Topic: Public Policy
COVID-19 Death Rates Vary Widely by County, But Why?
As the pandemic wears on, a search for the factors that cost lives
COVID-19 Tactics Varied by Gender Among Brazilian Mayors Running for Reelection
Notable differences in death rates; it appears candidates factored in voter gender bias
Do Body Cams Give Police an Unintended Break?
Video from officer-worn cameras is judged less negatively than footage captured on dashboard cameras
Do Private Prisons Lead to Higher Incarceration Rates?
Researchers take on the difficult job of isolating for-profit prisons from a host of other factors
Do Social Laws Always Cause a Backlash?
Laws that threaten ideological preferences prompt some opponents to adopt more extreme beliefs
Do Workers Cross State Lines for Higher Minimum Wages?
States that raise rates curtail out-migration but do not attract more outsiders
Experts Struggle to Accurately Forecast Societal Change
On COVID-19’s impacts, social scientists’ predictions weren’t much better than those of laypeople
Fed Policy Helped Distressed Homeowners But Wasn’t a Cure-All
Modifications curtailed foreclosures during 2008-09 crisis, but borrowers remained at high risk of delinquency
France, Forcing Municipal Mergers, Achieves Growth in Housing Units
Construction permitting power taken from cities that resisted development
Free Birth Control, Fewer Births
Unintended pregnancies decline when copays and patient fees are eliminated
Historical Case for Immigrants Sending Home More Than Money
France’s lower fertility rates spread to regions that sent the most emigrants to live there
Household Energy Efficiency: Not All Upgrades Are Created Equal
Behavior, other factors influence which improvements are effective
How Far Would You Go for an Ivy League Kid?
Study finds interest in screening embryos for education propensity, especially if everyone else is doing it
How to Speed Progress on U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
Operations management research identifies synergies for more efficient action
How Unions Tried to Harness Pension Fund Clout to Aid Organizing
A book examines labor’s alliance with other large shareholders to rein in corporate power
How-To Guide for Happiness Surveys, Which Increasingly Drive Public Policy
Advice for researchers aims to help improve both data collection and its interpretation