Past Grants

Samantha Hoffman will research and write a book exploring the ideology and techniques behind China’s pursuit of “technology-enhanced authoritarianism.” She will collect and analyze materials on China’s deployment of new technology-assisted mechanisms of social management, including its “social credit system” and “smart cities initiative.”

David Marcotte will examine whether public school students are becoming more segregated by socioeconomic background at the school and classroom levels. Using data on more than 1 million students attending traditional public and charter schools in North Carolina between 2006 and 2017, he will assess whether there was an increase in the percentage of children from low-income families who were educated in schools and classrooms that largely serve children from a similar socioeconomic background. He will also explore whether the state’s policies toward charter schools affected levels of socioeconomic segregation. The project’s findings will appear in a series of papers.

David Neumark, Matthew Freedman, and Ben Hyman will examine whether targeted tax credits can be used to stimulate economic development and job growth in economically distressed areas. They will assess whether the more than $150 million spent each year on the California Competes Tax Credit leads to increased business investment, output, and employment among the recipient firms. The project’s findings will appear in a series of papers.

S.Frederick Starr and Svante Cornell will undertake and commission researchrelated to Central Asia and the Caucasus. The work will include: a reexamination of the efficacy of U.S. policy toward the region; an exploration of how toencourage regional collaboration; an analysis of Russia’s resurgent ambitions; anassessment of the nature and implications of the “Soviet hangover” that shapesthe region’s culture and politics; and the development of an initiative to help theAfghan government design a transport network to support regional trade andtransit. The project’s findings will appear in a variety of publications, publicevents, and briefings for the policy community.

Heather Conley will lead an effort to examine the potential trajectories of geopolitical competition in the Arctic and to identify the kinds of investments that would enable the United States to shape this contest. She will research current economic and military footprints of the major powers in the Arctic, project how they will evolve under varying assumptions, and develop recommendations for U.S. policy. The project’s findings will appear in a monograph.

C.Holland Taylor and Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf will convene a team ofMuslim scholars to develop interpretations of Islam that demonstrate itscompatibility with values such as tolerance, pluralism, and accountablegovernment. The project’s findings will appear in two books for audiences in theMuslim world and a monograph for Western audiences.

Tricia Bacon will research and write a book assessing the roles that foreign fighters play in local conflicts. She will examine whether and how insurgent capabilities change in the aftermath of an influx of foreign fighters and undertake interviews in Afghanistan and Somalia to understand better how foreign fighters can shape the outcome of conflicts.

Edmund Phelps will direct the research and publications program of the Center on Capitalism and Society. He and his colleagues will explore questions such as what has caused the decline in innovation in different sectors of the economy and how that decline may have contributed to wage stagnation. The center’s findings will appear in a series of research papers, reports, and policy briefs.

Thurston Domina, Deven Carlson, Andrew McEachin, and Andrew Penner will examine the extent to which a policy designed to balance enrollment in schools among children from families with a variety of income levels can increase achievement among students from disadvantaged backgrounds. They will partner with the Wake County Public School System in order to assess the impacts of a past integration policy that factored in socioeconomic status. The project’s findings will appear in a series of papers and briefings for policymakers.

Richard Bush will research and write a book assessing the evolution of political, social, and economic dynamics in Taiwan during the past decade and identifying the implications of those changes for U.S. management of the cross-strait relationship between China and Taiwan.