In an article for The New York Times, Paul Krugman examines how MIT-educated economists came to assume such a prominent position in policy-making today. “Analytically, empirically, the MIT style has had an astonishing triumph,” writes Krugman.
Slate reporter Alison Griswold writes about a new MIT study examining what makes certain startups successful. “We’re trying to measure things that companies do naturally when they have the ambition and potential to grow,” says Prof. Scott Stern.
MIT researchers have developed a method to identify entrepreneurial “hotspots,” reports Lisa Krieger for San Jose Mercury News. Researchers found that areas like Silicon Valley can help companies “realize their promise on a more guaranteed basis," explains Prof. Scott Stern.
In an article for MedPage Today, Shara Yurkiewicz writes about a new MIT study showing that high demand for desirable medical residencies keeps salaries low. Prof. Nikhil Agarwal explains that, “even if salary negotiation was allowed, the salaries of medical residents would be quite low compared with physician assistants or nurse practitioners.”
Boston Globe reporter David Scharfenberg writes that Gov. Deval Patrick has joined the MIT Innovation Initiative. Associate Dean for Innovation Fiona Murray explains that “having the right kinds of policies and programs in place to enable people to actually be effective innovators and entrepreneurs really matters.”
Julie Hirschfeld writes for The New York Times about MIT alumna and U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Megan Smith. Smith has “a tinkerer’s enthusiasm for finding problems and looking for ways to solve them," says former CTO Aneesh Chopra.
Visiting Lecturer Irving Wladawsky-Berger gives his reaction to the preliminary report examining innovation at MIT in a piece for The Wall Street Journal. “Beyond MIT, the report should be of value to anyone interested in the growing importance of innovation to institutions, economies and societies around the world.”
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes about a new report examining innovation at MIT. Graham writes that the study’s authors recommended “a co-working space for recent MIT graduates, the construction of two “Innovation Hubs” on campus, and the creation of the Laboratory for Innovation Science and Policy, a department that would study the innovation process and how to foster it.”
Lauren Landry of BostInno highlights a new report that examines innovation and entrepreneurship at MIT and presents suggestions for how to “bolster innovation.” Landry writes that “among the measures suggested are the creation of an undergraduate minor, a graduate certificate in innovation and programming for postdocs.”
Cory Bennett of The Hill writes about a broad effort to tackle cybersecurity challenges at MIT, Stanford and Berkeley. “MIT will examine the immediate policy concerns, such as how to protect vulnerable financial and medical data, as well as emerging technologies like self-driving cars and drones,” explains Bennett.
BostInno’s Elise Harmon writes that a $15 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to MIT could “help pave the way for a comprehensive cybersecurity policy.” The gift to MIT is part of $45 million in total to MIT, Stanford and UC Berkeley as part of the foundation’s Cyber Initiative.
MIT’s Daniel Weitzner speaks with BetaBoston’s Nidhi Subbaraman about a new cybersecurity policy initiative supported by the Hewlett Foundation. Weitzner explains that researchers will examine what kind of laws and public policy are needed to make “[technologies] more trustworthy.”
Washington Post reporter Philip Bump writes about the average voter waiting time in states across the U.S., citing Professor Charles Stewart’s work examining voting lines. Stewart and his colleagues found that in 2012 Florida voters had to wait on average 45 minutes, Bump reports.
Margot Sanger-Katz cites research by Professor Jonathan Gruber in this New York Times article on rising health insurance premiums. Gruber’s findings indicate that prior to the Affordable Care Act, premiums rose at higher average rates for individuals than they have since the legislation went into effect
Stephen Ansolabehere and David Konisky write for The Boston Globe about a survey on public opinion on energy in the U.S. conducted by the MIT Energy Initiative and the Harvard University Center on Environment. The survey found that Americans have better knowledge of the policy debate than might be expected.