Clean Energy, Dirty Politics

The difficulty of green job promotion
Since its inception, the environmental movement has largely defined itself against corporate exploitation, and supported ecological integrity even in the face of economic opposition. Nowhere has more been at stake in this historical confrontation between en...

Business of America

Of all the events of the recent financial crisis, none shook the American establishment as profoundly as the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. News articles described the firm as an "institution" of American capitalism, employing adjectives such as "venerable," "legendary," and "iconic." Co...

Evaluating the Evaluators

Balancing the personal and the statistical in teacher assessments

It is no secret that finding and rewarding high-quality teachers is key to addressing America's educational shortcomings. But how governments should assess and improve teacher quality eludes decision-makers. There are two primary modes...

Reform They Can Believe In

Politicians' Self-Interest and the Future of Campaign Finance Reform

The debate surrounding campaign finance reform has too long revolved around esoteric questions such as whether money is speech, or whether corporations are persons under the First Amendment. Those questions are fine for the Supreme ...

Brazil on the World Stage

Can Latin America's largest country rise above the hurdles?

As cannons blasted confetti down upon a roaring crowd in Rio de Janeiro in October, Latin America's largest nation celebrated its arrival on the world stage. Like China before the 2008 Olympic Games, Brazil greeted the announcement that it w...

Has Change Come to Japan?

After decades of one-party rule, the Liberal Democratic Party falters

In the United States last year, "change we can believe in" became a national catchphrase. In Japan this past August, the slogan of the victorious opposition party was seiken kotai, meaning "political change." The triumph of the Democ...