Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Homeownership And Mortgage Loans: How Important Is A Conventional Loan?, Zachary Owen

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Communities across the United States face a housing crisis that stems in part from a scarcity of conventional home mortgage loans. Conventional mortgage loan application numbers have decreased, and racial disparities persist in mortgage application denial rates. In 2020, the Urban Institute reported that when applying for a mortgage, Black applicants were denied 27.1% of the time, yet White applicants were denied only 13.6% of the time. These denial rates are highly correlated with homeownership rates. Today, despite policy efforts, the difference in White and Black homeownership rates is higher than in the 1960s when the government enforced discriminatory housing …

Offshoring And Subordinate Financialization In Developing Countries, Logan Kuegel

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This study will investigate the relationship between global value chain integration and financialization in the Global South. It is intended for policy research committees in international organizations such as the United Nations (Commission on Trade and Development Special Committee on Cization), the International Monetary Fund (Development Committee), the World Trade Organization, and World Bank. The global production network represents the international division of production through intermediate offshoring, while financialization represents the entrance of traditionally nonfinancial actors (namely firms, governments/banks, and households) into the financial system.

Attempting to use a heterodox framework, this paper builds upon literature that synthesizes the two …

Bolstering Resistance To Misinformation Through K-12 Education, Allison Johnson

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Misinformation online and in news media is a problem because it degrades truth and hinders legitimate democratic discourse. As misinformation becomes more prevalent, we need to start finding ways to limit the extent of the problem. To do so, I recommend a policy solution based on inoculation theory. Inoculation theory, as the name suggests, uses the metaphor of a vaccine. When receiving the flu shot, we get a weakened dose of the virus, which in turn helps us to create antibodies and later be more effective at fighting the real flu. In this instance, people are exposed to weakened doses …

Addressing Money Laundering In The United States Real Estate Sector, Hunter Mccormick

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The United States faces threats to economic stability and legal integrity from money laundering practices in the real estate market. Legislative loopholes, complicit enablers, and aging technological systems used by government agencies allow individuals to flow ill-gotten wealth into the United States with little effort. As a result of these factors, local economies suffer job loss, once-inhabited properties lie empty in decay, and trust in government weakens. Illegal wealth is transformed into protected assets in the form of property and can stored to later fund terrorism organizations or influence the American people. Approximately $2.3 billion was laundered through real estate …

Curbing Diabetes Prevalence And Reducing Risk Through Policy, Grayson Blount

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The purpose of this policy brief is to illuminate the dire circumstances surrounding the ongoing diabetes epidemic in Kentucky. Type II diabetes mellitus, a preventable and manageable chronic illness, affects nearly 465,000 Kentuckians currently. Beyond the daily struggle associated with diabetes, many acute complications can arise that are severly detrimental to quality of life, such as blindness or lower extremeity amputation. Additionally, the costs associated with diabetes are tremendous, to patients, to providers, and to the state. It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to do whatever we can in order to reduce prevalence and improve management of …

Convicted Felons And Voting, Olivia Corley

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Felony disenfranchisement impacts nearly 4.6 million individuals in the United States with low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately affected. This policy is a practice that restricts the voting rights of individuals who have been convicted of a felony. This brief provides an overview of the challenges faced by those affected by felony disenfranchisement, as well as the implications for democracy in the United States. Highlighting a 50-state scan of state voter restrictions, I showcase the different laws and policies that restrict the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions across the United States. The history of felony disenfranchisement in …

Child Welfare And The Opioid Crisis In The Bluegrass State, Irina Mohler

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This brief discusses the challenges facing Kentucky's child welfare system, particularly due to the opioid epidemic, childhood adversity, mental health needs, and limited social services. Kentucky has one of the highest child neglect rates and opioid dispensing rates in the nation. The state's child welfare system includes services like the Child and Family Services Plan, Independent Living Program, and Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team (START), but it faces issues such as high caseloads and data gaps. It aims to emphasizes the importance of providing the highest standard of care for children in Kentucky and seeking effective recommendations by examining similar …

Making Transportation Safer, Jack Reynolds

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

While often overlooked, the overreliance on private transportation across the United States has become a major source of danger, with thousands of lives lost every year to motor vehicle crashes. These deaths have been taken for granted, yet what is often forgotten is that in the face of increasing rates of motor vehicle crash deaths, we have the capability to prevent future tragedies like these from occurring through targeted policy decisions. While certain reforms to private transportation were found to be effective in improving traffic safety, such as implementing graduated licensing systems and lowering speed limits, the primary component of …