Research Analysis
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The Negative Effects of Teacher Unionization on Long-Term Student Outcomes
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Teacher unionization has long been a disputed topic in public education. Supporters argue that unionization leads to more equitable rights and labor standards for teachers, increased teacher productivity, and improved short-run outcomes for their students (Ravani 2014; Wydra 2018). Opponents point to the potential prioritization of teacher labor interests over…
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State Regulatory Mechanisms for Increasing Renewable Energy Usage
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It is no secret that the United States is a major producer of carbon emissions and that policies to curb the emissions of one of the biggest offenders, electricity generation, have not been successful at significantly reducing carbon emissions. However, the physical and regulatory world of energy generation and distribution…
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Want to Spark Charity? Try Appealing to Both the Head and the Heart
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Prevailing wisdom dictates that emotion – and not reason – motivates people to give money toward important social causes. But a recent study by Matthew Lindauer and colleagues calls this into question. The study finds that rational appeals in the form of philosophical arguments are as effective as emotional appeals…
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Are “Safe” Pesticides Harming Bees?
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Use of neonic pesticides in crops has dramatically increased in the past few decades. But a growing body of research suggests these treatments have a detrimental effect on bee populations. A recent study by Anson Main, Elisabeth Webb, Keith Goyne, and Doreen Mengel, published in Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment, found…
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The Long-Term Impact of Anti-Poverty Policies
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Since the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the federal government of the United States has taken a hands-on approach to alleviating poverty. From the minimum wage to food stamps, existing federal policies provide low-income families numerous incentives with varying results. In a groundbreaking new study, David Neumark,…
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Fentanyl’s Rise on Darknet Markets (and How to Stop It)
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Over the past decade, opioid-related overdose has become the leading cause of death for American adults under age 50. During the same period, opioid deaths caused by synthetic narcotics increased 13-fold, and by 2017 they accounted for 60% of all opioid-related deaths. One drug compound dominates this category: fentanyl. Fentanyl’s…
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The Link Between Income and Xenophobia
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According to the World Bank (2019), close to half the world’s population lives in countries where development goals are hindered by conflict and violence. The UNHCR (2019) claims that by the end of 2018, 70.8 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes, of whom at least 25.9 million…
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Should a Computer Decide Your Sentence?
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Amid the election of progressive district attorneys and passage of historic sentencing reforms, many U.S. cities are making strides toward decarceration. In an effort to reduce their prison populations while addressing sentencing bias, at least 20 states employ predictive risk assessment technology during judicial decision making. Through a tailored, statistics-based…
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Peacekeepers Cannot Stop State Violence
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The international community deploys UN peacekeeping missions to conflict zones to stop violence, protect civilians, and engage in peacekeeping negotiations. UN peacekeeping operations are the cornerstone of post-conflict reconstruction in war torn regions and peacekeepers are increasingly deployed to ongoing conflict zones to mitigate violence on and off the battlefield.…
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Predicting Natural Resource Violence
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Between 1949 and 2009, at least 40 percent of intrastate conflicts were linked to natural resources, according to estimates in a UN report. A growing body of research explores these links to try to explain variation across factors like time, geography, and resource type. One puzzle involves the question of…
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How Women’s Empowerment Reduces Child Hunger
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Burkina Faso, a small West African country, is experiencing a child public health crisis. 88 percent of children under five years old are anemic, 16 percent are wasted — meaning they weigh too little for their height (a good predictor of mortality), and 35 percent are stunted. Past studies have…