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Seasonal Pollen Increases Traffic Fatalities in the United States

Monica Deza
This brief summarizes findings from a study that examines how seasonal pollen allergies affect traffic fatalities in the U.S. The authors find that traffic fatalities increase 5.8% on days when the local pollen count is particularly high.
December 17, 2024

Reforming the Shadow Carceral State

Brittany Michelle Friedman, Gabriela Kirk-Werner, April D. Fernandes

Assistant Professor of Sociology Gabriela Kirk-Werner and co-authors examine the repeal of prison pay-to-stay policies in the United States. Published in Theoretical Criminology.

December 16, 2024

The Meatpacking Industry Needs Stronger Worker Protections and Enhanced Oversight

India Luxton and Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern
This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from 39 interviews with local, state, and federal officials and bureaucrats, worker advocates, and workers to analyze meatpacking policymaking and oversight during COVID-19. 
December 10, 2024

What Factors Contribute to Racial Disparities in Asthma Prevalence in the United States?

Ali Jones and Marc A. Garcia
This brief highlights Black-White disparities in asthma prevalence and demonstrates how living in unhealthy conditions results in a higher burden of asthma in Black communities.
December 10, 2024

The Pursuit of Salvation: Community, Space, and Discipline in Early Medieval Monasticism

Albrecht Diem

The translation, “Someone’s Rule for Virgins,” in Professor Albrecht Diem's “The Pursuit of Salvation: Community, Space, and Discipline in Early Medieval Monasticism” (Brepols, 2021), is currently featured as the Translation of the Month on Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index.

December 9, 2024

See related: Europe, Religion

Beyond Social Determinants: Fiscal Determinants of Overdose Death in US Counties, 2017–2020

Zoe Lindenfeld, Diana Silver, Amanda I. Mauri, Michah W. Rothbart

Michah Rothbart, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, and co-authors examine the ways in which county fiscal constraints may be associated with responses to the opioid epidemic. Published in Social Science & Medicine.

December 6, 2024

Picking Up the PACE: Loans for Residential Climate-Proofing

Cameron LaPoint, Aymeric Bellon, Francesco Mazzola, and Guosong Xu
This report, by Cameron LaPoint, collects new PACE loan-level data and develop a novel approach to recover households’ home improvement investment decisions from permit descriptions.
December 6, 2024

Sustainability Spectacle in the Gulf

Natalie Koch

Professor of Geography and the Environment Natalie Koch examines how sustainability spectacle ultimately obscures Gulf state leaders’ refusal to shift their economies and political systems away from fossil fuels, while simultaneously justifying yet more unsustainable development—just with a new green label. Published in Current History.

December 5, 2024

Driving Under the Influence of Allergies: The Effect of Seasonal Pollen on Traffic Fatalities

Shooshan Danagoulian, Monica Deza

In this study, Associate Professor of Economics Monica Deza and her co-author find evidence that a prevalent and transitory exogenous health-shock, namely pollen allergies, increases traffic fatalities. Published in the Journal of Health Economics.

December 4, 2024

Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction

Brian Taylor

Professor and Russia expert Brian Taylor offers an up-to-date overview of the key forces that drive Russian politics. This book explores the primacy of the state over society, the role of the “West” in Russian political development, and the effect of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union on the Russian political and economic system. Published by 
Oxford University Press.

December 3, 2024

Heterogeneous Capital Ownership, Partial Democracy and Political Support for Immigration

Subhayu Bandyopadhyay, Devashish Mitra

Co-authored by Professor of Economics Devashish Mitra, the paper was published in Economics Bulletin.

December 1, 2024

See related: Elections, Government

Older Adults’ Descendants and Family Networks in the Context of Global Educational Expansion

Rachel Margolis, Mara Getz Sheftel, Haowei Wang, Raeven Faye Chandler, Lauren Newmyer, Ashton M. Verdery

In this paper, Haowei Wang and co-authors examine the socioeconomic bifurcation of adults in midlife and beyond in terms of the existence of descendants and other kin. Published in Population and Development Review.

November 27, 2024

See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care

Local Government Environmental Policy Innovation: Emerging Regulation of GHG Emissions in the Transportation-for-Hire Industry

Austin Zwick, Mischa Young, Zachary Spicer, Karina Freeland

Assistant Teaching Professor of Policy Studies Austin Zwick and alumna Karina Freeland '23 B.A. (PSt). investigate what conditions are needed for local government to take on leadership and policy innovation in environmental regulation. Published in Sustainability.

November 27, 2024

Tax Streams, Land Rents, and Urban Land Allocation

Yugang Tang, Zhihao Su, Yilin Hou, and Zhendong Yin
This report, by Yilin Houexamines the fiscal motives behind the allocation of land in Chinese cities by municipal governments for commercial and residential use. 
November 22, 2024

The Impact of Inflation on Support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential Election

David Steinberg, Daniel McDowell, Erdem Aytac

Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell and his co-authors find that priming Americans to think about inflation reduces approval of the Biden-Harris administration and lowers confidence in the Democrats' ability to manage the economy. Published in SSRN.

November 19, 2024

Political Polarization and Health

Jay J Van Bavel, Shana Kushner Gadarian, Eric Knowles, Kai Ruggeri

Professor of Political Science Shana Gadarian and co-authors conclude that polarization is a serious—if largely overlooked—determinant of health, whose impacts must be more thoroughly understood and mitigated. Published in Nature Medicine.

November 19, 2024

Waiving Physical Presence Requirements During the COVID-19 Pandemic Increased WIC Caseloads

Colleen Heflin, William Clay Fannin, Leonard Lopoo, and Camille Barbin
This brief summarizes findings from a study that compared WIC caseload data collected across 738 counties in 10 U.S. states between January 2019 and May 2021 to determine how these waives affected WIC participation.
November 19, 2024

Political Polarization Harms Public Health

Shana Kushner Gadarian, Jay J. Van Bavel, Eric Knowles, and Kai Ruggeri
This brief summarizes the impacts of political polarization on public health in the U.S., highlighting the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study on the health risks of polarization. 
November 19, 2024

Differences in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Between U.S. Civilians and Military Veterans in the Gulf War and Post-9/11 War Eligibility Cohorts: A Research Note

Kevin J. Ortiz Diaz, Scott D. Landes, Shannon M. Monnat
Findings by sociologists Scott Landes and Shannon Monnat show that among both war eligibility cohorts, combat veterans were more likely than nonveterans to report a PTSD diagnosis. Published in Armed Forces & Society.
November 18, 2024

Does the Reference Period Matter When Evaluating the Effect of SNAP on Food Insecurity?

Colleen Heflin, James P. Ziliak

In this paper, Colleen Heflin and co-author examine if protective effects of SNAP against food insecurity are obtained whether using the 30-day or 12-month food insecurity scale. Results indicate comparable average treatment effects across both reference periods. Published in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.

November 15, 2024

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