As we approach the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it is important to reflect on what has been learned about the impacts of this major reform. In this paper, we review the literature on the impacts of the ACA on patients, providers, and the economy. We find strong evidence that the ACA's provisions have increased…

China's one-child policy has been an unprecedented policy experiment in human history. Despite its significant achievements, the policy has induced equally significant potential problems. As problems of the one-child policy have been widely noticed and suggestions for adjustments are available, the leadership transition of China in 2012 and 2013…

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early-life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the life cycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early-life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population…

For more than 30 years the United States has unsuccessfully struggled to reform its often maligned and massively abused immigration policies. Matters went awry following the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. There were unexpected consequences. Intended to remove the overtly discriminatory features of the "national origins"…

These are interesting days in the scientific, social, and political debates about human embryonic stem cell research. Pluripotent stem cells--cells that can, in principle, give rise to the body's full range of cell types--were previously derivable only from human embryos that were destroyed in the process. Now, a variety of somatic cell types can…

This article discusses the implication of the implementation of anti-poverty policy in both the United Kingdom and the United States. International studies of child poverty usually find that the United States and United Kingdom are at the bottom of the league table in terms of child poverty. Indeed, the U.S. and U.K do not fare well in…

Slow economic growth since the end of the U.S. recession in June of 2009 has not yet translated into increases in employment large enough to meaningfully reduce the rate of unemployment. Because expansionary macroeconomic policy has been pursued on both the fiscal and monetary fronts, it appears at first glance that the hands of government at this…

Jurisdictions are in the process of establishing regulatory systems to control greenhouse gas emissions. Short-term and sometimes long-term emissions reduction goals are established, as California does for 2020 and 2050, but little attention has yet been focused on annual emissions targets for the intervening years. We develop recommendations for…

Governments across the world are investing large amounts of money in scientific research, often with the belief that such investments will increase economic growth--yet the scientific evidence for this belief is, as Colin Macilwain notes, "patchy." Science agencies are charged with identifying and funding the best science, yet there is little…

All industrialized countries are grappling with a common problem--how to provide assistance of various kinds to their rapidly aging populations. The problem for countries searching for models of efficient and high-quality long-term care (LTC) policies is that fewer than a dozen countries have government-organized, formal LTC policies. Relatively…

Urbanization almost invariably accompanies development, and the cities of India and China are experiencing spectacular increases in population. The concentration of millions of people in a small mass creates challenges for public policy, especially in the areas of basic infrastructure, public health, traffic congestion, and often law enforcement…

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is growing at an unsustainable pace. Over the past 40 years the number of disabled worker beneficiaries has increased nearly sixfold, rising from 1.5 million in 1970 to 8.2 million in 2010. Rapid growth in the rolls has put increasing pressure on program finances. The rapid rise in SSDI…

States require a measure of poverty that captures all family resources net of taxes and nondiscretionary expenses and uses thresholds reflecting current needs in the state to assess the well-being of families under current and alternative policies. This paper describes the implementation of a poverty measure for the State of Connecticut based on…

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is an essential lifeline for millions of Americans. Without it, many families would be in deep financial distress. SSDI is insurance that workers pay for through premiums deducted from their pay. In return, workers gain the right to monthly benefits if a disabling condition ends their capacity to earn a…

Most societies, rich and poor, seek to measure progress in reducing poverty and need, as indicated by material deprivation or social exclusion. The yardsticks used to assess progress and policy impact mainly include income-based poverty, but broader measures of poverty based on consumption, wealth, and material deprivation are also now coming into…