Research Analysis
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Electoral Representation for Racial Minorities: Victims of Their Own Success?
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Even as decades have passed since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African Americans and Hispanics continue to encounter disproportionately low levels of electoral representation. In search of an appropriate remedy, the U.S. Congress passed amendments to the Voting Rights Act in 1982, hoping to promote proportional…
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El petróleo no se acaba, pero el tiempo para actuar sí
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El petróleo es un recurso no renovable: por esta razón, en los años setenta comenzó a circular la creencia de que iba a acabarse muy pronto. Eso ayudó a disminuir la preocupación de que el petróleo y los demás combustibles fósiles agravarían el cambio climático. Se pensaba que, como el…
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The Data Doesn’t Seem to Be Vouching for Vouchers
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Arguments supporting private management of schools date back to the founding of the United States and have reflected a variety of ideological positions. The call for privatization policies like school vouchers intensified in the mid-20th century due largely to the assertions of economist Milton Friedman. Friedman proposed that the government…
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Dos lecciones de la minería chilena para incrementar la productividad en América Latina
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Uno de los grandes desafíos de América Latina es manejar eficientemente sus recursos naturales. Para lograrlo, es necesario aumentar la productividad, pues esta promueve el desarrollo económico a largo plazo. Sin embargo, en nuestra región, las mediciones que existen de la productividad en la industria de los recursos naturales son…
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Autonomous Vehicles Save Lives, But Barriers Still Abound
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After years of rapid technological advances, autonomous vehicles are poised to revolutionize the motor vehicle industry. As society speeds toward a driverless future, policymakers are looking to implement regulatory mechanisms to maximize the public benefit. In “Preparing a Nation for Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Barriers and Policy Recommendations,” Daniel J. Fagnant…
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Prenatal Home Visits Lead to Improved Child Health and Development Outcomes
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Home visiting programs during pregnancy have been shown to measurably improve child health and development outcomes. One such program, the Memphis Nurse Family Partnership (NFP), sent registered nurses to the homes of primarily African-American, unmarried, low-income, first-time mothers. The visits began during pregnancy and lasted until the children turned two…
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Why Don’t People Search for the Cheapest Health Care?
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According to a poll conducted by Monmouth University earlier this year, the cost of healthcare is the top concern for American families. This makes sense in the context of a health system in which the proliferation of high deductible health plans—where patients pay greater amounts before their insurers start contributing—have…
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The Conflicting Outcomes of Food Price Shocks
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Given the preponderance of violence and civil conflict in Africa, development practitioners are eager to understand the relationship between economic conditions and conflict. Conflict can negatively impact education, health, and state capacity—all important components of economic growth. While the negative consequences of conflict are clear, the conditions giving rise to…
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How Public Support for Foreign Aid Depends on Trust
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Literature on development aid ranges from analyzing the effectiveness of aid to assessing foreign policy attitudes. However, as many members of society scrutinize government spending and demand transparency, it becomes increasingly necessary to justify a foreign aid budget to a skeptical public. In a detailed study using data from the…
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Connecting the Disconnected: How Technology Can Accelerate Human Progress
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It is impossible to understate the impact that information and communication technology (ICT) has had on the social and political environment of the 21st century. Scholars have argued that improvements in ICT lead to significant economic growth—in part, by development assistance programs aimed at connecting people to the internet. This…
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Social Media May Provoke Violent Conflicts, But Can It Prevent Them Too?
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When a gang member on the south side of Chicago posted a photo of himself throwing down a gang sign in enemy territory on his social media account, the backlash was immediate and severe. The response was not limited to the comments section alone; it took only an hour for…