Archive
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Freedom of Information in Mexico: Not So Free
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The Freedom of Information Act in Mexico—also known as FOIA—provides a process for citizens to gain access to information about the way their society is working. Ideally, these requests are fulfilled without regard to the political power of the person making them, and thereby serve to increase transparency in governance.…
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Nutritional Effects of Food Deserts: A Story of Supply or Demand
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Despite possessing over one-third of the world’s wealth, America suffers from higher poverty rates and worse health outcomes than other wealthy countries. Poor health outcomes are not felt equally across the country but, rather, are disproportionately concentrated in the poorest neighborhoods. One potential reason for this inequality is that low-income…
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The Conservation Effects of a Variable Tax on Groundwater Withdrawal
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In the United States, water resources have been historically plentiful, and groundwater consumption is generally not well-managed. However, as demand increases and the effects of climate change strain groundwater resources, the need to monitor consumption habits rises. Policymakers must undertake the challenge of striking a balance between economic performance of…
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How Rising Property Taxes Engender Regressive Taxation
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As the old adage goes, two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. While it may not be lethal, some Cook County residents are in for a surprise when they open their next property tax bill. Reports indicate that between 2015-2016, the average property tax rate for a Chicago…
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What are the True Costs of Natural Disasters?
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With a year that included severe monsoon flooding in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Mexico, and hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, 2017 was an exceptionally bad year for natural disasters. Policies can help mitigate these tragedies, but to start we must better understand a disaster’s true costs. Conventional metrics consider…
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How Jurisprudence Encouraged Whites to ‘Reverse Pass’ as Black
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Remember Rachel Dolezal? An instructor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University and president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Dolezal hid her racial origin until 2015 when an intrepid reporter unmasked her. A follow-up with her parents revealed the truth:…
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Karen Tumulty on Journalism in the Era of Trump
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Editor’s Note: The following interview has been edited for length. Click here for the entire interview in podcast form. This interview is a collaboration between the Chicago Policy Review and the University of Chicago Public Policy Podcasts (UC3P). What’s it like reporting in the age of Trump? Are the differences demonstrated…
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A Dissonant Fantasy: Why Authoritarians on the Left Disengage from Politics
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From the United States to France, from Turkey to the Philippines, the rising specter of authoritarianism across the globe has frightened proponents of liberal democracy. Among those invested in the current world order, the discourse now confronts whether democratic norms and institutions will be enough to maintain the status quo.…
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The Deteriorating Impact of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program in Chicago
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Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2002 to reduce gun violence across 94 federal districts. The City of Chicago adopted this program the same year, targeting neighborhoods inflicted with high rates of poverty, unemployment, gang membership, and high school dropouts. Initial evaluations determined…
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Does Economic Growth Help or Hinder Poverty Alleviation? A Case Study From Mexico
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The uneven distribution of globalization-driven economic growth has led researchers to question whether growth actually decreases poverty and inequality. They have tried to answer questions such as: Does growth affect poverty at all? Is growth sufficient to reduce poverty? What conditions must exist for the growth of a country to be pro-poor?…
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Can Vehicle Automation Help Us Save Energy?
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Technology for automated vehicles has developed rapidly over the past few years. The vehicles’ safety and convenience make them increasingly popular. At the same time, it has necessitated the introduction of new legislation to regulate an expanding market. On September 12, 2017, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)…