The Hoover Student Fellowship Program

Conduct advanced research and work on special projects for your mentor, often including:

• Executing online research.
• Collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing data.
• Analyzing trends and reporting on current events in each respective fellowship area.
• Writing summaries and memorandums on requested topics as well as proofread and help edit materials.

Assist with operational duties, often including: 

• Scheduling and prepping for meetings
• Building and maintaining distribution lists for event and/or research dissemination
• Responding to correspondences on behalf of your mentor or Hoover research initiative
• Crafting marketing materials or project output 
• Supporting general Hoover events or programs related to your project

At the culmination of the fellowship, all student fellows will complete a final presentation based on their work in the program. Each participant will present their work to the Director of the Hoover Institution, Hoover Fellows and Staff mentors, and their peers in the program.

Additional: student fellows expected to perform other related duties as requested. The fellowship will be structured to maintain flexibility and tailoring based on staff or fellow needs.

• Fully-enrolled Stanford undergraduate (sophomore, junior, or senior) of any major
• Any Stanford graduate student (GSB, SLS, any Masters program, and PhD program)
• Students must commit to the fellowship position from Autumn 2024 through Spring 2025
• Students with strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills. Emphasis on flexibility, attention to detail, and ability to work efficiently and independently in a fast-paced environment.

Questions? Contact Matt Kramer at mmkramer@stanford.edu for more information!

There are over 50 projects available for students to apply to in the HSFP 2024-25 program. Projects are sorted into 11 different topical areas alphabetically below: economics, environment and energy, federal government, foreign policy and international relations, history, Hoover operations, military, political science, revitalizing American institutions, science and technology, and state and local government.

Note: in order to encourage students to apply to projects based on interest, we do not list the names of project mentors in the project directory.

Economics

Cost-effective Decarbonization of the US Economy

The Biden administration has introduced major legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act that seeks to decarbonize the US economy. This empirical microeconomics research project focuses on quantifying how the US power sector and the transportation sector (airplanes, cars, and public transit) have been affected by the enormous subsidies introduced by the new laws. Students will work on stating testable hypotheses and building up the right data to test these hypotheses. Students will use basic computer programming to test statistical models. Prerequisites include statistical literacy, microeconomics, and a basic curiosity about measuring the intended and unintended consequences of new public policies.

Economic Impact of Fake Diplomas in Brazil

In 2018, the Brazilian police abruptly closed down a dozen high schools that were selling diplomas. This research aims to use student-level data to identify the impacts of the fake diplomas on earnings. Stata or R are required. Ability to read Portuguese or Spanish is a plus.

Emerging Markets

A student fellow is sought to assist on one or more projects in the area of emerging markets and developing economies. The collaboration aims to develop a framework for informed risk-taking that will enable more private capital to flow in socially beneficial ways to developing world infrastructure projects. Enabled by more transparent returns and risk data, an influx of private capital investment has the potential to reverse decades-long shortages in global infrastructure investment and provide a successful counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The research assistant will be responsible for building a solution using AI to integrate all of this information effectively, leveraging historical learning more efficiently. The job would also include streamlining presentations, writing, and maintaining social media platforms.

Making Government Effective and Affordable

A successful society needs an effective goverment, performing its essential roles well, at the appropriate level of government, and with adequate funds. When government becomes vast, sprawling, and inefficient, it often impedes its ability to perform its vital roles well and it becomes too expensive, causing taxes or debt that harms economic incentives now or in the future. Why does this happen? What can be done about it? What reforms—to the welfare state, the defense budget, the tax code, regulation, or elsewhere—will make government effective and affordable? Desirable prerequisites: introductory economics and statistics helpful, desire to dig into data and understand it.

Understanding the Effects of Government Spending on the US Economy

In the last two decades, the US government has relied on deficit-financed stimulus programs to boost the economy during times of crisis. This project analyzes historical and modern data using econometrics and economic theory to understand how those programs impact the economy. The project involves data collection, statistical analysis, and replications of existing papers. Ideally, the Hoover student fellow would have some knowledge of basic statistics and coding. The student can be paired with the parts of the project that match the student’s current and aspirational skills.

Environment & Energy

Shultz Energy Policy Working Group—Energy Statecraft Research

The George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working group takes a balanced approach toward sustaining the economic, environmental, and security dimensions of energy policy. The group is particularly interested in how US energy strengths—including resources, technologies, and markets—can be used to support allies and partners in a more dangerous world through creative energy statecraft. The student fellow will provide research support to a variety of ongoing international energy-related research projects, including those involving India, Taiwan, and Japan. Experience or familiarity with energy statistics and terminology would be helpful.

The Geopolitics of Climate Change

This project is a history of how climate change and great power competition became intertwined between the Rio Conference of 1992 and the present. It develops an original theory of the geopolitics of climate change and draws on archival materials in Chinese, Russian, and English-language sources to discuss issues ranging from climate negotiations to trade policy to water conflict and geoengineering. Students will gain experience on the later stages of the manuscript production process as a first draft is rewritten in a tighter and more polished form. They may also gain experience researching and potentially coauthoring shorter pieces drawn from the primary research for the book. Working knowledge of Russian or Hindi would be preferred, but is by no means required.

Universal Energy Demand in Developing Countries

For the poorer half of humanity, annual energy demand increases steadily and universally with GDP. The rate of increase, about four megajoules per dollar, seems a constant of societal development. This project will analyze national economic and energy data to understand both the cause and the numerical value of this universality. The understanding gained would better inform policies to mitigate the strong growth in global energy demand expected in the next three decades. A student working on this project should be adept at manipulating and displaying large multidimensional datasets and have some familiarity with intermediate-level statistical analyses.

Federal Government

Presidential Campaign Priorities and the Regulatory Agenda

Do presidential candidates follow through on their campaign promises once elected to office? This project examines the relationship between presidents’ campaign rhetoric and the agency actions that follow. Student fellows would be required to read campaign documents and identify information related to promises about agency policymaking. This information will be linked to rule-making activities by agency and issue area for every presidential administration from 1948 to 2024. Students should be familiar with American politics. Relevant coursework could include classes on American political institutions, the presidency, the bureaucracy or executive politics, campaigns, and political parties. Prior research experience is desirable but not required.

The Law of Sealing and Pseudonymity

This project involves creation of a legal treatise on the right of public access to court records, in particular (1) when court records may be sealed or redacted; and (2) when litigants may participate under a pseudonym (e.g., John Doe). Stanford law school students required.

The Origins of the Security and Exchange Commission and the Administrative State

Founded in 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a signature agency of the early New Deal, responsible for numerous innovations that continue to shape the financial sector today, including mandated quarterly and annual reports from publicly traded companies and regulation of the New York Stock Exchange. The student fellow will support an early-stage historical research project on the SEC. Tasks include general background research and assisting with the organization and analysis of a previously untapped archive from the SEC’s chief counsel. The ideal candidate has experience in both primary and secondary source historical research and basic knowledge of twentieth-century US history.

Foreign Policy & International Relations

American Foreign Policy and National Interest in Europe and the Middle East

What are American interests in Europe and the Middle East? This project explores various questions in US foreign policy. European topics include shared security concerns, especially with regard to Russia, the changing character of NATO, relations with the European Union, and questions of sovereignty, immigration, and nationality. Middle East topics involve tensions between security and democracy promotion, the future of fossil fuel economies, competition among allies (e.g., Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Israel), repercussions of the Afghanistan withdrawal, the challenge of Iran, and cultural questions. Students with relevant language skills (French, German, Central European languages, Russian, or a Middle Eastern language) are especially welcome.

Chinese and Russian Influence in American Politics

The Chinese and Russian governments aim to influence American politics in a range of ways. Among them: by financing or distributing content to American radio stations. This project aims to measure the content of this form of propaganda and its effects on local election outcomes. The ideal candidate will have a keen interest in Chinese and/or Russian politics, as well as foreign influence in American politics. Familiarity with statistics and GPS is an asset, but much more important is a willingness to learn.

Effective Sanctions Against Authoritarian Regimes

The student fellow will investigate how sanctions can be effectively implemented against authoritarian regimes to support democratic transitions. Research will center on the utility and conditions for the effective employment of sanctions and will consider key case studies. In addition to drafting a report on effective sanctions, the student may help organize events with relevant experts on the topic. There is also the opportunity to contribute additional research support to other projects relating to economic statecraft

Empirical Research on Political, Economic, and Informational Consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Russia's 2022 aggression against Ukraine continues to reshape global politics, including security alliances, trade routes, and information environments. It has an impact on the elections and economic growth in leading Western democracies. The effects on Ukraine and Russia themselves are profound, with war-time changes bound to determine the two countries diverging political and economic trajectories long after the guns come to a halt. Several empirical projects aim to understand the impact on information environments in both countries, particularly focusing on social media. Additionally, there is interest in decision making, both current and historical, and using public government data to infer changes in the policy-making process. A student fellow will collect, clean, and preprocess social media data and government statistics and conduct critical reviews of existing literature in this field. Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is a plus, as is basic programming in Python.

Governing Taiwan: Making Democracy Work

The student fellow will provide research assistance on a book-length project to examine the evolution of Taiwan’s political institutions after the transition to democracy. Applicants should have an interest in Taiwanese politics, East Asian studies, political institutions, or the Taiwanese legal system. The successful candidate will have near-native reading proficiency in Chinese and some prior familiarity with Taiwan’s political history and institutions. A background in law and politics or legal studies is a plus.

Great Power Competition Between Russia, China, and the United States in the 21st Century and Its Impact Around the World

Regarding the great power competition, there are as many differences with the Cold War as there are similarities. However, superimposing the old Cold War framework onto contemporary US-China or US-Russia relations distorts more than it explains. Today, both China and the United States have articulated global interests, and competition is already unfolding in key flashpoints: Ukraine and Taiwan. But to varying degrees, Washington, Brussels, Beijing, and Moscow aspire to compete for influence in every region. From battleships to television networks, China, Russia, Europe, and the United States have invested in developing instruments for exercising power worldwide. The dimensions of this competition vary from region to region, but these great powers' security, economic, and normative interests increasingly clash on every continent. In some places, China and Russia coordinate their behavior, acting as one authoritarian bloc. In other regions, they clash. The same is true of the democratic United States and Europe. The student will help our team study those trends by conducting background research, editing and writing sections of book chapters, participating in workshops and research seminars, and meeting industry leaders. Previous research and writing experience, fluency in Russian or Mandarin, and demonstrated interest in Russia or China are preferred.

Political Activists in China and US-China Relations

The student fellow will assist with data collection related to a book project on pro-democracy movements and anti-government protest in China. They will review relevant literature and do qualitative research for case studies on Chinese pro-democracy activists. They may also assist with case study research for ongoing paper projects on US-China relations. Fluency in Mandarin (including reading) is required. Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply.

Strengthening US-India Relations

The student fellow for this project will provide research support for scholarly and policy-oriented work focusing on the relationship between the United States and India. Work will include support in preparing background material and reports for key meetings of Hoover’s Program on Strengthening US-India Relations. Applicants should have a strong interest in India, economics, energy, or security. Data visualization skills are a plus; no language skills are required.

The United States, China, and the World

We seek Hoover student fellows to contribute to research on issues at the heart of US-China strategic competition. This year, our focus areas include: analyzing supply chain resiliency in critical technologies like batteries and active pharmaceutical ingredients; tracking China’s progress in key domains of scientific research; and studying the subnational relationship between the two nations. Fellows with any of these qualifications would be preferred: advanced reading capability in Chinese; experience or interest in analyzing patent, trade, or market data; coding for data analysis skills, especially in pulling, cleaning, and analyzing large volumes of data using APIs; scholarly interest in China’s efforts to shape the global geostrategic, political, and economic landscape.

Trust and Mistrust in US-India Relations

This project will focus on the issue of trust and mistrust in US-India relations and will be conducted under the aegis of the Huntington Program in Strengthening US-India Relations. The student fellow will be required to do literature searches, produce bibliographies, and draw up some historical timelines.

History

Hoover History Lab

The Hoover History Lab conducts policy-relevant historical research on how our world came into being, the way it works, and where it might be headed, including the main drivers of change. Student fellows who are knowledgable in the following areas are especially desired: Arabic language and the United Arab Emirates; Chinese language and geopolitical rivalry with China; technology (biotech and AI); Africa; demography and immigration; the Korean Peninsula; war and peace.

Perestroika Interviews

Some 400 pages of interviews with Soviet economic planners in the period 1988‒92 reside in the Hoover Archives. The project is to prepare them for analysis as a book or long article. The ability to understand Russian is required.

Stalin's Terror, 1930–39

This project focuses on what Russians call the “repressions” of the Stalin period of rule in the Soviet Union, 1930–39. The great Hoover scholar Robert Conquest was the first major academic to tackle this subject as a whole. Student fellow will be tasked with reconstructing the major episodes of the period, when possible using primary documents in the Hoover Archives or from published sources. Students with a reading knowledge of Russian or Ukrainian will be given preference. But there is much English-language material to be examined as well. The final product will be a comprehensive book on the subject.

The Rise and Fall of Cold War Washington

This book project examines the history of Washington, DC, during the Cold War, tracing its growth into the nerve center of a global empire. The book will focus in particular on the tension between the city’s roles as a national capital waging a global battle for freedom and as a minority-majority city struggling to obtain home rule and often excluded from the wealth of an ever-expanding federal government. Student fellow will help identify and use materials in digital archives relating to twentieth-century American urban, social, intellectual, and diplomatic history, in addition to working with important secondary sources.

Hoover Operations

Hoover Master Plan 2.0

Hoover Operations is undertaking a review and update of the master plan for our campus at Stanford. Originally published in 2018, the assumptions documented in the original master plan will be reassessed in collaboration with outside architects. The student fellow will have an opportunity to engage in various aspects of project management and facilities planning, helping to envision the future of programming, buildings, and outdoor spaces that support the mission of the Hoover Institution, including core functions of the Hoover Library & Archives. The ideal candidate has a demonstrated interest in architecture or space planning.

Marketing, Digital Media, and Analytics

The student fellow for this project will analyze competing initiatives and similar websites; make recommendations for new goal-oriented content; codify metrics in databases for future reporting; build audience engagement and growth; and promote content online. Potential applicants will need to become familiar with Hoover’s existing video library and research. Remote work and the ability to work independently will be expected.

Modern Federalist Blog

The Modern Federalist is a new blog that will be launched during the summer and fall of 2024. The blog will feature contributions by Hoover fellows who will explore contemporary policy issues through the lens of federalism. Specific duties include gathering information for blog posts, reviewing relevant literature, editing longer documents, communicating with guest contributors, editing, and, if appropriate, designing graphics. Excellent written communication skills are required; familiarity with blog platforms and maintenance is preferable but not required.

Production and Editorial Support for the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) and Shadow Open Market Committee (SOMC) Conference Report

As production and editing assistant, the student fellow will play a key role in supporting the production of two major projects: the second edition of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) and the Shadow Open Market Committee (SOMC) Conference Report. Responsibilities will include assuring quality of publication files, organizing production records, evaluating and cleaning up artwork, preparing manuscript files for production, verifying citations, requesting and tracking reproduction permissions, coordinating the circulation and tracking of materials among multiple authors, and drafting marketing copy and associated metadata. Strong attention to detail, excellent organizational skills, and a commitment to quality are essential for maintaining high standards in these influential publications.

Military

Maritime Strategy Working Group

The maritime domain is one of commerce and of resources—and occasional battles. An interdisciplinary working group of fellows is considering strategies to augment warfighting capability in this domain over the near- to mid-term, with a particular focus on deterring opportunism in the Indo-Pacific. The student fellow would support this work through the guided preparation of a series of memos and background briefs concerning various aspects of the rapidly changing maritime environment. Experience or familiarity with the US military, US Department of Defense, maritime environments, or emerging warfighting technologies would be helpful.

Wargaming and Foreign Policy

This project works with the Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative and the Hoover Library & Archives to explore how wargames have influenced foreign policy. The student fellow will explore archives and memoirs and will conduct interviews and surveys to trace the impact of wargames on US foreign affairs. Desired skills include experience with archival research, interview methods, and historical or social science research disciplines.

Political Science

Future of Work for Women Initiative

The Future of Work for Women Initiative aims to empower 100 million women in low- and middle-income countries to join the workforce by 2040, leveraging insights from academia, the private sector, civil society, funders, and governments. Hoover student fellows will research and develop strategies for supporting the private sector in job creation, create a guide for employers on supporting female employees, produce a report on increasing female entrepreneurship, and analyze employer-level data from India on job availability for women. Tasks may involve stakeholder interviews, in-depth research on digital/AI-related gig work and various job categories, and drafting of a research paper. Ideal candidates will have a background in economics, public policy, or political science, proficiency in STATA or R, and experience or interest in working with data, AI, and hiring teams at firms. Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks and document progress effectively are helpful.

Investigating the Political Economy of Farm Policy using Large-Scale Administrative Data

How do special interest groups with a vested interest in a government policy maintain political influence? This project leverages large-scale administrative data to shed light on the enduring capacity of the US farm lobby to shape farm safety net programs (“farm subsidies”) and other policies. The student fellow will assist in building and analyzing datasets and conducting statistical analyses. The student should have some experience with data analysis in Python or R. Given the student’s interests, the work could emphasize one or more diverse aspects of this project: mass political engagement, campaign finance, lobbying, trade policy, or climate change mitigation.

Liberty Game and Democratic Transitions

The student fellow chosen for an initiative on liberty games and democratic transitions will provide research support by surveying the literature on mechanisms of authoritarian state control and how democratic movements can best challenge authoritarian regimes. The student will contribute to an analysis of case studies regarding successful and unsuccessful democratic transitions in addition to assisting with a rule book for the Liberty Game. The student may help organize events and programs related to the project. Academic experience studying democracy, democratic transitions, or war games is preferred but not required.

Nepotism Across Time and Place

This project examines how families favor their own in politics, economics, and societal relations. The research will examine family structure across societies and see whether and where practices such as nepotism are seen as moral obligations—and where they are seen as corruption. Familiarity with Stata, R, Excel, or Numbers is a big plus, but not necessary.

The Future of US Public K‒12 Education

A new model for organizing US public K‒12 education holds the promise of better outcomes for students while also improving conditions for teachers and leaders and improving long-underperforming schools. This project will develop stakeholder feedback and interest in the approach as part of a larger effort to disseminate and discuss the proposal.

The Political Geography of Innovation in Rich Democracies

This project studies the political causes and consequences of regional inequality in innovation and economic opportunities across rich democracies: How and why do rich democracies differ in the spatial concentration or dispersion of economic opportunities? And how does access to opportunities influence election outcomes and political behavior? The main task for student fellows will be to gather spatial data on innovation and economic opportunities (such as patent applications, universities, regional development expenditures) and prepare them for analysis. Student fellows will also review and synthesize relevant literature. Strong quantitative skills, including geospatial analysis, and experience working with large datasets are required.

Revitalizing American Institutions

Good American Citizenship Working Group

Within Hoover's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI), this project addresses America’s dual crises of abysmal civics education and irresponsible citizenship. Via research, communication, and advocacy, it engages participants within Hoover and beyond in deliberation, debate, and pursuit of workable consensus. Student fellow(s) will help to develop an online citizenship self-assessment, support the National Forum of Civic Learning Week (to be hosted at Hoover for the first time), and assist with a periodic newsletter, as well as provide staff support for meetings of the working group itself. Excellent written communication skills are required; proficiency with basic statistics is a plus but not required.

Revitalizing American Institutions

The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) draws on the Hoover Institution’s scholarship, government experience, and convening power to study the reasons behind the crisis in trust facing American institutions, analyze how they are operating in practice, and consider policy recommendations to rebuild trust and increase their effectiveness. Students will assist with communications and events (including in-person gatherings and webinars), outreach, literature reviews, online research, and database management and will provide research support for RAI-affiliated projects. Excellent written communication skills are required.

Revitalizing Civic Education

The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) is launching several innovations designed to strengthen ideologically diverse, pro-democracy approaches to civic education. Student fellow(s) will assist in launching national projects that elevate and improve civic education by engaging college and university faculty, K‒12 teachers, and others in the civic education ecosystem across the country. Specific duties include assistance with communications and events, civic education literature reviews and online research, and assistance in program design and implementation. Excellent written communication skills are required.

Science & Technology

Bio-Strategies and Leadership

Hoover’s new Bio-Strategies and Leadership program is looking for several interested students to work on issues at the intersection of biotechnology, science, economics, and national security. Student fellows could expect to work on the following research projects: Remaking Civilization, Who Wins DNA, Foundations of Democracy, and Worst-Case Scenario Security. Student fellows could pioneer new research on these topics and perform other essential program tasks. Ideal candidates will be entrepreneurial, driven, and interested in biology or biotechnology (no previous experience or bio-expertise required), with a passion for moving the needle.

International Collaborations and the STEM Pipeline

The goal of this project is to assess the effectiveness of international collaborations in science and technology, with a particular emphasis on the STEM pipeline and how that affects those collaborations. Applicants should have an interest in the risks and benefits of international science collaborations and the collection of examples and data (especially through internet and article research).

Issues in Space Cybersecurity

Satellites are crucial for civilian and military functions, making their security against malicious actors a national priority. Space cybersecurity—defending satellites and their ground infrastructure against cyber threats—is a key component of overall space security. This project aims to identify technical and policy issues affecting space cybersecurity and to propose potential solutions to address these issues. Some technical familiarity with space or cybersecurity issues is strongly preferred.

Stanford Emerging Technology Review

Emerging technologies are rapidly transforming societies, economies, and geopolitics. The Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) aims to help public and private sector leaders better understand the latest developments in ten key technology areas to enable the United States to seize opportunities, mitigate risks, and sustain innovation. Student fellows will conduct background research about technological advancements and important policy developments in SETR’s technology focus areas and will assist in workshop planning, note taking, and implementation. They may also conduct interviews as necessary.

State & Local Government

Analyzing the US and California Economies

This position will support research in evaluating the impacts of economic policies on the California and US economies, including regulatory, tax, environmental, housing, water, education, and transportation policies. Topics include understanding why California has been losing population to other states, why housing has become so expensive, and why infrastructure investments take so long to build and cost far more than originally budgeted. The student fellow will also begin his or her own research in any of these areas, mentored by the Hoover fellow. Basic knowledge of Excel or equivalent spreadsheet programming and basic knowledge of producing graphs, charts, and tables is highly desirable.

How Do States Really Spend Taxpayer Money?

State governments spend money on a myriad of public programs, yet systematically tracking spending in ways that are comparable across states and years requires the creation of new datasets. This project involves building a new database of state government spending on different detailed categories to achieve a new level of transparency into what state governments are doing with taxpayer funds. Preferred candidates will have a command of introductory data science, particularly data structures and visualizations.

Politics and Pension Boards: Bureaucratic Structure in State and Local Governments

This project is about pension governance systems in the United States and the politics of their structure. Nearly all state and local government employees are eligible for a traditional pension, and most are enrolled in plans administered by state governments. State pension boards make important decisions about contributions to and investments of these pension funds—and thus collectively oversee trillions of dollars in public money. Pension boards are structured in a variety of ways: some are mostly political appointees, while others have majorities of government employees as trustees. This project examines state legislative proposals to change pension board structures and the politics involved.

Superpower California: The Indispensable State

California plays an oversized role in the global economy and imagination. If it were a sovereign nation, it would be the world’s fifth largest economy. California, however, is not a nation-state. It is a subnational entity. Research for Superpower California seeks to answer the following questions: What is the global role that California plays within the federal and international system? How does it interact with sovereign states, promote its commercial interests, protect its critical infrastructure, reside in cyberspace, secure its borders, assert its diverse values and preferences, and align with America’s broader foreign policy on the global stage?

The Effect of State-Level Institutions on Transportation Infrastructure Performance

US states have a wide array of institutional and legal arrangements that may impact the performance of that state’s transportation infrastructure. Those include differing arrangements regarding “trust funds” that separate gas tax and toll revenue from other aspects of the state's budget, environmental permitting procedures, as well as use of federal funds, among many others. There is, however, little empirical research examining the effect of those arrangements on the performance of the state’s transportation system. Performance measures include the safety, maintenance, smoothness, and age of a state’s roads. This research will be the first to systematically study the effect of a state’s legal and institutional structures on performance outcomes. The student fellow will help collect and organize both institutional and transportation performance data. Students should have some experience in data collection and organization.

Union Power and Governments’ Borrowing Cost

This project explores the causal relationship between union power and state governments' financing costs. The work will involve statistical analysis of state government credit spreads around Supreme Court rulings that change the union power in the states. The project will uncover the hidden cost of strong union presence. The analysis will be conducted in Python and STATA and the paper will be typeset in LaTeX.

Using Courts to Change School Finance

For fifty years, state courts have been involved in judging the equity and adequacy of the ways in which state legislatures fund their local schools. All but two states have had lawsuits over this time with slightly more than half of the decisions favoring the finance system that was being challenged. Over this time, there has been very little analysis of either the timing and nature of the court cases or the results of any decisions. This project will involve both a quantitative analysis of the court involvement (requiring econometric skills) and an investigation of the actions taken by states in response to decisions (requiring legal or political science skills).