Social Science Research Council

The newspaper business is in crisis. The Christian Science Monitor announced last month that it would cease publishing a weekday paper, and staff lay-offs are becoming commonplace—not only at big metro newspapers, including the LA Times and New York Times, but also at many mid-sized papers.
While the situation is complex, the main issue seems to [...]

A cornerstone of the Obama campaign was a call for national unity and renewal of public spirit: “Yes we can!” Yet this comes after an era of intensified inequality, amid a sharp financial crisis and growing unemployment, and during polarizing international conflicts. What early policies can President Obama pursue that will in fact renew social [...]

What do we know about bailouts from previous experience and existing theory? How can this inform the current public discussion of government actions in the US and other countries?
Elaboration: The US government has acted in recent days to rescue some enormous firms (but not others) and to try to stabilize volatile financial markets and is [...]