BY JOSH RUDOLPH The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. – John Maynard Keynes Friday afternoons tend to be subdued affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. But the afternoon […]

 Abstract Several endemic tropical diseases retard economic progress by devastating childhood development and also by reducing productivity in adults, especially among agricultural workers.  One of these diseases – malaria  – a major cause of death and disability – has been under attack on a large scale in Africa since 2005.  This attack has been accompanied […]

Chad’s withdrawal from the international mission opens door for regional terrorist groups. As sectarian violence in the Central African Republic continues to spiral out of control, militant jihadist groups such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have taken notice. They have issued condemnations on several occasions, blaming France for […]

Srdja Popovic was a founder of the Serbian nonviolent resistance group Otpor! that led the successful campaign to unseat Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000. Popovic later served a term as a member of the Serbian National Assembly 2000-2003. In 2003, Popovic and other ex-Otpor! activists started the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and […]

Our guest today, Dr. Raul Ruiz, is no stranger to Harvard. Before he was a Congressman he earned his M.D. at the Harvard Medical School, an MPP at the Kennedy School, and a M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health. In our interview I think you hear elements of each; An ambition for public service that is informed by his experience in medicine. This interview is even a bit of a home coming as Congressman Ruiz is a the Former Editor-in-Chief of our very journal. We hope you enjoy this episode of the policycast.

Today we are presenting an Interview with Liz Montoya. She is a Washington expert through and through. You can also say she has been a part of building Washington as we know it with over 30 years of Human Resources experience she has been a key leader in hiring and setting personnel policies at the Office of Personnel Management as well as the Department of Energy and Transportation. She has worked closely with the White House as well. We talked to her about hiring practice and what it will take to get more people of color in positions of higher authority in our government.

BY CROSBY BURNS A preliminary version of this post originally appeared on the Ash Center’s Challenges to Democracy blog Last year the City of Boston unveiled its plans to devote a portion of its capital budget towards a participatory budget, a social innovation that aims to reimagine citizen engagement, the appropriations process, and democratic participation. […]

Impact investing has become a buzz word in social enterprise circles but, even today, opportunities to invest are hardly accessible to the average American. Barriers include protective federal regulations as well as the inability to reach scale. BY CHRISSIE LONG On January 14, eBay ended its brief flirtation with impact investing. The internet giant had […]

In 2010, a gay Rutgers freshman, Tyler Clementi, discovered his roommate had used a webcam to film him having sex with another man, encouraging other students to watch by posting the video online. Humiliated and distraught, Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge a few days later. His suicide confronted the public and policymakers, highlighting […]

BY RORY GERBERG As a female graduate student at the Kennedy School, I use Boston’s public transportation system. Last Wednesday, I wore a skirt. You might ask, was it long or short, loose or tight? Would my answer impact my rights? I consented to wearing an article of clothing and to boarding a bus, not […]

Hispanics have contributed to every avenue of American life since the inception of this country. Hispanics’ origins have played a key role in our country’s socio-economic, political and cultural development and many argue: What would America would be like without the presence of Hispanics and their influence?

We are back for the Spring semester and excited to share our interview with Soledad O’Brien. Soledad is one of America’s most distinguishable and recognizable journalist. For over 20 years she has reported and anchored television shows on NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Aljazeera, and most recently on HBO. She has also won many awards. Including an Emmy and the NAACP President’s Award as well as the Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.