjacent”—secondhand recipients & drivers of policy feedback. Forthcoming @ajpseditor.bsky.social ( doi.org/10.1111/ajps...) w/ A. Magazinnik & @msands.bsky.social 1/9
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Next week, I will be at the #2025APPAM Annual Fall Research Conference in Seattle. I will be presenting new work on the local politics of renewable energy siting as well as updates on building a national housing permits database. If you want to connect, please reach out: hankinson@gwu.edu
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
A great overview of an important local gov’t reform! Ties together many different literatures and shows how the unexpected can happen in implementation. Thanks @jacksantucci.bsky.social !
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
I'm excited to share that we're running a junior faculty search in American politics. Proud to see GWU continue to invest in political science. Link: www.gwu.jobs/postings/122...
gwu.jobs
Assistant Professor of Political Science
The Department of Political Science invites applications for a tenure-track position in American Politics at the rank of assistant professor beginning as early as Fall 2026. This position is pending f...
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
On Friday at #APSA, I'll be presenting new research on how political geography shapes the siting of collective goods. We use the consolidation of municipalities in Denmark to show how the distribution of entire electorate affects where wind energy is politically viable.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
In Vancouver for the APSA Annual Meeting. First time visiting the city and I rented a bike for a 2-hour spin. Blown away. Bike infrastructure on par with Denmark plus miles of trails in the middle of UBC’s campus (4 miles from downtown).
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
So proud of my wife, Rui Gao! Her dissertation research has led to a breakthrough in understanding ecDNA-amplified cancers, opening paths for better treatments in the future. And a co-first author publication in Nature is a nice outcome as well :) www.linkedin.com/posts/ruigao...
linkedin.com
Rui Gao on LinkedIn: Engineered extrachromosomal oncogene amplifications promote tumorigenesis…
Happy to share that a significant research project from my PhD is finally out in 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 today! 🎉🧬 For the first time, we show that gene amplifications…
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Ethan Porter @ethanvporter.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
What's the best way to debrief study participants? At @pnasnexus.org, Katie Clayton, @yamilrvelez.bsky.social, @thomasjwood.bsky.social and I introduce a new debriefing method that leaves participants much better off than standard debriefs. Especially relevant for misinfo research. bit.ly/41i19sU
bit.ly
Improving debriefing practices for participants in social science experiments
Abstract. Social science experiments often expose participants to false, deceptive, or otherwise harmful content. In an effort to mitigate the effects of s
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Alex Coppock @aecoppock.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
I'm on two 📘 award committees for APSA, deadlines March 1, 2025 Robert Lane Award (with Nichole Bauer and Markus Prior) connect.apsanet.org/s28/nominati... Converse Award (with @wzcmarsh.bsky.social, @jfdaoust.bsky.social, @hmridge.bsky.social) connect.apsanet.org/s32/awards/ pls nominate & share
The Robert E. Lane Award for the best book in political psychology published in the past year.

2024: Alex Coppock (Yale University)
Persuasion in Parallel: How Information Changes Minds about Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2023)
2024: (Honorable mention) Alexandra Filindra
Race, Rights, and Rifles: The Origins of the NRA and Contemporary Gun Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2023)
2023: Efrén Pérez (University of California, Los Angeles) and Margit Tavits (Washington University in St. Louis)
Voicing Politics: How Language Shapes Public Opinion (Princeton University Press, 2022)
2022: Cigdem V. Sirin (University of Texas, El Paso), Nicholas A. Valentino (University of Michigan), and Jose D. Villalobos (University of Texas, El Paso)
Seeing Us in Them: Social Divisions and the Politics of Group Empathy (Cambridge University Press, 2021)
2021: Nicole M. Bauer (Louisiana State University)
The Qualifications Gap: Why Women Must Be Better than Men to Win Political Office (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
2020: Ashley Jardina (Duke University)
White Identity Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
2020: Markus Prior (Princeton University)
Hooked (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
2019: Gwyneth McClendon (New York University)
Envy in Politics (Princeton University Press, 2018)PHILIP E. CONVERSE AWARD
Given for an outstanding book in the field published five or more years ago.

2024: Dan Hopkins, The Increasingly United States
2023: Jaime Settle, Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America.
2022: Ted Brader. Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work
2021: Samara Klar and Yanna Krupnikov. Independent Politics: How American Disdain for Parties Leads to Political Inaction
2020: Christopher F. Karpowitz and Tali Mendelberg. The Silent Sex: Gender, Deliberation, & Institutions
2019: Green, Donald P., Bradley Palmquest, and Eric Schickler. Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties and the Social Identities of Voters.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Very cool research opportunity here!
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
We're hiring in American Politics at the junior level. Position will be affiliated with GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. Applications due January 2nd. I'm on sabbatical, but I am happy to answer questions about the dept., broadly. DM me. www.gwu.jobs/postings/116...
gwu.jobs
Assistant Professor of Political Science
The Department of Political Science invites applications for a tenure track professor (Assistant Professor) in American Politics. The position will start in Fall 2025 and is pending final budgetary ap...
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Rick Hills @rickhills.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
“Harris’s [supply-increasing] housing plan responded to an urgent crisis with reforms whose benefits would be felt slowly if at all.” It is worse than that: Renters tend to oppose supply increases, as @hankinson.bsky.social has shown. www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/... LIST 01%2F06%2F2020
nplusonemag.com
The Renters’ Republic | Charlie Dulik
In a majority-homeowner nation, the rental crisis alone cannot explain Harris’s defeat, especially since the concentration of renters in cities means that as a group they likely still tilted toward he...
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Katherine Levine Einstein @katherineeinst.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Excited to see @maxwellpalmer.bsky.social and my research in this @bostonglobe.com op-ed this morning. The use of public money to actively block much-needed affordable housing is appalling, and shows the strength of opposition to new housing in Greater Boston. www.bostonglobe.com/2024/11/25/o...
bostonglobe.com
Using tax dollars to block new housing is bad policy - The Boston Globe
More than a dozen communities have been accused of ‘weaponizing’ the sale of public land to stop housing development.
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Jen Gaudette @jengaudette.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
I’m adding a day on path dependence to my undergrad Intro to Policy Analysis class. Would love recommendations for favorite podcasts/news articles/etc that illustrate the concept!
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Facing a cost of living crisis, mayor are (finally) promising to build more housing. Can they deliver? I discuss both the political obstacles, but also opportunities for success with @apmresearch.bsky.social at American Public Media. www.apmresearchlab.org/10x/mayors-a...
apmresearchlab.org
Can mayors keep their affordable housing promises? — APM Research Lab
Mayors across the Sun Belt and beyond have promised to build housing and reduce costs. But they face obstacles – including “Not in My Backyard” sentiment from their constituents.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Astead Herndon’s “The Run-Up” is the most informative politics podcast. He interrogates an interviewee’s beliefs while warmly inviting them to define the framework. From party loyalists to undecideds, he extracts depth where others flatten/abstract away. I could build my Intro Amer. syllabus via it
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 03/09/2024
When do interest groups — like organized labor — use the housing entitlement process to secure benefits? Now published in JPIPE, A. Magazinnik, Anna Weissman, and I find a relationship with big implications for the housing supply & attempts to reform local permitting. 1/10
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Yamil Ricardo Velez @yamilrvelez.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
🚨 How should we design surveys to capture opinion in fast-changing contexts like elections or within hard-to-reach communities? 🚨 My paper, conditionally accepted at Political Analysis, develops a method that leverages LLMs and adaptive algorithms to construct surveys that evolve with user input.
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Journal of Public Policy @jpublicpolicy.bsky.social · 22/10/2024
A new interesting article by @hankinson.bsky.social and @jdbk.bsky.social is now available on our FirstView page. It is entitled “How self-interest and symbolic politics shape the effectiveness of compensation for nearby housing development”. Enjoy it here: t.ly/-0IQO
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 24/10/2024
Can developers compensate nearby residents to win support for their housing projects? In a new @jpublicpolicy.bsky.social article, @jdbk.bsky.social and I unpack how compensation works, when it fails, and what that teaches us about symbolic attitudes and housing policy. 1/11
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David Schleicher @profschleich.bsky.social · 09/10/2024
Research suggests these changes - moving from at-large to ward-based elections and increasing the # of members - will lead to less housing being built, and thus greater challenges for tenants boltsmag.org/montana-hous... @hankinson.bsky.social
boltsmag.org
To Tackle Housing Crisis, These Organizers Want to First Change How City Hall Works
Advocates in Bozeman, Montana are using a once-in-a-decade chance to reshape local government structure to create more equitable representation and, eventually, more affordable housing policy.
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gelbach @gelbach.bsky.social · 30/09/2024
Iirc this is how John Roberts would prepare for oral argument before he was a judge
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 30/09/2024
Re-upping my job market advice: When practicing your talk, randomize where you begin. If you always start on Slide 1, your front-end will be super-polished as you edit/restart. But you will rarely get to the end with the same focus. Start fresh on Slide 20, you’ll be invincible.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 26/09/2024
Thank you UC Possibility Lab for organizing a forum for my work (w/ A. Magazinnik) on housing, local gov’t, & state preemption. To the practitioners who shared insights from their own experience in CA housing policy: those were nuggets of gold! Only fitting to find them in the Bay Area
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 26/09/2024
Thank you to the UC-Berkeley Research Workshop in American Politics for inviting me to share my work (w/ Asya Magazinnik) on housing, local gov’t, and state preemption in CA. It was truly the most generative feedback I’ve received via a workshop. The vibes are good at RWAP!
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Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 18/09/2024
Jerome Powell YIMBYism—"The real issue with housing is that we have had and are on track to continue to have not enough housing...it's hard to zone lots in places where people want to live...the supply question will have to be dealt with by the market and by government"
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 12/09/2024
Is “bitter exasperation” a new treatment arm? Also, they can save a few bucks by verifying that I am not Gordon, the 80+ y.o. Pennsylvania Republican (info gleaned from two election cycles worth of campaign texts)
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 11/09/2024
Coming minutes after the debate does complicate the event study design we were all planning…
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 11/09/2024
Dissertation prospectus opener:
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 11/09/2024
The housing supply and shortage was literally the first policy mentioned. As for those who've been working in this space for the past decade... #Debate2024
media.tenor.com
a man in a suit and tie with his arms in the air and the words it 's happening
ALT: a man in a suit and tie with his arms in the air and the words it 's happening
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 10/09/2024
This year, I am on sabbatical and excited to be a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (@Princeton SPIA). If you are passing through campus or NYC and want to connect and chat research, don’t hesitate to out via email/DM. That’s what this time is for!
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 09/09/2024
If your goal is to maximize knowledge, scooping is weird. Scooper or scoopee, the project would’ve been completed without you, making it an inefficient use of your time. Pick the out-there projects that only you would think up! *Not advice for maximizing career happiness, especially pre-tenure
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 08/09/2024
Banger way to close out APSA. 10am in Marriott 304: Power and Precarity in the Political Economy of U.S. Housing Policy. #APSA2024
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 07/09/2024
Very proud to receive the Lawrence Longley Award for Best Article from the APSA Representation and Electoral Systems Section #APSA2024 Attending the section underscored how much Amer. pol. researchers can learn from comparative pol. in this space. Ungated: www.mhankinson.com/documents/su...
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 03/09/2024
When do interest groups — like organized labor — use the housing entitlement process to secure benefits? Now published in JPIPE, A. Magazinnik, Anna Weissman, and I find a relationship with big implications for the housing supply & attempts to reform local permitting. 1/10
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 22/05/2024
Our research-informed advice on how local leaders can respond to the opioid crisis, based on our articles in the APSR and Political Behavior (w/ @jdbk.bsky.social). theconversation.com/how-opioid-t...
theconversation.com
How opioid treatment centers can overcome bipartisan NIMBYism to build local support
A Philadelphia neighborhood is pushing back against the city’s plan to expand an existing shelter to serve people in active addiction.
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 26/03/2024
Yes. And a corollary: The longer you teach a class the more effort you have to put in editing things down to keep yous lectures lean and with a clear focus.
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Michael Hankinson @hankinson.bsky.social · 26/03/2024
Iron Law of Intro-level Lectures: The best lectures are on topics you know the least. Easier to pick one or two takeaways and make those resonate. While my intro federalism lecture is a jalopy jammed with stuff I find fascinating, my intro bureaucracy lecture is a lean, clean learning machine.
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