Past Grants

Joshua Rauh and Owen Zidar will lead an effort to examine how business taxes at the federal, state, and local levels of government affect economic growth, employment, and entrepreneurship. They will commission research to address questions such as the impact of state business-tax subsidies on state economies and employment and the extent to which state business taxes affect rates of firm startups and entrepreneurship. The project’s findings will appear in a series of papers and articles.

Michael O’Hanlon will research and write a book exploring how emerging technologies might shape future military capabilities and competitions and thereby affect American military strategy. He will identify and analyze current technological trends and assess their potential impact on U.S. warfighting potential as well as on the reassurance and deterrence of international actors.

Julie Chernov Hwang will research and write a book that explores the potential of the spread of Islamist radicalism in Southeast Asia through an empirical assessment of extremist activism in Indonesia and Malaysia. She will conduct field work in Indonesia and Malaysia; collect and analyze primary source materials, including materials on Bahasa Indonesian websites; and undertake a survey of former and current members of Islamist extremist groups.

S. Enders Wimbush will lead an effort to identify “alternative futures” for the evolution of Europe, particularly with respect to the institutions of the European Union. He will convene a working group, commission research, and undertake interviews with European and American experts on Europe in order to identify plausible futures for Europe and pathways to those outcomes, as well as drivers, uncertainties, and wild cards that could influence Europe’s trajectory. The project’s findings will appear in a monograph and a series of papers, articles, and briefings.

William Inboden will direct an annual summer seminar series to support the development of a cadre of aspiring young scholars and policy thinkers skilled in the use of history to understand contemporary issues of statecraft.

Paul Tough will research and write a book exploring how colleges can better promote economic opportunity and upward mobility for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He will review and synthesize scholarly research and interview experts, university administrators and professors, and students in order to understand which policies and programs contribute to success among college students from low-income families.

Michael Petrilli and Victoria McDougald will lead an effort to help junior scholars become better at disseminating their research and sharing their expertise with members of the policymaking community. At the two-day conference of the Emerging Education Scholars Program, invited scholars are introduced to key members of the Washington policy community from both the executive branch and Capitol Hill; attend workshops on writing for a policy audience and using social media to extend their reach; and learn about emerging policy issues that could be informed by their current or future research.

Elizabeth Rosenberg and Peter Harrell will lead an effort to devise countermeasures against China’s use of coercive economic measures. They will commission research papers; undertake interviews in South Korea, Japan, and China; and convene meetings in Seoul and Washington with legal, business, and policy experts. The project’s findings will be presented as a report and a series of articles.

Ralph Cossa and Brad Glosserman will edit and publish Comparative Connections, an electronic journal that tracks developments in more than a dozen bilateral relations across East Asia.