Experts in health, education, governance, energy and social justice collaborate to learn how different levers of action can impact communities.
Research Spotlight
Job Training, English Language Skills, and Employability: Evidence from an Experiment in Urban India
A novel, large-scale randomized field experiment conducted in Delhi, India indicates that job training programs that emphasizes English language skills training substantially increases English language skills as well as employability and estimated wages.
Jean Oi offers new findings into how and why some provinces are maintaining high rates of growth even as China's overall GDP continues to slow, and what this implies about the evolution of China's development model.
The Political Economy of Antipoverty Policies in Latin America
Alberto Díaz-Cayeros examines how conditional cash transfers have improved targeting in favor of the poor and become increasingly popular among politicians and policy makers, and whether these programs have shifted policy discretion away from political clientelism.
Chapter in "De Gruyter Handbook of Cities, Infrastructure and International Relations," edited by Michele Acuto, Simon Curtis, Ian Klaus, and Gaea Morales
Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with nonpolitical crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents’ political activism? We argue that doing so disguises political repression and undermines the moral authority of opponents, minimizing backlash and mobilization. To test this argument, we conduct a survey experiment, which shows that disguised repression decreases perceptions of dissidents’ morality, decreases people’s willingness to engage in dissent on behalf of the dissident, and increases support for repression of the dissident. We then assess the external validity of the argument by analyzing millions of Chinese social media posts made before and after a large crackdown of vocal government critics in China in 2013. We find that individuals with larger online followings are more likely to be charged with nonpolitical crimes, and those charged with nonpolitical crimes are less likely to receive public sympathy and support.
Children and Youth Services Review,
November 1, 2025
Background Mindfulness-based interventions (MI) have shown efficacy in improving mental health among adults; however, the results for younger populations remain inconsistent Research on this topic in low- and middle-income countries is still limited. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the impact of a mindfulness-based intervention on Chinese migrant youth.
Methods A randomized controlled trial delivering mindfulness and life skills mentorship to 653 migrant students aged 9 to 17 in China. Quantitative results in depression and anxiety were examined between Mindfulness Training group (MT group, n = 167), the Mindfulness Training plus Life Skill Training group (MT + LS group, n = 118), and Control group (n = 368) using student t-tests and Differences-in-Differences. Qualitative study from 20 interviews was conducted using a semi-structured interview and deductive approach.
Results Quantitatively, participants in intervention group did not show significantly different anxiety and depression symptoms compared to control groups post intervention. Nevertheless, qualitative data highlighted several key benefits of the mindfulness intervention, including improved emotional regulation and increased social support among participants.
Conclusions A volunteer-led, two-month mindfulness and life skills intervention with Chinese migrant youth did not yield statistically significant reduction in depression or anxiety symptoms. While no notable quantitative benefits were observed, qualitative findings suggested enhanced application of mindfulness and emotional regulation skills among participants that the quantitative measures failed to capture.
Combining personal narratives with decades of research, a vivid account of how the gaokao—China’s high-stakes college admissions test—shapes that society and influences education debates in the United States.
