How helping families relocate could increase economic mobility

In the Economist: moving really helps poor kids and support for parents can make that happen.

Can gentrification be a force for positive social change?

For the Economist.  A new paper suggests it displaces few people and often improves life for those who stay.

UK Research Aid: Tied, Opaque and Off-Topic?

A policy paper for CGD with Lee Robinson and Euan Ritchie who did nearly all of the work.  The UK has considerably increased the amount of aid it spends on research in recent years. The information associated with the majority of this research aid is vague, raising questions about transparency. A large amount of the research is financed using an allocation mechanism that effectively ties it to UK institutions. There are also questions as to the poverty focus of some of the research conducted, given the explicit intention of the UK government to find existing activity to reclassify as ODA following the legislating of the 0.7 percent target.  We suggest reporting reforms that will increase transparency and allow greater scrutiny of the way UK research aid is spent. We also call for the UK to live up to its reporting to the OECD that all British aid is untied. 

Why America lost so many of its black teachers

In the Economist: desegregation led to the rise of teacher testing, which has depressed the number of African American teachers.

How many Americans live on $2 a day?

Probably not very many, but the safety net is still a mess.  Me for The Economist.

The benefits of pre-schooling may extend for generations

Me, in The Economist, on pre-K.

Examining the Impact of E-Procurement in Ukraine

A CGD Working Paper  examines the impact of Ukraine’s ambitious procurement reform on outcomes amongst a set of procurements that used competitive tendering. The ProZorro system placed all of the country’s government procurement online, introduced an auction approach as the default procurement method, and extended transparency. The reform was introduced with a dramatic increase in the proportion of government procurement that was conducted competitively. This paper examines the impact of ProZorro and reform on contracts that were procured competitively both prior to and after the introduction of the new system. It finds some evidence of impact of the new system on increasing the number of bidders, cost savings, and reduced contracting times.

Depression is increasing among Americans reaching middle age

For The Economist.  Across genders and race/ethnicities, Americans get more miserable as they reach middle age.  White men still kill themselves more often, though.

Fighting crony capitalism at the World Bank

In The Hill, railing about the the IDA Private Sector Window.

Why illegal crossings on America’s southern border have hit an 11-year high

In large part because the administration is turning away asylum seekers at regular crossing points.  Me in The Economist.

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