New Blog Posts

  • Black Minds Matter: A Look at the Psychological Effects of Mass Media on the #BlackLivesMatter Movement

    Elizabeth Morehead, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives A recent Pew Study showed that more than seven-in-ten American adults follow the news closely. 81% of American adults get at least a portion of their news through websites, apps, or social networking sites. In the past few years, pressing racial issues have surfaced in the U.S.and received…

  • Can There be a Future Ceasefire in Syria?

    Konark Sikka, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives  The most recent seven-day Syrian ceasefire was agreed upon by the United States and Russia on  September 7th, in the days preceding Eid Al-Adha. The ceasefire has taken place five years after the start of the Syrian Civil War, two years after the United States formally intervened in…

  • Regional Variation in International Aid to Cambodia

    By Nathan Rupp, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Recent data show an increasingly regionalized variation in development funding goals. Nations are taking different approaches to how they allocate funds to developing nations. The trends in funding method and sector differences highlight the geographic split in funding by Western and Asian sources. The two geographic areas…

  • Currency Mismatch: A Challenge Facing Emerging Market Investment

    Jason Marshall, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives  After the Great Recession came the New Normal. The worst economic downturn in the U.S. since 1929 has decreased annual GDP growth by  .5% – 1% when compared to pre-recession average growth rates, and significantly decreased the returns of financial securities in economically advanced countries. In response, investors…

  • All Policy is Local: Enacting Federal Programs at the State and Local Levels

    Michael Steinberg, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives  According to Pew Research Center, in 2014, only 20% of Americans believe that federal programs are managed well, and thus, frustration with government has become a central theme of the 2016 presidential election. However, when the federal government coordinates with state and local governments to implement certain…