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Features May 16, 2017
Medical Abortions Obtained Through Online Telemedicine Shown to be Effective, Safe
Women in Ireland and Northern Ireland acquiring medical abortion pills through online telemedicine report successful terminations with low rates of adverse effects, according to new research published in “The BMJ” by Princeton University, the University of Texas at Austin and Women on Web (WoW).The researchers examined self-reported outcomes following medical abortions conducted outside the formal health care setting through WoW, a nonprofit organization that provides access to medications used to induce abortion.The results show that 95 percent of self-sourced and self-managed medical abortions were successful. Less than one percent of the women…
Features May 11, 2017
Politics & Polls #43: Why Are ‘Deaths of Despair’ Plaguing Middle-Aged White Americans?
President Donald Trump pledged to bring jobs back to America during his campaign, appealing to a strong middle class base that’s been struggling with stagnant wages and few job opportunities.Since the 1990s, death rates among this demographic — specifically middle-aged white Americans without college degrees — have been on the rise thanks to opioid addiction, alcohol abuse and suicide. This same pattern isn’t seen in other parts of the world, reversing decades of progress.Economist Anne Case, whose landmark study with co-author Sir Angus Deaton first detected the rise in mortality rates, joins this episode to discuss why “deaths of despair” are…
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Features May 10, 2017
Eisgruber Focuses on Increasing College Access, Socioeconomic Diversity in Bay Area Visit
Stressing that college is a "difference maker" in people's lives, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber focused on ways to improve college access and success for low-income and first-generation students during a visit to the Bay Area on Wednesday, May 3.Eisgruber was joined by Princeton administrators, including Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and Khristina Gonzalez, associate dean of the college for programs of access and inclusion, for a tour of the Making Waves Academy charter school in Richmond, California. Eisgruber also led a roundtable discussion in San Francisco that…
Features May 03, 2017
Current Climate Change Measurements Mask Trade-Offs Necessary for Policy Debates
Scientists and policymakers use measurements like global warming potential to compare how varying greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, contribute to climate change.Yet, despite its widespread use, global warming potential fails to provide an accurate look at how greenhouse gases affect the environment in the short and long-term, according to a team of researchers from Princeton University, the Environmental Defense Fund and Harvard University.The researchers argue in the May 5 issue of Science that because global warming potential calculates the warming effects of greenhouse gases over 100 years, they discount the effects of any…
Features May 03, 2017
Politics & Polls #42: Where Are All the Jobs?
In his campaign promise to make America great again, President Donald Trump vowed to “bring jobs back to America” and revitalize the labor industry. Now, one hundred days into the Trump presidency, some are wondering: Where are all of those jobs?Believers say job creation is right around the corner, while critics argue little has been done, as Trump has mostly focused on rhetoric instead of policy. In an effort to untangle such labor issues, professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang interview Christopher P. Lu '88, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor. In this episode, Lu provides an inside look at the Department of Labor as well as the Trump transition…
Features May 03, 2017
WWS Reacts: Rolling Back Net Neutrality?
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai outlined a plan last week to reduce government oversight over high-speed internet service providers. The plan would curb significant portions of the net neutrality rules established in 2015, formally known as the Open Internet Order. These policies forbid governments and corporations from controlling internet access and also legally reclassified broadband as a public utility (like electricity, water or sewage) — something Pai says stifles investment and innovation. The FCC is currently seeking comment on whether current net neutrality rules should remain in effect; it will be voted on…
Features April 28, 2017
WWS Reacts: Trump’s Tax Cut Plan
President Donald Trump announced an outline of his new tax plan this week, proposing sharp reductions in individual and business income tax rates and a new tax code that could significantly benefit the wealthy. Listed in a series of bullet points, the plan proposes lowering the business tax rate from 35 to 15 percent. For individuals, Trump proposed doubling the standard deduction, which would likely ease the tax burden on some Americans. We discussed the Trump Tax Plan 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…
Features April 28, 2017
Synthetic Gas Would Cut Air Pollution but Worsen Climate Damage in China
Severe air pollution has plagued China's industrial regions in recent decades, a situation that has received worldwide attention thanks to photos of Beijing and other smog-blanketed Chinese cities.More than just an eyesore, China's smog has created a public health crisis that has led the Chinese government to declare a war on air pollution. In addition, as part of the Paris climate agreements, China has committed to peaking its CO2 emissions by 2030 or sooner. A new study led by researchers at Princeton University analyzes a conflict between these goals in China's plans to use synthetic natural gas, a fuel derived from coal that is relatively free of…
Features April 27, 2017
Politics & Polls #41: Trump’s First 100 Days
The first 100 days of Trump’s presidency have been a whirlwind of victories and setbacks, leaving Americans with mixed opinions about President Trump and how the next four years could unfold. While his approval ratings are at historic lows and he has yet to enact any major legislation, his supporters have been pleased with the burst of executive actions and his defiant stand against the political establishment.How has President Trump done in his first 100 days, and how does he compare to past presidents? Why is the first 100 days in office used as a barometer in the first place? Do these presidential beginnings predict the course of an entire term?In…
Features April 26, 2017
WWS Reacts: Le Pen vs. Macron in France’s Presidential Election
In their first round of voting, French citizens advanced Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron — two candidates outside of the traditional left-right party structure — through to the May 7 presidential run-off. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist from En Marche!, his newly formed social-liberal movement, has never held elected office. Le Pen, on the other hand, has been a long-time leader of France’s far-right party, the National Front, which was founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who himself acceded to the second round of the presidential election in 2002. (Note: Marine Le Pen did step down from this leadership role as of April 25). The first-round…
Features April 20, 2017
Politics & Polls #40: The 115th Congress with Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.)
From Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election to the looming federal budget negotiations, the 115th U.S. Congress currently has a full plate. What other challenges might today’s Congress face in the months ahead?In this episode of Politics & Polls, Professor Sam Wang interviews Congressman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) about what’s next for the Affordable Care Act and how Rep. Lance has been handling recent (and sometimes contentious) Town Hall meetings.A key “moderate conservative” in the Republican caucus, Rep. Lance shared his views about maintaining key payments to keep health care insurers afloat. He also talked about what it would take for him…
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Features April 18, 2017
Woos Help Trentonians Tackle Tax Season
Today is Tax Day in the United States. Many U.S. residents struggle with the daunting task of preparing accurate income tax returns, or paying the necessary fees to do so — whether for the use of online software such as TurboTax, or a visit to an independent tax accountant.For the past four years, local low-income clients at Trenton’s Arm in Arm food pantry have received free tax preparation from graduate students of the Woodrow Wilson School. The volunteer work allows the students to witness policy topics playing out in the real world, such as how the Earned Income Tax Credit can increase refunds for low-income residents.“Our tax system can be pretty…
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Features April 18, 2017
The Fight for Democracy in the Western Balkans
Emerging democracies face all sorts of challenges, from ensuring freedom of the press to addressing human rights deficits. A fall 2016 graduate policy workshop, “Managing Elections in Fragile States,” took students more than 4,500 miles from Princeton, to research the successes and challenges of electoral processes in the Western Balkans — specifically Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.These countries have undergone democratic transitions since the end of communism; however, signs are emerging that progress made since the 1990s is unraveling. Most recently, Serbia elected Aleksandar Vučić to its presidency; he will assume the office on May…
Features April 13, 2017
Trust in Local Community Leads to Better Long-Term Decisions Among the Poor
Would you rather receive $100 today or $125 in three months? Recent studies show those at the lowest income levels typically choose the $100 now, favoring immediate rewards over larger, delayed payoffs. However, this type of short-term decision-making often leaves individuals worse off financially, making it increasingly difficult to escape destitution in the long run.Escaping cycles of poverty may depend on how much a person feels he or she can rely on their local communities, according to research led by Princeton University. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study finds that low-income individuals who trust their…
Features April 13, 2017
Politics & Polls #39: National Security with Gen. David Petraeus
Last week, a chemical weapons attack killed dozens of Syrians, prompting President Donald Trump to launch 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on a Syrian airbase. Meanwhile, concern about North Korea’s nuclear arsenal builds, with satellite images hinting at another detonation test.Plus, there are ongoing national security issues: The scandal with Russian intervention in the 2016 election has loomed large over each decision the Trump administration makes in international relations, while President Trump’s Twitter habits and attacks on the intelligence community have generated tension in Washington.How will such emerging and continued threats endanger national…