Kennedy School Review
Established in 1999, the mission of the Harvard Kennedy School Review (KSR) was to publish articles that offer compelling analysis and insight and put forward pragmatic and innovative solutions for the major issues of our time. KSR sought to publish timely, provocative, important articles that influence policymakers and practitioners, stimulate public debate, and showcase the best work of Kennedy School students. KSR provided an opportunity for students to challenge, change, and influence the policy debate on crucial policy issues.
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A circular economy for all: The case for integrating the informal waste sector in developing countries
02.17.20
To outsiders, Minh Khai Village in Vietnam is an assault to the senses; bales of plastic waste line its streets, waterways are deluged with litter, and toxic fumes permeate the air. Minh Khai is believed to be the largest plastic waste importer in the country[1]. It is made up of more than 1000 households, which […]

S3E4: (Th)interventions for (Th)inspiration? Policy Responses to the Rise of Pro-Anorexia Websites
02.13.20
Listen Here! We know about the dangers of the Dark Web, but what about the Thin Web? First Year Kennedy School Students Lucy O’Keeffe and Nagela Nukuna sit down with Andrea Alvarez Marin to discuss vulnerable corners of the internet where eating disorders such as Anorexia (“Ana”) and Bulimia (“Mia”) proliferate. Some of these “pro-Ana” […]

A Prescription for Change: Voter Registration in Emergency Rooms
02.13.20
Marginalized patient populations in the United States use emergency rooms at disproportionately higher rates than the average patient population. This high rate of utilization is due largely to a lack of accessible alternative options rather than an actual increased need of critical care. In other words, patients who are young, people of color, and have […]

Civil Society: A Key Player in the Global Fight Against Misinformation
02.7.20
Editor’s Note: Information for this article was obtained primarily from interviews by the authors. Names and identifying information have been withheld in some cases to protect the identity of the interviewees. In the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election, reports of Russian interference and accusations of biased news coverage gave rise to a renewed […]

Coercion and Enticement: How the Indian Media Lost Its Soul to the BJP
02.6.20
Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the general elections in 2014, India’s media has precipitously fallen from grace. The media’s depreciation is intertwined with the rise of the BJP’s controversial Hindutva agenda. Hindutva, an ideology of the BJP and other right-wing groups in India, aims to establish Hindu hegemony in India. Under BJP rule, […]

The “Year of Return” and the unintended consequences for Ghanaians
01.29.20
Ghana’s “Year of Return”, by its very nature, was bound to gain a considerable amount of positive press in the United States. The campaign encouraged descendants of the African diaspora to visit and invest in Ghana. For African Americans who struggle to locate their ancestral roots, the “Year of Return” provided a fresh opportunity to […]

Referendums Are Dangerous for Democracy
01.28.20
On 23 June 2016, 33.6 million people and I stepped into polling booths to answer a yes-or-no question that would define the United Kingdom for generations.[1] According to the “Vote Leave” campaign, this was our opportunity to “take back control” and release the country from the unrelenting grip of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.[2] God forbid, […]

The legacy of microfinance: does it live up to its hype?
01.24.20
The origin story of microfinance began with Muhammad Yunus, a Professor of Economics who returned from the US to teach in his native Bangladesh. Amid high poverty rates, he found himself questioning how economic theory could address the immediate needs of the poor around him. He started experimenting with lending small sums of money to […]

Not So Plum: The Shortcomings of the Plum Book and Tracking Political Appointments
01.23.20
Introduction “Personnel is policy” was a popular motto in the Reagan administration. Today, the phrase continues to ring true as political appointments remain vacant and appointees are hired to run agencies that they once wanted to dismantle.[1],[2] Presidents have immense power to influence the policy-making process through their personnel choices. Most of the federal government’s […]

Past the Pilot Stage: Policy Makers Must Consider Impacts of Police Body-Worn Cameras beyond Accountability
01.21.20
In September 2013, attorney Scott Greenwood of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said of police use of body-worn cameras, “You don’t want to give officers a list and say, ‘Only record the following 10 types of situations.’ You want officers to record all the situations, so when a situation does go south, there’s an […]

Revamping the jury duty system: updating jury duty for a modern, diverse America
01.17.20
An exception for students “freed” me from jury duty last year. Before my exception was confirmed though, I did some research in preparation of fulfilling this so-called civic duty. I learned three key lessons: (1) the jury wheel (list of all potential jurors) has as many representative gaps as a block of swiss cheese; (2) […]

Using Blockchain for Immutable Mediation and Autonomous Governance
01.15.20
Introduction Blockchain is the decentralized system that underpins cryptocurrencies. It offers a secure and impartial platform that can store vast amounts of transactional data for any asset that can be digitized. It cannot be manipulated or hacked due to its complex security features and the legacy of transactions that promote continuity, much like real objects […]