Articles | 2008
Each quarter, articles and critical essays in the ISERP newsletter highlight the research and policy work being undertaken by our faculty, fellows, and affiliates. We also provide in-depth reports on ISERP’s programming and initiatives. A complete chronology of these articles and program highlights is available below.
Winter 2007-2008
by Sherry Glied (Health Policy and Management)
Health care reform promises to be a hot issue in the 2008 presidential elections. By any measure, this discussion is long overdue. The number of uninsured Americans has risen substantially since 1993, and now numbers over 46 million. Health care costs have climbed to 16 percent of the GDP, about twice as much per capita in real dollars as any other country spends.
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Winter 2007-2008
by Saskia Sassen (Sociology)
Much has been said since 2001 about the growing democratic deficit at the heart of our liberal democracy. Among the leading causes usually mentioned are the Patriot Act, particularly its use by the Bush-Cheney administration to strengthen executive power, and, secondly, our deeply flawed electoral system. Both are indeed critical factors feeding the democratic deficit.
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Winter 2007-2008
by Fredrick Harris (ISERP)
In the context of African American politics, the 2008 presidential election cycle presents black voters with a unique opportunity to play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the Democratic presidential primary, as well as the November general election. And yet, the front-loading of presidential primaries in the first six weeks of the year has once again raised questions about representation and fairness in the presidential nomination process and about whether the selection process needs to be overhauled and replaced with a more inclusive process.
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Winter 2007-2008
by Jason Bello (Political Science/Economics/Linguistics, Columbia College) and Robert Shapiro (Political Science)
When Jason Bello and Robert Shapiro first put together their predictions for the primary election a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses, they sought to look at how the rules of the game constrain the outcome. They asked whether there was anything in the rules governing delegate selection that would lead to an early consolidation of candidates.
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Winter 2007-2008
With only a year to the next election, and with the publicity starting up already, now is a good time to ask-is it rational for you to vote? And, by extension, is it worth your while to pay attention to what Hillary, Rudy, and all the others will be saying for the next year or so? With a chance of casting a decisive vote that is comparable to the chance of winning the lottery, what is the gain from being a good citizen and casting your vote?
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Winter 2007-2008
Bruno Latour will explore the ways in which the extension of democratic institutions to ecological issues is fraught with difficulties. The event will take place on Monday, February 25 at 8pm in 501 Schermerhorn and is sponsored by the Alliance Program, the Heyman Center for the Humanities, and ISERP.
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Winter 2007-2008
The cost of war in Iraq reaches far beyond the tab for bullets and bombs, says economist Joseph Stiglitz, co-author, with Linda Bilmes, of the new book The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict.
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Winter 2007-2008
The Center on African American Politics and Society (CAAPS), led by Fredrick Harris (Political Science), has launched a seminar series that will provide a forum for discussing social science research on the political, social, and economic conditions affecting black communities.
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Winter 2007-2008
We invite you to join us for a discussion with leading public opinion and election experts, Robert Erikson, Andrew Gelman, and Robert Shapiro, on the 2008 election.
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Winter 2007-2008
The Columbia University Global Health Research Center in Central Asia is pleased to issue a request for seed grant proposals. Seed grants support proposal development, pilot research, and other activities that address HIV, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and related issues that have relevance for the global health challenges facing Central Asia.
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Winter 2007-2008
Grappling with what is a core issue of international relations, Tanisha Fazal explores two hundred years of military invasion and occupation, from eighteenth-century Poland to present-day Iraq, to derive conclusions that challenge conventional wisdom about state death. We invite you to join Tanisha Fazal and Charles Tilly for a discussion on Fazal's new book.
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Winter 2007-2008
Please join Thomas Edsall, Todd Gitlin, Jefrey Pollock, and Robert Shapiro for a discussion about the changing nature of campaigning and its implications for the 2008 presidential election and future presidential races.
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Winter 2007-2008
The theme of the panel will be the lessons that Chile has to offer American policymakers-for many of the policy-related ideas and topics currently under discussion in the U.S., conversations remain at a theoretical level (e.g., pension reform) or, at best, with data from small scale implementations (e.g., school vouchers).
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