Research Analysis
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Can Online Ads Help Prevent Violent Extremism?
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Extremist groups have a new recruiting tool: online media. Organizations including hate groups, violent jihadist groups and far-right political groups have increasingly turned to the web—and to social media, in particular—for the purposes of identifying sympathizers, distributing propaganda and recruiting new members. In response, counter-extremist campaigns have fought back using…
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Chicago Food: More supermarkets do not mean healthy food for all
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Chicago is well known for its food culture, from Harold’s Fried Chicken to deep dish pizza to ‘Chicago-style’ hot dogs. It is difficult to spend time in this Midwestern city without spotting a sausage stand and developing a fondness for the many uniquely Windy City fried delicacies. Yet for many…
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Could Phone Data Reveal a Person’s Wealth?
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The effective design, implementation and evaluation of public policies rely on accurate socioeconomic data. It would be impossible, for instance, to implement a poverty alleviation program without knowing who the relevant target populations are, where they live, and their economic status. As the United Nations Population Fund puts it, “without…
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The Amazon in peril: The life and death of the world’s most diverse biome
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Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s most extensively researched ecological zones. In addition to its rich biodiversity and economic importance to Brazil, the Amazon is also one of the largest land-based sinks of atmospheric carbon in the world. A significant body of ecological research regarding the Amazon focuses…
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Can Blockchain-Enabled Voting Meet Security and Secrecy Standards?
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In 2018, West Virginia became the first state in the U.S. to test blockchain-enabled internet voting on mobile devices for a federal-level general election. Overseas voters from 24 West Virginia counties were able to cast their votes via an app instead of requesting absentee ballots. Despite the easier access to…
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(Mis)Information, Immigration and Redistribution
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The base of the Statue of Liberty, which happens to be a gift from a European country to the United States, reads, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The ideas embodied in this phrase have been increasingly debated in recent years, not just…
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Standardized Testing, College Success, and Diversity: Planning a Predictive Education
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Policymakers and educators have a vested interest in ensuring that each space at universities be filled by the most capable candidates, as spaces are limited. This is especially true at public institutions. Because the majority of funds come from the government, each pupil represents a significant investment of the state’s…
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Beyond Test Scores: How Can We Measure Social-Emotional Learning?
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In recent years, educators and policymakers have expanded the conversation around student success by moving beyond standardized test scores. Social-emotional learning (SEL), in particular, has emerged as an important factor in student outcomes. The use of non-academic terms like “self-management” and “grit” has grown common among policymakers and educators, due…
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Fake News and Filter Bubbles: Rethinking Counterspeech in the Age of Social Media
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Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many pundits and politicians have denounced “fake news” as a new, corrosive force in public discourse. While it is commonly agreed that a well-informed public is vital for democracy, attempts at regulating news can be both legally and morally complicated. Based on precedent set…
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What do Chinese restaurants teach us about the immigrant labor market?
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Chinese immigration to the United States often evokes images of Chinatowns, featuring Lunar New Year Parades, dim sum restaurants housed in pagodas, and storefronts featuring herbal remedies or porcelain goods. Cities have long been gateways for new immigrants to establish businesses in pursuit of economic mobility, and researchers examining Chinese…
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Prenatal Stress and Cognitive Function: A Natural Experiment
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It is well-documented that stress can jeopardize prenatal development. In fact, past studies have found a negative correlation between the amount of stress a mother experiences during pregnancy and the future cognitive abilities of her child. Since a child’s cognitive abilities can heavily influence his or her life outcomes, it…