Social sciences

“Teaching is complementary with research,” says economics professor Alberto Abadie. “When you need to explain material that you believe you understand very well, that is when the real test is."

Method man

Alberto Abadie refines the tools of economics — and gets some interesting results along the way.

June 18, 2018

Ravi Raju, a Picower Clinical Research Fellow, explains how gene expression differs as mice respond to circumstances modeling poverty.

Fighting toxic stress in children is tough but possible

Taking time to understand underlying causes of stress can help children escape debilitating health effects, symposium speakers argue.

May 31, 2018

“Realizing that I could leverage my technical background in computer science to drive innovation in the theater arts motivated me to be part of the CS+HASS-SuperUROP,” says Nitah Nyang’ate Onsongo. “I hope to gain a better understanding of the scope of the communication breakdown within the theater field and help revolutionize how theater is received by society.”

CS+HASS SuperUROP debuts with nine research projects

In yearlong program, MIT students apply computer science to humanities, arts, and social science research.

May 15, 2018

A new study co-authored by an MIT political scientist shows that state policies in the U.S. from 1936 through 2014 have been responsive to public opinion — and have become even more aligned with it in recent decades.

People power

State-level policy in the U.S. is responsive to public opinion, study shows.

May 11, 2018

Vipin Narang (left), associate professor of political science and a member of the Security Studies Program, discusses the North Korean nuclear crisis at a Starr Forum event sponsored by the Center for International Studies.

3 Questions: Vipin Narang on the North Korea summits

Nuclear strategy expert shares observations from the recent North Korea-South Korea summit and possible outcomes of the North Korea-U.S. summit.

May 10, 2018

About 30 percent of Indonesia’s households are supposed to receive subsidized rice from the government every month as part of a huge program called “Raskin,” or “Rice for the Poor.” The study shows that the amount of rice the villagers actually receive increases 26 percent when they are sent a simple information card with program details.

For food-aid recipients, information is power

A simple card explaining a government aid program leads to more rice for poor villagers in Indonesia.

May 9, 2018

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India

How much does infrastructure boost an economy?

MIT economist’s historical study details how railroads helped India trade and grow.

April 26, 2018

At the MIT Policy Hackathon, interdisciplinary teams worked together to find policy solutions to real societal challenges.

Using data science to improve public policy

MIT Policy Hackathon, run by students within MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, seeks interdisciplinary solutions to societal challenges.

April 23, 2018

Parag Pathak wins John Bates Clark Medal

MIT economist lauded for work on education, market-design mechanisms.

April 20, 2018

A team of researchers led by an MIT economist has found that medical expenses account for roughly 4 percent of bankruptcy filings among nonelderly adults in the U.S.

How often do medical problems lead to bankruptcy?

Poor health is a less common cause of bankruptcy than commonly thought, but it brings other economic woes, study finds.

March 21, 2018

Bill Evans, co-founder of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, discusses the current evidence on strategies to reduce homelessness.

Conference advances use of data and evaluation in policymaking

Government leaders, social service providers, and leading scholars gathered for the second conference of J-PAL North America’s State and Local Innovation Initiative.

March 7, 2018

At Mens et Manus America event, speakers Douglas S. Massey of Princeton University and Mary C. Waters of Harvard University emphasized that real human damage is being done by the country’s current immigration policies, yet both also offered hopeful notes.

Mens et Manus America panelists analyze U.S. immigration policy

Experts cite immigration as engine of U.S. success, lament human damage done by current policies, and see signs of hope.

February 21, 2018

While the world’s best-known cave art exists in France and Spain, examples of it abound throughout the world.

The writing on the wall

Did humans speak through cave art? New paper links ancient drawings and language’s origins.

February 21, 2018

A new study co-authored by a professor at MIT shows the long-term financial hurt of a medical event serious enough to cause hospitalization is significant even for the insured.

Ouch: Study reveals financial pain after hospitalization

Serious medical problems reduce earnings, hurt employment, and increase debt.

February 20, 2018

Teppei Yamamoto, the Alfred Henry and Jean Morrison Hayes Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science.

Political Methodology Lab to dig deep into new kinds of data

Founder Teppei Yamamoto designs new tools to comprehend political behavior transformed by digital technology.

February 15, 2018

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