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Can Schools Sustain the Rising Cost of Retiree Health Care?

Robert Bifulco and Iuliia Shybalkina
New York State school districts face mounting budget pressures from retiree health care benefits. Without policy changes, these costs could grow from 4.5 percent of district revenues today to over 13 percent by 2075, creating significant budget pressures for districts. 
December 10, 2025

See related: United States

How Does County Educational Composition Affect Mortality?

Heeyoung Lee and Tse-Chuanang
This brief examines how a county's educational makeup affects mortality rates for both BA holders and non-BA holders. The authors find a troubling pattern: as the share of BA holders in a county increases, mortality declines for BA holders but increases for non-BA holders. 
December 9, 2025

More Girls in the Classroom Improves Adolescent Mental Health

Monica Deza and Maria Zhu
What role does the school environment play in shaping adolescent mental health? This brief examines how the mix of boys and girls in a classroom affects student mental health and wellbeing. The authors find that classrooms with more girls have better mental health outcomes for both boys and girls. 
December 2, 2025

See related: United States

A Capital Idea? The Welfare Effects of Relocating Indonesia’s Government to a New City

Alexander D. Rothenberg, Radine Rafols, Yao Wang, and Yi Jiang
November 24, 2025

Partisan Inequality in Property Tax Assessment

Ankit Kalda, Vikas Soni and Qianfan Wu
This report, by Ankit Kalda, documents a political partisanship-based assessment gap that imposes a disproportionate fiscal burden on political minorities.
November 21, 2025

Student Alienation in Schools Goes Beyond Low Achievement

Sean J. Drake and Jeffrey Guhin
This brief summarizes findings from a study drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in two different high schools in Los Angeles, California. The authors identify four types of alienation students experience: feeling like they don't belong, being in schools that can't support their goals, pursuing futures schools don't recognize, and succeeding in someone else's story.
November 19, 2025

See related: United States

International Bureaucrats Under Transparency: The Case of the WTO TRIPS Council

Sojun Park & Minju Kim

Co-authored by Minju Kim, assistant professor of political science, the article was published in the Review of International Organizations.

November 18, 2025

Inflation and Incumbent Support: Experimental Evidence from the 2024 US Presidential Election

Selim Erdem Aytaç, Daniel McDowell, David A. Steinberg

Co-authored by Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell, the study was published in the British Journal of Political Science.

November 10, 2025

Public School Districts Should Close Their “Alternative” and “Continuation” High Schools

Sean J. Drake

“Alternative” high schools are meant to help struggling students catch up on credits, but they often function as dumping grounds that perpetuate inequality. 

November 5, 2025

See related: United States

Understanding Factors Associated with 911 and 988 Use in Mental Health Crises

Michiko Ueda, Colleen M. Heflin, Yanhong Liu, Qingyi Yu, Seethalakshmi Ramanathan

Co-authored by Public Administration and International Affairs professors Michiko Ueda-Ballmer and Colleen Heflin, the study was published in Community Mental Health Journal.

November 3, 2025

Suicide Deaths Among Informal Caregivers in an Aging Society: Insights From 18 Years of National Data in Japan

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer

The study, authored by Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Public Health.

November 3, 2025

The Achievement Narrative and Alienation in School: A Typology of Academic Disconnection

Sean J. Drake, Jeffrey Guhi

The study, co-authored by Assistant Professor of Sociology Sean Drake, was published in Sociology of Education.

October 30, 2025

Why Aren’t More People Calling 988 for Mental Health Crises?

Michiko Ueda, Colleen M. Heflin, Yanhong Liu, Qingyi Yu, and Seethalakshmi Ramanathan
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched in 2022 is a free, confidential alternative, yet awareness remains low and misconceptions persist. This brief summarizes findings from a study that surveyed nearly 1,900 U.S. adults and found that only 22% knew about 988. Even more striking: nearly 9 in 10 people had concerns about using it, and many of those concerns are based on misconceptions.
October 29, 2025

See related: United States

How Does County Industry Mix Matter for Working-Age Mortality?

Xue Zhang, Iliya Gutin, Shannon M. Monnat, and Jennifer Karas Montez
This brief summarizes findings of a study that examined how five major employment sectors—agriculture, manufacturing, mining and construction, services, and professional services—are associated with working-age mortality rates across U.S. counties from 2000 to 2022. The authors find that the effects of local industries vary across time and cause of death. 
October 28, 2025

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On Terms of Trade, Offshoring Ties, and the Enforcement of Trade Agreements

Subhayu Bandyopadhyay, Arnab K. Basu, Nancy H. Chau, Devashish Mitra

Co-authored by Professor of Economics Devashish Mitra, the study was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

October 24, 2025

See related: Tariffs, Trade

African Witchcraft and Global Asylum Seeking: Border-Crossing Beliefs

Fethi Keles

Part-time instructor of anthropology Fethi Keles's review of the book African Witchcraft and Global Asylum Seeking: Border-Crossing Beliefs, written by Katherine Angela Luongo, was published in the International Journal of Refugee Law.

October 15, 2025

See related: Conflict, Refugees

Breadth and Depth: Examining the Limitations of Large-N Survey Research in the Study of Marginalized Populations

Jenn M. Jackson

The article, written by Assistant Professor of Political Science Jenn Jackson, was published in Political Science & Politics.

October 15, 2025

Adult ADHD is Linked to Higher Illicit Drug Use and Prescription Drug Misuse

Andrew S. London, Kevin M. Antshel, Joshua Grove, Iliya Gutin, and Shannon M. Monnat
This brief summarizes findings from a study that describes differences in lifetime and past-year use of 7 illicit drugs (marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and hallucinogens) and misuse of 4 categories of prescription medications (opioids, tranquilizers, sedatives, and stimulants) between U.S. adults ages 18-64 with and without ADHD in 2023. The authors find that adults with ADHD are 1.6 to 3.3 times more likely to report past-year illicit drug use or prescription drug misuse than those without ADHD.
October 14, 2025

See related: United States

Understanding International Security: Theory and Practice

Michael John Williams, James Wesley Hutto, Asli Peker Dogra

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, has co-authored a new book, Understanding International Security: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2025). The book explores the meanings and debates around international security, with chapters addressing war, terrorism, violence, cyber security, health and more. 

October 9, 2025

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