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Features October 31, 2017

Students Tackle Ethnic Unrest in Estonia in Crisis Simulation

Students and policy experts participated in the annual crisis simulation Oct. 14 organized by Princeton University’s Center for International Security Studies (CISS), based at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. The event convened West Point cadets, U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen, ROTC students from Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Princeton graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience formulating and implementing national security policy in a simulated crisis. This year’s crisis simulation centered around ethnic unrest in Estonia. Players were divided into teams acting as the…

Features October 30, 2017

Are the Grandkids Worth It? Climate Change Policy Depends on How We Value Human Population

If the human population continues to grow, more pressure will be put on carbon dioxide emissions — leaving future generations vulnerable to the effects of climate change. To head this off, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced, but that could cost billions of dollars or more over the next few decades, a dilemma plaguing today’s policymakers.Yet, how much to invest in policies — like setting an appropriate carbon tax — to protect future generations from environmental destruction depends on how society chooses to value human population, according to a new study published Oct. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).To…

Features October 26, 2017

Politics & Polls #64: Congressional Races in 2018

There are 468 seats up for grabs in Congress for the 2018 election, with the Republican Party currently holding a majority in both the Senate and the House. But will this hold after election day? Joining today’s episode to discuss the congressional races is Levi Tillemann, the democratic candidate for Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. Tillemann is a Colorado native and expert on technology policy, renewable energy and autonomous cars.Raised in a working-class Latino community in North Denver, Tillemann has kept in touch with his roots over the years by tutoring math, english and ESL in public schools and community centers. While in graduate…

Features October 23, 2017

Air Pollution Cuts Solar Energy Potential in China

China is rapidly expanding its solar power supply, hoping to meet 10 percent of the nation’s electricity needs with solar energy by 2030. But there’s a problem: Severe air pollution is blocking light from the sun, significantly reducing China’s output of solar energy, particularly in the northern and eastern parts of the country.This issue is worst in the winter, when — according to research from Princeton University — air pollution in these regions blocks about 20 percent of sunlight from reaching solar panel arrays, on average. That makes air pollution’s wintertime effect on solar energy production as significant as that of clouds, which have long…

Features October 23, 2017

Booms & Busts: How the 1980s Could’ve Predicted the Great Recession

Many argue the Great Recession could have been ameliorated through strategic policies, but the government ignored warning signs of coming economic distress. Instead, increased borrowing incited a financial and real estate boom, which resulted in a bubble that eventually burst.Yet, for anyone who lived through the early 1980s and early 1990s, the Great Recession two decades later should not have been a surprise, according to a working paper published by Princeton University.Similar to the Great Recession, there was a large rise in lending in the 1980s — both to individual households and to corporations and firms — which was followed by a recession. At…

Features October 20, 2017

WWS Reacts: What the Fall of Raqqa Means for the Future of ISIS

American-backed forces say they have taken control of Raqqa, the northern Syrian city that has been the de facto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Jacob N. Shapiro, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton, has tracked the militant group since its emergence. He studies political violence, economic and political development in conflict zones, and security policy. Below he answers questions about recent events and the future of the group. Q. What are the major implications of the apparent defeat of ISIS in Raqqa? Shapiro: I think you will see a few things in the next few months. The first will be increasing…

Features October 18, 2017

Politics & Polls #63: How to be a Conservative in the Age of Trump

Leading conservative thinker David Frum was one of the earliest and most prominent conservative voices to come out in opposition to President Donald Trump. A CNN contributor and senior editor at The Atlantic, Frum said in a public radio interview that Trump “is shattering the safeguards that protect democracy.” In this episode, Julian Zelizer interviews Frum about being a conservative in the age of Trump.In 2007 and 2008, Frum was a senior policy adviser to the presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani. From 2001 to 2002, he served as a special assistant and speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is the author of nine books, including the first …

Features October 12, 2017

Politics & Polls #62: Does Gerrymandering Leave Voters Without a Voice?

This episode is about one of Sam Wang’s favorite topics: gerrymandering.Wang visited the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 3 to hear arguments in Gill v. Whitford, a case challenging Wisconsin’s 2011 redistricting plan as being the product of partisan gerrymandering. With the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, Wang and collaborators are studying how voting districts are created, giving insight into how it works and offering ideas on how it can be and is being addressed. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} In this episode,…

Features October 11, 2017

Boost in Collateral, Rather Than “Feeling Richer,” Drives Consumers to Borrow as Home Prices Rise

When home prices rise, households tend to borrow and spend more. But economists have had trouble identifying exactly what causes that relationship. Is it that when a house becomes worth more, borrowers are able to offer more collateral to secure a loan? Or is it that when a house is worth more, borrowers feel richer so are more willing to borrow and spend? A study by Princeton University professor Henrik Kleven and colleagues, published as a working paper on the National Bureau for Economic Research website, tries to tease this out. Their key finding is that the main mechanism driving householders to borrow and spend is the collateral effect — when…

Features October 10, 2017

WWS Reacts: Trump and the Iran Nuclear Deal

Reports indicate that President Donald Trump plans to “decertify” the Iran nuclear deal on grounds that Iran hasn’t lived up to the agreement. The news comes ahead of a looming Oct. 15 deadline, on which day the Trump administration must certify to Congress that Iran is adhering to the deal. We teased out the details of decertification and what the Iran nuclear deal means in terms of a broader U.S. strategy with two physicists at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security (SGS), based at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Zia Mian is a physicist and SGS co-director, whose research and teaching focuses…

Features October 05, 2017

Politics & Polls #61: Identity Politics & the Democratic Party

Are identity politics hurting the Democratic Party? Some argue Democrats have strayed away from core economic issues, favoring religion, race, sexuality, gender or social background (to name a few) to form their political alliance – thereby undercutting the party’s effectiveness.Joining this episode is an author who has written extensively on the rise of identity politics: Mark Lilla, professor of humanities at Columbia University and regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. He describes how identity politics are shaping voters, politicians and the democratic process.Lilla specializes in intellectual history. He is the author of “The Once…

Features October 03, 2017

WWS Reacts: Trump’s Tax Proposal

President Donald Trump released a nine-page outline of a tax plan last week, which included proposed tax cuts for corporations and individuals. While many details are missing from the plan, we discussed the proposed framework with esteemed economist Alan Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Blinder served on President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers (1993-1994) and as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1994-1996). Q. President Trump unveiled what some are saying is the…

Features October 02, 2017

Balance Forgiveness Programs More Effective at Reducing Credit Card Debt Than Lowering Monthly Minimum Payments

According to data recently released by the Federal Reserve, the amount of outstanding debt that Americans hold — often in the form of credit card debt — hit a new high at $1.021 trillion in June 2017, topping the previous record set in April 2008 just before the financial crisis.Even when credit card debt seems manageable, some consumers may only be one emergency away from personal financial crisis. Approximately 25 percent of U.S. households report being unable to come up with $2,000 to cover an unexpected emergency such as job loss or medical issues.Given these statistics, conventional wisdom among policymakers and borrowers is that a lack of…

Dilemmas of Inclusion book cover

Features September 28, 2017

Q&A: Muslims in European Politics

As Western Europe’s Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their influence on electoral politics. For many electoral districts, parties can only win if they secure a large majority of the Muslim vote. This presents unique political challenges across Europe, since Muslim views on religion, tradition and gender roles can differ dramatically from the majority electorate. Rafaela Dancygier explores this challenge in her new book, “Dilemmas of Inclusion: Muslims in European Politics,” published in September by Princeton University Press. Dancygier is an associate professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow…

Features September 27, 2017

Politics & Polls #60: Are We Seeing the Watergate of Today?

With special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, some have drawn comparisons between the Russia investigations and the Watergate scandal. How are the two events similar? In what ways do they differ? And is it too early to really link the two?Elizabeth Drew discusses her reporting of the Watergate scandal as it relates to today in this episode of Politics & Polls.Drew has been covering American politics since the 1970s. She has written for the Atlantic Monthly, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, among other publications. She is the author of 15 books including “Washington Journal:…