Recent News

Lisa Corsetto interned this summer at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President, in the Western Hemisphere Office. USTR develops trade policy for the US and negotiates trade agreements; the Western Hemisphere Office does this specifically with counties in the Americas. "One of the most helpful parts of my first year at GSPP was the practice in condensing large amounts of information into concise and actionable papers for decision-makers," she says. "When writing…

Looking for an opportunity to work in education and gain data analysis experience, student Adam Gorski interned at Education for Change Public Schools, a network of charter schools in Oakland. He has enjoyed the opportunity to apply quantitative concepts to student assessment data and to learn R, the statistical computing and graphics software. "I'm taking more statistical analysis classes in the fall to build on what I've learned this summer," he says. "I hope have the chance to…

Darian Woods currently interns at NPR’s Planet Money, a biweekly American podcast and blog centered on the economy. He writes blog posts, pitches new story ideas, and “spends a surprising amount of time workshopping the perfect tweet.” Darian credits his first year at the Goldman School with preparing him for this internship: Professor Jesse Rothstein introduced him to the American tax and transfer system; The Economics & Public Policy class provided concrete examples of how people…

Netflix just announced it’s offering paid leave for new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth or adoption of a child. Other high-tech firms are close behind. Some big law firms are also getting into the act. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is offering 22 paid weeks off for both male and female attorneys. Even Wall Street is taking baby steps in the direction of family-friendly work. Goldman Sachs just doubled paid parental leave…

An attendee gets an airbrushed tattoo during the Black Hat conference Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in Las Vegas. The annual computer security conference draws thousands of hackers and security professionals to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, Associated Press) Cyber attacks have opened eyes to the prospect that future wars may be waged in the shadows, relying on proxies using technological innovation to attack “soft” targets such as information networks, transportation systems, power plants, stock markets — and public confidence.…

A reading lesson last week in a summer program at the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center in Houston. (Michael Stravato for The New York Times) For decades, policy makers have treated poverty as a sign of helplessness and ineptitude. The worse off the neighborhood — the higher the rate of poverty, crime, and juvenile delinquency — the less influence it would have over its future. Social service agencies conducted “needs assessments” rather than asking residents what would strengthen their community.…

I used to chuckle when people claimed that voters make decisions based upon how much they like a candidate and not on a candidate's policies. But after last night's debate, I'm starting to think that the GOP candidates must believe that policies don't matter much to voters at all. These Republican candidates seemed hooked on the debate sugar-high -- touting radical positions to win the adoration of a base that does not represent the majority of…

This summer, GSPP student Trinetta Chong is working with Cambodian Child's Dream Organization, an non-governmental organization that builds wells and latrines for rural communities and supports local schools through an education and breakfast program. As a monitoring and evaluation intern, Trinetta is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of existing programs and recommending new strategies for improvement. Her projects include creating a well maintenance database, developing surveys to find out students' meal habits and analyzing trends using school attendance, test…

PhD student Ralph Spinelli is in the last stages of terminal cancer, but his bucket list just got a little shorter. The 74-year-old doctoral student and advocate for criminal justice reform had dreamed of meeting Jack Nicklaus to thank him for being a long-time inspiration. Ralph wrote to the golf legend and was invited, with his son, on an all-expense paid trip to Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament, which Jack Nicklaus founded.  “I wanted to shake his…

Perhaps not surprisingly, grad students tend to take on more debt when going into fields where the pay is higher. Students studying medicine and law typically borrow more than $100,000 to get through school, and many go on to high-paying careers. At the other end of the spectrum, many Ph.D. students wind up in academia. Most get grants and subsidies — and the majority don't have to borrow any money at all to get through grad school. One striking…