On May 5, three local policymakers shared their insights on how evidence has informed their policy decisions at an IPR panel, "Evidence into Impact: Research at the Policy Table."
"What we're talking about today is how people are using this information to leverage change in different spaces and hopefully improve people’s lives," IPR Director and sociologist Andrew Papachristos said during the panel. Chicago policymakers Avik Das, Maurice Classen, and Jadine Chou discussed how academic research influenced their work in community safety, city management, and education.
|
|
From an elite prep school in Los Angeles to a prestigious East Coast university, IPR associate Lauren Rivera learned to navigate a world far from her working-class roots—but never stopped questioning the elite culture she experienced.
Rivera's education would lead her to study how people’s definitions and evaluations of merit fuel social inequality, focusing on who elite institutions let in and keep out. "The way we evaluate merit is conditioned by our own social experiences and societal stereotypes," she said.
|
|
On Sept. 1, 2019, mayoral candidate Karina García was killed on her way home from a campaign stop in Cauca, Colombia. Tragically, in Colombia this kind of violence is not rare, and it's on the rise around the world. New research by political scientist and IPR associate Ana Arjona shows that political assassinations in Colombia over the last 40 years depressed voter turnout for up to four election cycles following the assassinations.
|
|
As the gap continues to grow between the richest and poorest Americans, so does our fascination with the unattainable lifestyles of the ultrawealthy and their children who inherit their fortunes. New research by sociologist and IPR associate Doron Shiffer-Sebba examines how the rich use legal entities like trusts and corporations to keep wealth in the family—and what it says about how inequality persists.
|
|
Faculty Insights
"Every president over the last few decades has been trying to add more power to the executive branch and forward their agenda. Trump is taking that to the extreme."
|
|
Research Impact
For more than 50 years, researchers at the Institute for Policy Research have pursued a singular focus: providing the evidence that policymakers need to make people’s lives better. Their findings don’t sit on a shelf—they inform decisions, powering policy progress and real-world change far beyond Northwestern. Read more about our research impact.
|
|
Working Papers
Our monthly working paper newsletter highlights the newest additions from our faculty experts, but you can always view all of IPR’s working papers on our website. Sign up to receive notification of our newest working papers here.
|
|
|
|
