Harris School of Public Policy

Examine how survey methods can influence perceptions of polarization in this week’s episode of Not Another Politics Podcast. Listen here: https://har.rs/4rsr1vS

⚾ Should Chicago subsidize pro sports stadiums? Newly announced finalists in the Harris Policy Innovation Challenge are tackling that question with bold proposals on public subsidies, stadium financing, and neighborhood impact. Live final event: April 23. https://har.rs/4uIKQ51

I am a former White House official who helped develop the first U.S. government–wide strategy to combat fentanyl and the cartels behind it. I’m the author of Fentany... Explore this post and more from the IAmA community

Jake Braun, a former White House official and the Executive Director of the Cyber Policy Initiative at Harris, is answering your questions live on Reddit about the fentanyl crisis, cartel evolution, and the U.S. strategy to combat it. Ask your questions here: https://har.rs/4uksR4j

"Wealth in People" and Rethinking the Social Fabric A radical reframing of prosperity in conversation with Nobel Prize winner James Robinson

In a new interview, Harris' own 2024 Nobel laureate James Robinson reflects on the idea of "wealth in people," arguing that in many societies prosperity has been rooted in social networks, kinship, and community institutions, not just material assets. https://har.rs/4aTZNsT

Federal agencies, US cities on alert for potential retaliatory attacks amid Iran war Federal and local law enforcement nationwide are on high alert for Iranian retaliation.

🚨 In @abc7chicago.bsky.social, Jake Braun warns U.S. cities should be vigilant for cyber retaliation amid the Israel–Iran conflict. Iran could target the banking system, oil supply networks, and other critical infrastructure. https://har.rs/4be8c9I

Consult expert research and opinion that reveals how taxes can be used to increase equity in this week’s edition of Public Money Policy: A Harris Newsletter. Subscribe for the latest insights on fiscal choices, economic policy, and markets. https://har.rs/3TBLZt0

What death of cartel leader 'El Mencho' in Mexico means for flow of drugs, violence into Chicago The leader of Mexico's billion-dollar CJNG cartel may be gone, but his death has those who've spent their careers working to dismantle cartel influence wondering what it could mean to the flow of drugs and potential violence in Chicago.

📰 In @abc7chicago.bsky.social, Jake Braun says the killing of cartel leader #ElMencho could reshape the drug trade, but warns that targeting kingpins alone isn’t enough. "It has to be layered in with a full-on counter network approach." https://har.rs/4rvb8Vz

Why Did U.S. Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Drop? A big part of the story now seems that law enforcement coordinated across U.S. agencies, and elements of the Mexican government, to disrupt fentanyl trafficking. A conversation w/ Jake Braun.

📉 Why are U.S. fentanyl overdose deaths falling? @samquinones.bsky.social discusses realities on the ground with Harris' Jake Braun, a former White House official, who has written about federal efforts to target the Sinaloa Cartel and its chemical supply chain. https://har.rs/4ru9Fih

Russia's war on Ukraine puts women off having children -- and that could spell economic disaster Four years of war have discouraged Ukrainian and Russian women from having children, and that could impact their economies in the future.

In @cnbc.com, @ksonin.bsky.social says Russia’s push to boost births is “all about societal control." “What matters…is the general feeling of safety. And this is not there in Russia.” He argues war and instability are driving insecurity — and low fertility. https://har.rs/4tZ31mA

Opinion | A Global Minimum Tax Means Price Fixing We punish anticompetitive behavior in the private sector but permit it in the public sector.

📰 Calling for "antitrust enforcement for governments": In @wsj.com, Tomas Philipson argues the U.S. should reject the OECD’s global minimum tax, calling it public price fixing, and instead promote tax competition across countries. https://har.rs/4s40NAe

University of Chicago Health Lab Releases Evaluation of Washtenaw County Co-Response Unit Pilot The University of Chicago Health Lab today released a comprehensive implementation evaluation of the Co-Response Unit (CRU) pilot in Michigan's Washtenaw County.

New from the Health Lab: An evaluation of Washtenaw County’s Co-Response Unit pilot, which highlights both the promise and the practical challenges of pairing law enforcement and behavioral health professionals to respond to crisis calls. https://har.rs/4cztG39

'Time for a refund'? The movement to give Americans tariff money. Democrats have demanded refunds after the Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

💰 In @usatoday.com, @durlauf.bsky.social says tariff-funded rebate checks were unlikely from the start: “It’s not clear to me they were ever going to happen.” Without precedent for distributing the revenue, "it was not so likely before, and it’s less likely now.” https://har.rs/3MNsz57

Parents trust report cards more than test scores -- with consequences for kids A study of 2,000 parents finds that they're more inclined to step in with extra help when grades, but not test scores, are slipping

📉 As grades rise but test scores fall, @arielkalil.bsky.social warns of declining parent investment in learning: “Parents are the key to children’s success.” She notes high grades can mask skill gaps, reducing urgency for action. https://har.rs/3ZUUSld

This week, Assistant Professor and 2026 Sloan Research Fellow Shaoda Wang joins #NotAnotherPoliticsPodcast to discuss whether students who engage in plagiarism are more likely to select careers in bureaucracy. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://har.rs/3OrEAha

Crime continues downward surge in 2025 in Houston and nationwide, survey shows Houston joined most of the country in 2025 in seeing declines in most types of crime, continuing a yearslong trend that one expert worries won't be sustainable.

📉 Crime rates have dropped dramatically across the country, but Professor Jens Ludwig notes experts are split on the reasons and warns the trend may not hold as COVID-era funding for community support programs fades and budget pressures mount. https://har.rs/4kSz83a

Bears' stadium property tax legislation to get first public hearing in Springfield this week Action in Springfield this week could jumpstart the seemingly stalled negotiations between the Chicago Bears and Illinois state lawmakers on a deal to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights.

🏟️ As Illinois lawmakers consider property tax relief tied to a proposed Bears stadium deal, municipal finance expert @justin-marlowe.bsky.social warns that changing tax structures can have broad implications for local governments’ finances and revenue stability. https://har.rs/4rp1KDy

Learn more about the precarious state of education funding in Chicago in this edition of Harris on Education. Subscribe to explore academic scholarship on how schools respond to challenges on these and other fronts. http://har.rs/3Uez5BO

Trump gets help ignoring public opinion -- voters should worry Gallup's decision to stop tracking approval ratings could make it easier for Trump to shrug off public discontent

📊 As @gallup.com ends nearly 90 years of tracking presidential approval, Harris' Marc Farinella notes that the media often prioritizes results over methodology — with less rigorous approaches shaping public perception. Politicos look elsewhere for data. https://har.rs/4tDEp2n

How predictable should inspections be? New research from @maggieshi.bsky.social finds that nursing home inspection timing shapes staffing and mortality. Making inspections less predictable could increase lives saved by 12%. And: it's free. https://har.rs/4qChfXt

Understand the clash between the executive branch and the US's central bank in this week’s edition of Public Money Policy: A Harris Newsletter. Subscribe for the latest insights on fiscal choices, economic policy, and markets. https://har.rs/3TBLZt0

Harris Students Join IOP Trek to Learn about Food Insecurity and SNAP | Harris School of Public Policy | The University of Chicago Maya Cousins, MPP Class of 2027, and Kerem Tasdan, MPP Class of 2026, write about the Institute of Politics's trek to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Harris Public Policy students Maya Cousins and Kerem Tasdan recently joined a trek to the Greater Chicago Food Depository with the Institute of Politics at University of Chicago to learn about the local food security landscape and its implications for policy.

Read more: har.rs/4tNE2CH

Shaoda Wang Named 2026 Sloan Research Fellow February 17, 2026 Back to News Shaoda Wang, Assistant Professor, Harris School of Public Policy Assistant Professor Shaoda Wang Awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Sloan Research Fellowship Wang's research spans development economics...

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Shaoda Wang for his selection as a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow! Awarded by the @sloanfoundation.bsky.social, this is one of the most prestigious honors available to early-career scholars in the social sciences and sciences. https://har.rs/4tL04G4

What should Chicago do about its struggling charters? After a rough year in which several charters have announced closure or asked Chicago Public Schools for help with cash flow issues, a new district working group is brainstorming solutions and tackling a key question: Is the problem district underfunding...

📊 As @chipubschools.bsky.social and charters debate funding levels, @justin-marlowe.bsky.social highlights a larger issue: how districts allocate shared pension and debt costs, and whether current oversight tools provide enough transparency to spot financial stress early. https://har.rs/4qyTHmm

🗳️ In @washingtonpost.com, Prof. Anthony Fowler explains why nationalizing U.S. elections could make be good policy but would be a “political nightmare.” While voter ID is common globally, the U.S.’s decentralized system makes sweeping federal reform complex. https://har.rs/4asQWwZ

AI is automating injustice in American policing - Salon.com AI has raised deep concerns about police power and the erosion of rights, finding scapegoats instead of solutions

An analysis by the UChicago Crime Lab finds that 85 lives are saved per year by ShotSpotter, @salon.com reports. https://har.rs/4kw56SI

Investigate how well artificial intelligence can replicate a published political science paper in this week’s episode of Not Another Politics Podcast. Listen here: https://har.rs/3OonH6S

Learn about how AI is influencing students, professors, and future employers in this edition of Harris on Education. Subscribe to explore academic scholarship on how schools respond to challenges on these and other fronts. http://har.rs/3Uez5BO

New at Harris: the Bike Shop @UChicago

Made possible by a generous gift, this new lab is dedicated to building algorithmic public policy—tools that enhance human judgment and help governments scale what works. https://har.rs/4aidNuZ

🌍 New research from Ingvil Gaarder shows that well-targeted green subsidies could achieve the same climate impact at about half the cost — and that experts can predict which subsidies will work ahead of time to cut the waste. https://har.rs/4az0ner

Unpack record highs in bond issuance in 2025 and what factors may (or may not) carry this into 2026 in this week’s edition of Public Money Policy: A Harris Newsletter. Subscribe for the latest insights on fiscal choices, economic policy, and markets. https://har.rs/3TBLZt0