U.S. Math Education Still in the Doldrums
…monkey line. A frequent explanation for the U.S.’s poor PISA results is poverty — for example, by Daniel Wydo or (after the similar 2009 PISA results) by Stephen Krashen. That…
Over 40 percent of U.S. births are to unmarried mothers, and the numbers are especially high among the less-educated. Why? One argument is that the decline in good manufacturing jobs…
…monkey line. A frequent explanation for the U.S.’s poor PISA results is poverty — for example, by Daniel Wydo or (after the similar 2009 PISA results) by Stephen Krashen. That…
…can poor parents take to counterbalance the effects of poverty? According to Rajeev Dehejia, an economics professor at Tufts University, one answer may be to join a church. Dehejia, along…
A team of economists has been running the numbers on the U.N.’s development goals. They have a different view of how those billions of dollars should be spent.
The gist: the argument for open borders is compelling — and deeply problematic.
A new article in The American Prospect looks at the progress of New York City’s ambitious anti-poverty initiative, Opportunity NYC. The program is based on Mexico’s successful conditional cash-transfer program,…
…a suburban re-do (ReBurbia), and invited readers to vote on the top 20 finalists. The leader so far: the urban sprawl repair kit — complete with “suburban house wings.” [%comments]…
The junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey thinks bipartisanship is right around the corner. Is he just an idealistic newbie or does he see a way forward that everyone else…
(Photo: flippy whale) Is there a role for hope in poverty alleviation programs? According to a recent speech by economist Esther Duflo, there is. Duflo looked at a BRAC program…
…contents: Preface: Why Egyptians filled Tahrir Square to bring down Hosni Mubarak and what it means for our understanding of the causes of prosperity and poverty 1. So Close and…
The consequences of our low marriage rate — and if the old model is less attractive, how about a new one?
…2013, two years ahead of the 2015 target. Moreover, African poverty reduction has been extremely general. Poverty fell for both landlocked and coastal countries, for mineral-rich and mineral-poor countries, for…
…poverty to crime, they also attribute one-third of the costs of poverty-related crime to divorce, and also attribute further tax costs to the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Add enough of…
Could it be that cities are “our greatest invention” – that, despite their reputation as soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make us richer, smarter, happier and (gulp) greener?…
…environmental consequences of large suburban homes with long commutes both support arguments for reducing these distortions. Glaeser concludes by arguing in favor of “slowly lowering the cap on the interest…
The political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption. The U.S. and China have more in common than we’d like to admit…
…the grip that extreme poverty had on so many of its people. Sachs admirably raised millions, drew attention to efforts to alleviate poverty around the world, and launched Millennium Villages…
A new book by an unorthodox political scientist argues that the two rivals have more in common than we’d like to admit. It’s just that most American corruption is essentially…
Why do some activities tire your brain more than others? How exhausting is poverty? And could most of the world’s problems be solved with a sandwich?…
In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming,…
In her new book The Two-Parent Privilege, the economist Melissa Kearney says it’s time for liberals to face the facts: U.S. marriage rates have plummeted but the babies keep coming,…
A lot of full-time jobs in the modern economy simply don’t pay a living wage. And even those jobs may be obliterated by new technologies. What’s to be done so…
They can’t vote or hire lobbyists. The policies we create to help them aren’t always so helpful. Consider the car seat: parents hate it, the safety data are unconvincing, and…
A series of academic studies suggest that the wealthy are, to put it bluntly, selfish jerks. It’s an easy narrative to swallow — but is it true? A trio of…
Harvard economist Raj Chetty uses tax data to study inequality, kid success, and social mobility. He explains why you should be careful when choosing your grade school teachers — and…
…something we take for granted in America: clean water. Normally I yawn at Hallmark-meets-poverty-program type publicity stunts. Reminds me of many a microcredit “awareness” campaign that paraded superstar microentrepreneurs on…
…am hardly the only one to feel that it is way overrated. That said, Slumdog‘s depiction of Indian life, particularly the slum poverty, was incredibly interesting, at least to this…
Millions and millions are out of work, with some jobs never coming back. We speak with four economists — and one former presidential candidate — about the best policy options…
Most Americans agree that racial discrimination has been, and remains, a big problem. But that is where the agreement ends.
The pandemic has hit America’s biggest city particularly hard. Amidst a deep fiscal hole, rising homicides, and a flight to the suburbs, some people think the city is heading back…
