 Examining the Power of Place—Housing, Desegregation, and Opportunity
At a recent IPR policy research briefing in Chicago, four national experts explored the pernicious persistence of segregation on socioeconomic outcomes, improving residential choice voucher programs to better serve their holders—in particular, poor black families—and the complex relationship between tearing down public housing and crime rates.
Watch the video or view the slides here.
Death Penalty Studies Contain “Fundamental Flaws”
Available research on the effects of the death penalty is fundamentally flawed and thus, cannot be used to determine whether it affects murder rates, said a National Research Council committee, which included IPR economist Charles F. Manski, in an April 18 report.
Read the report brief.
Redefining Race
At a February 29 lecture sponsored by IPR and the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, IPR law professor Dorothy Roberts discussed her most recent book, Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century, and underscored key points from her research, including how race is being used in reproductive science, DNA-based criminal databases, and drug marketing.
Putting More Science into Political Science
In many scientific disciplines, most breakthroughs and advances come through experiments, but using experimental methods in political science research is relatively new. In a recent Science article and handbook, IPR political scientist James Druckman documents the rise of experiments in political science and shows how they are helping to transform the field.
Examining America's Elite Lawyers
A recent study by IPR legal scholar John Heinz and his colleagues indicates why elite lawyers on the right hold a distinct advantage over their Democratic counterparts in terms of agenda setting and legislative lobbying. It could also shed light on other aspects of politics such as why, for example, Republican-leaning Super PACs attract more money than Democratic ones.
Voters Overrate Favorite Candidates
A new study co-authored by IPR economist Charles F. Manski found that no matter what the polls show, voters think their preferred candidate will win. Said Manski, "People thought their preferred candidate had a higher chance of winning, in every election, no matter in which state they live, no matter who was running, no matter which political party."
Delivering Warmth for Afghan Babies
Thanks to Northwestern Medicine pediatrician and IPR associate Craig Garfield, 14,000 silver mylar blankets — the kind typically handed out to runners after a marathon — are headed to Afghanistan to help children in danger of freezing to death this winter in scarcely heated refugee camps. More than 20 Afghan children have already died from the cold in the past month.
What Shields Gay Youth from Suicide?
New research by medical social scientist and IPR faculty associate Brian Mustanski is the first to show what happens over time to LGBT teens who are bullied and victimized, finding that being bullied and experiencing low levels of support from others boost the risk that they will become suicidal or try to harm themselves.
Aspen Institute Taps IPR Fellow for Ascend Program
IPR developmental psychologist P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale was named one of 20 inaugural Ascend Fellows by the Aspen Institute. An expert on the interface between research and social policy for children and families, she joins a select group of leaders and researchers from around the nation who are pioneering dual-generation approaches to move families out of poverty.
Watch the announcement.
Read the Q&A about Chase-Lansdale work on CareerAdvance®.
Better Measure for Racial Disparities in Causes of Death
IPR social demographer Quincy Thomas Stewart proposes a supplemental method for estimating and comparing death rates that could lead to a better understanding of the racial gap in causes of death. His "cause-deleted index" might help to pinpoint the leading causes of death with much greater accuracy and lead to more targeted prevention policies for diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Politics Catches Up with Views on Income Inequality
IPR sociologist Leslie McCall combs through two decades of public opinion research to explain why popular movements and presidential speeches are catching up with what Americans have long thought about income inequality. The public’s concerns about income inequality have remained constant, she argues, but what’s new is how the black box of business practices has been opened to public scrutiny and deliberation.
Women in Power Can Help Girls Dream Bigger
A new study, co-authored by IPR economist Lori Beaman, examines the impact of an affirmative action law in India that reserves leadership positions for women in village councils. Published in Science, the research shows that such laws can increase girls' career aspirations and erase the gender gap in adolescent educational attainment.
Find previous headlines here.
Recent Books by IPR Faculty
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