The hottest Public Policy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Education Topics

Why Should Government Solve This Problem?

Points And Figures • 453 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government intervention NCAA Public Policy
  1. College athletics is undergoing a major transformation due to changes like the transfer portal and name, image, likeness (NIL) rules.
  2. Coaches like Nick Saban are important figures in guiding the future of college sports amid these changes.
  3. The author questions the need for government intervention in the evolving college athletic marketplace and advocates for letting the free market and NCAA adapt on their own.

Criminal Justice Reform Is Good, But, Like Everything, It Requires Common Sense And Moderation

Singal-Minded • 576 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Public Policy
  1. Criminal justice reform is important, but it needs to be approached with common sense and moderation to be effective.
  2. Addressing inequality and reducing the impact of luck in determining outcomes is a crucial step in shaping public policy.
  3. There has been bipartisan recognition that the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed and needs reform, particularly in its treatment of nonviolent offenders.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Systemic Racism at Brown?

Glenn Loury • 4068 implied HN points • 25 Jun 23
🚌 Education Race Public Policy Inequality
  1. A controversy at Brown University surrounding systemic racism sparked a debate on freedom of expression.
  2. Glenn Loury, a black conservative economist, argues against claims of systemic racism at Brown and presents his scholarly contributions.
  3. Loury emphasizes the need to address racial inequality without undermining academic freedom.

$10 Trillion Stolen Right Under Our Noses

COVID Reason • 1768 implied HN points • 28 Aug 23
💰 Finance Economy Public Policy Inflation Wealth Inequality Government spending
  1. Over $10 trillion was spent on the COVID-19 pandemic, with $6 trillion from CARES Act and $4 trillion from Biden's administration.
  2. Money was stolen through fraud and embezzlement during COVID relief, with the effects leading to inflation and societal wealth disparity.
  3. The spending spree due to the pandemic led to significant financial losses, missed opportunities, and wealth redistribution, impacting many aspects of people's lives.

‘Weaponization’ — House Speaker on FBI and ‘traditionalist’ Catholics

The Pillar • 137 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Religious freedom Law enforcement Conservatism Government oversight Public Policy
  1. A group of Catholics celebrated a Mass at the U.S. Capitol, following a controversial FBI memo on Catholicism.
  2. The FBI memo raised concerns of targeting traditionalist Catholics for their beliefs, linking them with extremist views like white nationalism.
  3. Lawmakers are still investigating the origins and impact of the FBI memo on Catholic Americans, with ongoing concerns about religious liberty.

The Misuse and Abuse of "Market Failure"

Knowledge Problem • 314 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
🚌 Education Economics Public Policy Regulation Markets Government intervention
  1. Market failure is often casually used to criticize outcomes not liked, but in economics, it has specific technical meanings like external costs or benefits.
  2. The concept of market failure is misused and misunderstood in policy analysis, leading to inaccurate criticisms of market outcomes.
  3. Critiques of market failure should consider the imperfections of government interventions as well, and focus on reducing transactions costs to enhance resource allocation.

American Nightmares

Scholar's Stage Updates • 4 HN points • 28 Mar 24
🌍 World Politics Technological Impact Public Policy Global Competition
  1. Tocqueville and Wang Huning both observed American self-confidence but attributed it to different sources - Tocqueville to individual and collective action, Wang to faith in science and technology.
  2. Tocqueville expressed concerns about the potentially isolating effects of American individualism and equality, while Wang Huning worried about the societal fragmentation caused by technological advancement.
  3. Wang Huning's analysis suggests that modern American society is largely managed by technology and disregards traditional democratic values, leading to potential alienation and loss of human agency.

A Note From Dave

Silent Lunch, The David Zweig Newsletter • 15 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
📰 News Investigative Journalism Public Policy Media industry Free speech
  1. Dave is pausing the Silent Lunch newsletter to focus on finishing his book and external research work.
  2. During the pause, paid subscribers will not lose any money, with payments suspended for monthly subscribers and subscriptions extended for annual subscribers.
  3. Dave assures readers that once the newsletter resumes, they can expect more content they love, including investigative pieces like those mentioned in the post.

Authoritarians and their shitty childhoods

Sex and the State • 6 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Inequality Social Issues Healthcare Public Policy
  1. Life for bottom-half Americans has been worsening over the years due to factors like market concentration, stagnant wages, rising costs, and increasing inequality.
  2. These hardships could be contributing to the rise of Trumpism, affecting mobility, mental health, and overall well-being.
  3. Factors like reduced economic mobility, increasing precarity, and societal challenges like teen depression are linked to the decline in conditions for many Americans.

vanshnookenraggen on the past, present, and future of transportation

Exasperated Infrastructures • 12 implied HN points • 11 Dec 23
💼 Business Transportation Urban planning Public Policy Infrastructure Advocacy
  1. Andrew Lynch, known as vanshnookenraggen, got into mapping and transportation history out of pure curiosity and interest in urban planning.
  2. His work focuses on creating maps that visualize transportation systems and history to make complex information easier to understand.
  3. There's a need to connect land use policy with transportation policy, understand the political realities of planning, and engage communities effectively in urban planning decisions.

A Robotaxi Regulation Wishlist

Urben Field Notes • 27 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Regulations Transportation Urban planning Public Policy Technology impact
  1. The decisions made now by San Francisco and California about robotaxis will have a significant impact.
  2. Implementing specific regulations for robotaxis can help in managing traffic congestion and improving city transportation.
  3. There is a need for regulations like congestion pricing, robotaxi-free corridors, and designated pickup spots to enhance the integration of robotaxis in city transportation systems.

The hubris of social scientists

Hypertext • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
🔬 Science Social Science Public Policy
  1. Researchers should expand beyond randomized trials in social science evaluations due to the complexity of the social world and challenges in replicating findings.
  2. The 'hubris of social scientists' refers to the overconfidence and limitations in assuming new ideas will succeed, highlighting the commonality of failures in various fields, not just social policy.
  3. Identifying small effects in social science research is difficult due to the high variability across contexts, limitations in sample sizes, and challenges in replicating studies, necessitating a more systematic approach to data collection and policy evaluation.

Causal research: More, not less

Hypertext • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
🚌 Education Research Policy Social Science Evidence Public Policy
  1. Understanding the effects of policies on people's lives is crucial, and causal research can provide valuable information to guide decision-making.
  2. Critiques of causal social science highlight the need for improvement in research publishing practices, such as publishing null studies and ensuring clarity on statistically significant but small results.
  3. Replication studies in policy-making, especially with experimental interventions like RCTs, can offer valuable insights to refine policies before widespread implementation, and continuous use of evidence can help in making incremental progress.

Is transformational change the only thing that matters?

Hypertext • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Social Change Public Policy Criminal Justice
  1. Transformational change is difficult in various aspects of life, and most attempts do not lead to significant outcomes, but persistence is key to progress.
  2. Research and evaluation play a crucial role in understanding the effectiveness of interventions and innovations, although measuring programmatic effectiveness can be challenging.
  3. Randomized experiments, while powerful, are not the only form of high-quality evidence; various types of evidence contribute to building knowledge and understanding incremental changes over time.

Democracy of evidence

Hypertext • 0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 24
🚌 Education Policy Analysis Econometrics Social Sciences Public Policy
  1. Econometrics helps to reveal truths in small-scale matters, but applying them to large societal issues requires many assumptions. Democratizing knowledge generation can be a social game-changer by putting economic tools in the hands of more people.
  2. Academics often focus on big questions about human nature, but the implementation of policies by governmental and social organizations could benefit from more hands-on and practical application of econometric tools to measure the impact of these policies.
  3. Government and social institutions should embrace a more incremental approach, like carpenters, making gradual improvements as opposed to sweeping changes. There's potential for significant social change when institutions start questioning and measuring the effectiveness of their own operations.

Making at-home screens a thing

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 17 Feb 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Information Sharing Public Policy Preventive measures
  1. At-home screening for Covid-19 can be efficient and effective, according to evidence from studies.
  2. Trust issues regarding reporting test results and ensuring people follow safety measures can be addressed through penalties or verification processes.
  3. Regular at-home screening, even if not perfect, can help minimize the risk of transmission and improve our ability to measure and manage risks during the pandemic.

Policy should be adaptive

Perambulations • 0 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Policy Behavior Public Policy Laws
  1. Policy should be designed to be adaptive and respond to changes in behavior to encourage better outcomes.
  2. Creating new equilibria through adaptive policies can lead to more sustainable changes in collective behavior rather than just individual actions.
  3. Adaptive policies, like those seen in traffic management or public health initiatives, can help promote common goals and shared norms to achieve lasting change in society.