Research Analysis
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Leaning in or Leaning Out?
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The World Economic Forum estimates that for every dollar a woman earns, a man earns $1.54 in the United States. Holding all else equal, it would take the world 169 years to close the wage gap completely. This disparity has triggered an ongoing debate not only about the extent of…
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Disruptive Competition: Online Degree Programs in the Higher Education Market
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In February 2006, Congress repealed the “50 percent rule.” Originally enacted in 1992, this rule prevented undergraduate institutions from receiving federal financial aid — including funding through Title IV or the Higher Education Act (HEA) — if more than 50 percent of courses were offered online or more than half…
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More Questions than Answers: A Review of Gun Violence in Chicago
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The University of Chicago Crime Lab released a report in January 2017 that details the sudden spike in gun violence that persisted throughout 2016. The Crime Lab analyzed key data in an attempt to discover what triggered the dramatic increase in gun-related crime. Many of the findings were not surprising: Gun violence…
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Introducing the Economics of Immigration
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Economics of Immigration Series The Chicago Policy Review is pleased to present a new special series on immigration. Originally conceived in October 2016, the Review did not anticipate that the timing of this series would be so relevant. Currently, the economic and cultural impacts of immigration are taking center stage in U.S.…
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Economists Are Finding a New Perspective on Immigration
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As recently as twenty years ago, economists taught that as the supply of unskilled labor increased due to immigration, legal or otherwise, the wages and employment of natives would fall as the two groups competed for a fixed number of jobs. This perspective casts immigration as a potential threat to…
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Reading the Tea Leaves: Labor Rights Violations on India’s Tea Plantations
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Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world, second only to water. Over three million tons of tea are produced every year worldwide. Much of that production takes place in India, which has the second highest level of tea production of any nation in the world. Yet, in…
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Paying for Lower Taxes: The Effect of a Place-Based Tax Reduction Program in Detroit
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To combat poverty, state and local policymakers have increasingly turned to “place-based” policies that offer financial support, such as subsidies or tax abatements based on location. This assistance is meant to spur redevelopment and economic growth in a particular area. The increasing popularity of place-based policies has been driven by…
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Electricity in Transition: Renewables in Developing Countries
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The energy sector is undergoing a major transformation, becoming more decentralized and more interactive than ever before. Growing numbers of independent renewable generators are changing consumer behavior and posing challenges for current utilities. Renewable energy micro-grids—localized, discrete renewable energy power generation systems, independent from traditional grids—have been widely praised for…
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Quitting Smoking Can Increase Weight More Than We Thought
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Obesity is a growing health problem in the United States with prevalence rates rising from 13 percent in the 1960s to 35 percent in 2012. The United States has the highest obesity rate in the OECD, but the world is keeping pace: The World Health Organization has declared obesity to be…
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Where Children Live Matters: Housing Policy Effects on Education Outcomes
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Social scientists have long suspected that the demographic characteristics and attributes of neighborhoods affect the educational outcomes of the children who live in them. However, this hypothesis is challenging to test because people tend to self-select the neighborhoods in which they live. As a result, exogenous variation — a randomized…
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Acuerdo de París: retos para su consolidación
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En noviembre de 2016, entró en vigor el Acuerdo de París con el objetivo de mantener el aumento de la temperatura global promedio por debajo de 2 grados centígrados. Aunque esta meta representa un avance considerable, existe evidencia de que 2 grados son insuficientes y que un umbral de 1.5…