Archive
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Impacts of Local Ownership of Vacant Land on Crime
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Demographic and economic trends like suburbanization, deindustrialization, white flight, and foreclosures have resulted in an increase in vacant properties in cities like Chicago. High vacancy rates pose many challenges for cities and residents, including decreasing tax revenues and real estate values, while simultaneously increasing costs to the city and, potentially,…
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The Racial Wealth Gap and Recovering from Income Shocks
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The racial wealth gap in the United States is a legacy of nefarious actions and policies such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and redlining. Based on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances in 2016, the median white family had a net worth of $188,200, nearly eight times that of…
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Why Are Mexican Political Candidates Getting Killed?
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The 2018 elections were not only the largest in Mexico’s history, but also the most violent. From September 2017 to June 2018, 48 political candidates were killed during their campaigns. Was this violence politically motivated? A consequence of the criminal activity of the drug cartels? Was it a combination of…
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Drunk Drivers: Beware the Economists
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Every year, traffic accidents cause 50 million injuries and 1.35 million deaths globally. A staggering 90% of these deaths happen in developing countries. Though it is difficult to isolate accidents caused by drunk driving, they are estimated to represent 30% of all accidents. In countries like India with high frequencies…
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The Flournoy Doctrine: “Mend & Modernize.” Interview with former Undersecretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy
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Michèle Flournoy is widely rumored to be on the top of many lists to be the 28th United States Secretary of Defense when the Biden Administration takes over on January 20, 2021. She most certainly has the resume to sit in the seat: former Defense official in the Clinton and…
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It’s Time for a New Constitution
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On Thursday September 17, the United States celebrated Constitution Day—a holiday celebrating the signing of the Constitution in 1787. In the intervening 233 years, the document has undergone 27 revisions that have aimed at making the United States and its institutions more inclusive, responsive, and democratic. Yet for the entirety…
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How COVID-19 Could Reshape International Security Policy
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After the end of World War II, a network of international organizations was created to deal with what they determined at that time to be the biggest threats to global political stability. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 as a means to protect member states from…
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COVID-19 is Unleashing the Bicycle Revolution
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Lockdowns and stay at home orders from Chicago to London to Beijing have resulted in fewer cars on roads and reduced public transit ridership. The nosedive in daily commuters has transformed large swaths of cities around the world into a sea of deserted asphalt in the middle of the day.…
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Cleaner Electric Grid Key to Effective Electrification of Transportation
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Global efforts to mitigate climate change rely on strategies that dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Environment Programme has assessed that global emissions must drop by 7.6% annually from 2020 through 2030 to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius above…
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How to Tax the Rich
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President-elect Joe Biden is forming a transition team to assume office in January, but the outcome of some Senate elections are still outstanding. While the exact congressional makeup is unclear, more is known about the Biden-Harris transition team, which now includes noted Harris faculty and tax economist, Professor Damon Jones.…
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Millions of Americans Have Lost Their Health Insurance in the Middle of a Pandemic
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The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the US economy and produced record-high unemployment. To make matters worse, more than half of the US adult population—about 158 million people—receives health insurance through their employer. This means that the current economic crisis has the potential to strip millions of people of their health…