New Blog Posts

  • Deck the Landfills: The High Price of Fast Fashion

    Deck the Landfills: The High Price of Fast Fashion

    Elizabeth Sherwood, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives There is an expectation that clothing should be priced low and be available in large quantities. Consumers enjoy the feeling of purchasing large stacks of clothing with minimal damage to their bank accounts, but these habits have unseen consequences. The Fast Fashion Cycle Fashion trends change quickly, and…

  • GW WonkCast S2E5: U.S. & Afghanistan Policy

    GW WonkCast S2E5: U.S. & Afghanistan Policy

    This episode of the GW WonkCast features guest Hakim Jan, an independent researcher from Afghanistan. Jan has a background in political science and national security studies and as a Fulbright scholar, he focuses on transnational security issues at Trachtenberg. All views expressed are his own. Jan joins the team to discuss U.S. and Afghanistan policy…

  • The Argentine Financial Crisis: Causes and Lessons Learned

    The Argentine Financial Crisis: Causes and Lessons Learned

    Jason Marshall, MPP Summary of the Crisis The 2001-2002 Argentine Financial Crisis was the culmination of an overreaction to a history of hyperinflation, an unwillingness to address needed structural reforms, and a macro-economic strategy that left Argentina totally exposed to external shocks and swings in global capital flows. While just a decade earlier Argentina was…

  • The Polar Vortex of 2014 is Still Changing How We Use Energy

    The Polar Vortex of 2014 is Still Changing How We Use Energy

    Charles Landau, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives In early 2014,  a long, dry, cold spell, dubbed the polar vortex hit the Eastern United States. PJM, a regional power grid operator that primarily covers Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, experienced record-setting demand for power and adverse market conditions, which forced the company to take an unusually high…

  • Staying Above Water: Crafting a More Sustainable National Flood Insurance Program

    Staying Above Water: Crafting a More Sustainable National Flood Insurance Program

    Jessica Blackband, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Reporting on Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath has died down, but the 82,000 people who filed flood insurance claims after the disaster are still awaiting relief. These homeowners, developers and property managers are covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a FEMA program that subsidizes insurance premiums for these…