Béland

Daniel Béland

Professor of Political Science, Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), McGill University
Areas of Expertise:

About Daniel

Béland is a student of comparative social and fiscal policy. He has published extensively on health care, Social Security, welfare reform, and fiscal federalism. In addition to the United States, he has written about these topics in a number of countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Ghana, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In terms of civil and policy involvement, he regularly gives media interviews on various policy issues, teaches to current and future civil servants, provides direct advice to policymakers, and participates in grassroots anti-poverty efforts.

Contributions

In the News

Quoted by David M. Shribman in "In Truth, ‘eh’ May not be as Canadian as the World Thinks," , February 20, 2020.
Opinion: "Donald Trump’s Populism Preys Upon Collective Anxieties," Daniel Béland, The Conversation, November 28, 2018.
Quoted by Sean Trembath in "Sask Party Continues to Lead in New Poll; Urban Centres Close," Saskatoon Star Phoenix, February 25, 2016.
Quoted by Will Chabun in "PM Stephen Harper is ‘Passing the Buck’ on Senate to Premiers, Scholars Say," Leader Post, July 24, 2015.
Quoted by Jonathan Charlton in "Local Greek Leader Thankful for Decisive Referendum," Star Phoenix, July 7, 2015.
Quoted by Sarah Kraus in "Alberta NDP Win Could Boost Saskatchewan Economy," Global News, May 7, 2015.
Quoted by Evan Radford in "Locals Divided on Scottish Referendum," The Star Pheonix, September 5, 2014.
Opinion: "Ridings Creation Non-Partisan," Daniel Béland, The StarPhoenix, April 5, 2013.
Guest on CTV, March 19, 2012.
Opinion: "Calming the Furor over Equalization," Daniel Béland (with André Lecours), National Post, March 19, 2012.
Opinion: "Politics of Economic Insecurity Elude PM," Daniel Béland, The StarPhoenix, October 16, 2008.
Opinion: "American Democracy and Political Extremism," Daniel Béland (with Michael Atkinson), Policy Options, October 2011.
Opinion: "Obama and the Future of Social Security," Daniel Béland, Policy Options, December 2008.
Opinion: "A Political Year in the West," Daniel Béland, Policy Options, December 2011.
Opinion: "Sociology and Public Policy," Daniel Béland, Footnotes, April 2009.
Opinion: "Politics and Policy in Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan," Daniel Béland, Policy Options, November 2011.
Opinion: "The Threat to Retirement Security," Daniel Béland, Policy Options, February 2009.

Publications

"Obamacare Wars: Federalism, State Politics, and the Affordable Care Act" (with Philip Rocco; Alex Waddan) (University Press of Kansas, 2016, paperback 2016).
Provides an in-depth comparative analysis of the implementation of the ACA’s health-insurance exchanges, its expansion of Medicaid, and its numerous regulatory reforms. Argues that the ACA’s opponents were consequential in shaping key aspects of policy implementation, though they were by no means uniformly successful.
"The Politics of Policy Change: Welfare, Medicare, and Social Security Reform in the United States" (with Alex Waddan) (Georgetown University Press, 2012).
Explores processes of social policy change in the United States, through a comparison of three key episodes taking place in three distinct policy areas: the 1996 welfare reform, the 2003 Medicare reform, and the failed attempt to privatize Social Security in 2005.
Ideas and Politics in Social Science Research (edited with Robert Henry Cox) (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Gathers top U.S. and international scholars to advance our understanding of how ideas can shape policy and political change.
"What is Social Policy? Understanding the Welfare State" (Polity Press, 2010).
Presents an introduction to social policy and discusses the development of the U.S. welfare state in comparative and historical perspective.
"Nationalism and Social Policy: The Politics of Territorial Solidarity" (with André Lecours) (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Offers a path-breaking analysis of the understudied relationship between national identity and social policy.
Public and Private Social Policy: Health and Pension Policies in a New Era (edited with Brian Gran) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
Collects comparative and international insight on the interaction among public and private social benefits, with a specific focus on health care and old-age pensions.
"Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate" (University Press of Kansas, 2005).
Presents a theoretically-informed narrative on the history and politics of U.S. Social Security, and offers new comparative and analytical insight about the fate of this popular program.