Digital Commons Network^™

A Capital Idea? The Welfare Effects Of Relocating Indonesia’S Government To A New City, Alexander D. Rothenberg, Radine Rafols, Yao Wang, Yi Jiang

Center for Policy Research

Many developing countries are planning to create new capital cities, a place-making policy designed to alleviate congestion and respond to climate change. To evaluate growth and welfare effects, we specify a dynamic quantitative spatial model with public employment, informality, fiscal transfers, and frictions in trade and migration. We calibrate the model with data from Indonesia and conduct policy experiments studying the creation of Nusantara in East Kalimantan. Despite increasing employment in the new capital region, we find that building Nusantara reduces national growth and welfare. Climate change attenuates its negative welfare effects, but only slightly.

Housing Market Responses To Constrained Mobility Rights - Evidence From A School Enrollment Reform For Migrant Children, Yilin Hou, Jinghua Qi, Yugang Tang

Center for Policy Research

Mobility matches open housing markets. With constrained mobility and partially open housing markets, market responses reflect the constraints. We study this mechanism by examining disparity in access to public schools across socio-economic groups, focusing on properties near primary schools accessible to migrant students under social integration policies in a Chinese megacity. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we uncover complex spatial and market dynamics: while house prices close to ordinary primary schools remained relatively stable, house prices farther away declined markedly. This differential impact suggests the interaction between a potential "peer effect" and an "amenity effect." The rental rates showed little change …

Interrelationships Among Social Media Use, University Social Capital, And Mental Health Outcomes In Undergraduate Students, Md Hasan Howlader

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Mental health concerns among university students have intensified globally, reflected in rising levels of psychological distress, declining life satisfaction, and reduced flourishing. These challenges present urgent implications for public health and higher education policy. Simultaneously, social media use (SMU) has become deeply embedded in students’ daily lives; however, its impact on mental health remains inconclusive. While some studies associate SMU with increased mental health issues, others emphasize its potential to foster social connection. These conflicting perspectives are further complicated by uncertainty regarding the directionality of these relationships—whether SMU influences mental health, or mental health status shapes SMU patterns. Furthermore, existing …

Student Alienation In Schools Goes Beyond Low Achievement, Sean J. Drake, Jeffrey Guhin

Center for Policy Research

When we think about students struggling in school, we often focus on grades, test scores, and graduation rates. But there's a deeper problem affecting students across all achievement levels: alienation. Students feel disconnected from school not because they're failing, but because they can't see themselves in the narrow story schools tell about success. This brief summarizes findings from a study drawing on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork in two different high schools in Los Angeles, California. The authors identify four types of alienation students experience: feeling like they don't belong, being in schools that can't support their goals, pursuing …

Perception Map As A Tool For Program Evaluation, Marlene K. Rebori

Journal of Extension

Perception maps can be powerful tools for visually sharing and conveying program information with the general public and decision makers. A perception map is a common visual data tool used in the marketing and economics discipline, but not commonly used in Extension. A framework for developing a perception map and a step-by-step process for setting up evaluation metrics to create a perception map is provided using an example from a community leadership development program.

Editorial: Migration And Health: A Human Rights Perspective - Conference Insights And Beyond, Noemi Rodriguez, Mira Goral, Justine Mcgovern, Allison Squires, María Isabel Roldos

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Rural County International Immigrant Population Growth In Nevada, 2020-2024, Yiselle Olivas Ruiz, Anirudh Polagani, Mohit Pande, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet presents 2020-2024 data on international immigrant population growth across 17 Nevada counties.The Daily Yonder report, “International Immigrants Drive Rural Population Growth,” uses U.S. Census data to highlight international immigration patterns for all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan (rural) counties across the United States. This fact sheet highlights data on 13 nonmetropolitan counties in Nevada: Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, White Pine. This fact sheet also includes data on four metropolitan counties in Nevada: Carson City, Clark, Storey, and Washoe.

Public School Districts Should Close Their “Alternative” And “Continuation” High Schools, Sean J. Drake

Center for Policy Research

Public school districts across the country funnel academically struggling students into "alternative" or "continuation" high schools designed to help them catch up on credits and graduate on time. However, these schools often reproduce more inequality than they alleviate. This brief summarizes findings from a two-year ethnographic case study of an alternative high school in suburban Los Angeles, California. The author finds that these schools offer limited curricula and no extracurricular opportunities, while Black, Latino, and low-income students are vastly overrepresented compared to district averages. Students transferred to alternative schools are also more likely to drop out than low-performing peers who …

Advancing Children's Mental Health In Nevada, Kelliann Beavers, Christopher Kearney

Lincy Institute Events

Nevada ranks 51st nationally in youth mental health access and services, underscoring persistent shortages and disparities across the state. Nearly one in four youths aged 12–17 (23.5%) experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, and 73% did not receive treatment. Approximately 34,000 Nevada youths have reported suicidal thoughts—an urgent call for prevention and coordinated support.

During the 2024–2025 school year, 31.3% of Clark County School District students were chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), a challenge closely linked to mental health struggles and socioeconomic barriers.

This community forum provided an opportunity to generate dialogue and …

Planning For Solar Equity: Zoning And Land Use Strategies For Community Solar Gardens In Rural Minnesota, Mahmoud Othman

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This project examines how land use planning and zoning can support equitable deployment of community solar gardens (CSGs) in rural Minnesota counties and townships. Although Minnesota is widely regarded as a policy leader in community solar, most solar arrays are concentrated in metropolitan areas with greater planning capacity and demand. By contrast, rural jurisdictions must navigate dispersed populations, limited staff, and competing agricultural land uses. Focusing on Clay, Stearns, and Chisago Counties, the study analyzes local ordinances and related land use policies to understand how community-scale solar is defined, sited, permitted, and decommissioned.

Solar regulations are systematically coded for key …

Broadening Workforce Participation In Transportation: Challenges And Strategies, Jodi Godfrey, Stephanie Ivey

Mineta Transportation Institute

Attracting and retaining a diverse, skilled workforce remains one of the most pressing challenges in the transportation industry. A new MTI-led California State University Transportation Consortium report examines why workforce participation gaps persist and identifies practical strategies organizations can implement to address them. Drawing on an extensive literature review, a nationwide industry survey with 996 respondents, and in-depth interviews with 15 transportation professionals, the study highlights both the barriers and the solutions to workforce participation. The findings emphasize that open dialogue, intentional investment, and inclusive workplace policies can help transform industry culture, making transportation careers more appealing to a broader …

Prahita, Power, And Partnership (Ppp) : Navigating Community-Based Welfare And Clientelism In Myanmar’S Poverty Reduction, Comparative Analysis Of Myanmar And Thailand, Mai Tam Aung Seinn

SOC 605 Comparative Social Policy Research Project - Student Works

Myanmar’s persistent poverty has been deeply rooted in its current political unrest, decades of poor governance, and entrenched clientelism – a system where informal patronage networks exchange material benefits for political loyalty, sidelining equitable welfare delivery (Jones, 2014, Berenschot and Mulder, 2019). The serial issues have now developed into a poly-crisis which consists of a confluence of economic collapse, political instability, and disasters like COVID-19, cyclones, earthquakes, and armed conflicts (UNDP, 2025b). Therefore, the study aims to synthesize Myanmar’s complex interplay between grassroots welfare systems, power dynamics, and external partnerships within Myanmar’s fragile context and proposes to comprehensively investigate poverty …

Wellesley Council On Aging: Planning For The Future, Caitlin E. Coyle, Beth Rouleau

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Taking a community-engaged approach, this assessment sought to capture the voices, experiences, and aspirations of older adults living in our community. It is designed to support the COA in fulfilling its mission: acting as the community resource for older adults, their families, and caregivers; advocating for their interests; and offering social, educational, physical activity, transportation, and nutrition programs that promote health, independence, and meaningful engagement.

Specifically, this needs assessment aimed to: 1. Describe the demographic and social trends shaping Wellesley’s older adult population. 2. Identify older residents’ priorities, challenges, and unmet needs—spanning health and wellness, housing and mobility, social connection, …

Decarbonization And Climate Justice : Challenges And The Effect On Shipowners, Sofiana Kontouri

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Examining Public Opinion On Endorsed Punishments For Illegal Abortion By Abortion Legality And Abortion-Restrictive States Before Dobbs V. Jackson, Lucretia Mena-Melendez, Kristen N. Jozkowski, Brandon L. Crawford, Ronna C. Turner, Wen-Juo Lo

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research SummaryAs a result of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, state lawmakers can and have enacted abortion restrictions, including criminal penalties targeting those who seek, provide, or assist with abortion. Given the current legal landscape, it is imperative to assess public opinion regarding the endorsement of punishments for illegal abortion. We conducted multivariate analyses to assess factors associated with punishment endorsements for an illegal abortion for the pregnant woman and healthcare provider. We also evaluated whether individual beliefs (i.e., abortion legality) and contextual factors (i.e., living in an abortion-restrictive state) may …

Administering Money: Coinage, Debt Crises, And The Future Of Fiscal Policy, Rohan Grey

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How Does County Industry Mix Matter For Working-Age Mortality?, Xue Zhang, Iliya Gutin, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez

Population Health Research Brief Series

The types of industries that dominate employment in a county shape the health of the entire community, even for people who don't work in those sectors. This brief summarizes findings of a study that examined how five major employment sectors—agriculture, manufacturing, mining and construction, services, and professional services—were associated with overall county-level mortality rates and with mortality from drug overdoses, suicides, alcohol-related causes, and cardiometabolic disease among U.S. adults ages 25-64 from 2000 to 2022 Data are from the National Vital Statistics System and County Business Patterns. Findings show that the effects of local industries shift vary across time and …

Balispirit Festival As A Regenerative Event Transformation Model: The Tri Hita Karana Framework In Support Of Sustainable Spiritual Tourism, Maha Dewi

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The global tourism sector is undergoing a transition toward Regenerative Tourism (RT). RT emphasizes active ecosystem restoration and community empowerment, surpassing the objectives of passive sustainability. In Bali, this transition appears in the Trilogy of Serenity, Spirituality, and Sustainability. This study examines the BaliSpirit Festival (BSF) as a case study that operationalizes the local Tri Hita Karana (THK) philosophy. This philosophy integrates spiritual (Parhyangan), social (Pawongan), and environmental (Palemahan) harmony as its foundation. The study uses a descriptive-analytical qualitative methodology to evaluate BSF's practices in advancing Sustainable Spiritual Tourism (SST). Results show BSF has established a culturally grounded regenerative event …

Digital Marketing Opportunities For The Advancement Of The Tourism Industry Case Study: Indihome Pt. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Abiyyu Sangaji

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

Digital marketing is becoming increasingly important in the tourism industry as a way to reach a wider target market and increase sales. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method aimed at exploring digital marketing opportunities in the tourism industry through a case study of IndiHome PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia. The results of the study indicate that digital marketing can provide significant opportunities for the tourism industry, particularly in terms of the use of social media, websites, and engaging visual content. Furthermore, the results also show that the use of data and analytics can help companies optimize their digital marketing campaigns. However, …

Excessive Expulsions And School Suspensions Of Black Children, Lasharee O. Rogers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While national and state-level literature has documented racial inequities in school discipline, limited research has focused on how these policies are specifically implemented and perceived within the Charlotte Metropolitan Statistical Region School. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine factors related to higher rate of expulsions and school suspensions of Black high school students in the CMSR Schools in comparison to their peers through the lens of the critical race theory. This research was used to engage teachers and administrators on current school suspension and expulsion policies while encouraging modifications to those policies that warranted equity and …

The Repeal Of Welfare Lifetime Ban, Sympathy Sutton Huggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Welfare Lifetime Ban imposed severe restrictions on women’s access to essential resources during the critical period following incarceration. By denying housing assistance, food aid, and employment services, the policy created significant barriers to reintegration and undermines both criminal justice and social welfare reform. Little is known about the long-term impacts of the ban or the absence of effective rehabilitative policy alternatives. Few studies have examined its outcomes within the framework of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The findings within (PRWORA) enactment briefly stabilized a decline in welfare recipients, and employment rates increased temporarily for single …

Exploring The Impact Of Guangdong Province's Talent Policies On The Retention Of Fresh Master's Graduates For Employment In Guangdong, Kai Hong Sun

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

University graduates' choice of local employment serves as a core driver for promoting regional economic innovation, by effectively meeting corporate talent demands and injecting high-quality talent resources into regional development. This dynamic holds strategic significance for sustaining regional economic growth and fostering social stability. Talent policies attract graduates to local employment by offering preferential conditions and development opportunities while advancing their career growth and achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes for both talent and regions. Investigating the influence of talent policies on graduates' employment location decisions holds practical relevance in the current context.

This research examines the mechanisms through which …

The Political Construction Of Anti-Transgender Policy: A Critical Policy Analysis Of North Carolina State Legislators' Discursive Strategies, David Osworth, Morgan Edlin

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

In recent year anti-LGBTQ policy has been cropping up at the state level across the United States. While these policies have been described as unprecedented, they signal a period of retrenchment for the rights of queer and transgender individuals in the United States. This critical policy analysis of North Carolina state legislation that is decidedly homophobic and transgender examines the discursive tactics of policy actors (i.e. North Carolina Legislators) as they argue these policies during legislative sessions. Through our analysis of legislators’ commentary during House of Representative sessions we identified discursive formations that were considered allied with the LGBTQ community …

The Exploration Of The Housing Exclusion Impact Among Michigan Ex-Offenders, Jackie Adam Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ex-offenders possibly felt excluded when private landlords or property managers conducted background checks and decided to immediately deny ex-offenders housing opportunities. The problem this study addressed was how landlords and property managers’ exclusion of ex-offenders impacted reentry post-incarceration. There was a gap regarding how Michigan private landlords impacted ex-offenders’ success factor in securing safe housing upon reentry back to society. The key findings related to the literature in ways that showed how landlords acknowledged outside biases, yet described ex-offender tenants as appreciative, positive, and respectful. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore how state and federal policies …

Civic Engagement Among African American Women And The 2024 Presidential Election, Arquena Dailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although election data exists on the importance of African American women for the Democratic Party, a gap remains in the literature regarding the influences of African American women who participated in the Democratic Party civic engagement during the 2024 presidential election. Key findings from existing literature included the tension between hope and burnout and the reliance on faith-based and peer networks to sustain motivation. The purpose of this study was to explore the influences responsible for African American women’s civic engagement in the 2024 presidential election. This authentic narrative qualitative study’s conceptual framework was grounded in the digital peer influence …

Diversity In Aquatics:4th Special Issue, Tiffany M. Quash Ph.D., Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq, Steven N. Waller Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The theme of this special issue is “Building a Community of Champions.” The purpose of this theme is to highlight and promote a civic engagement perspective that engages, advocates, and supports communities of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in addressing the national, regional, and local evolving health-related issue of drowning. Aquatic Settings have been a pivotal focal point of social justice, water safety, and public health, not only in the past but also in our present day (Beale-Tawfeeq, Quash, et al, 2023 and Waller and Bemiller, 2023). Diversity In Aquatics (DIA) strives to positively impact the field of aquatics …

China’S Turn To Domestic-Led Growth: Replacing Consumption Taxes With Land Taxes?, Yilin Hou, Michael Kumhof, Lei Shao

Center for Policy Research

As part of its turn towards domestic-led growth China plans to stimulate consumption, including through a reduction in consumption taxes. We compare two model-based scenarios in which the revenue losses from lower consumption taxes are replaced by higher income taxes or higher land taxes. The model is carefully calibrated to recent Chinese data, including detailed fiscal data. We find that higher income taxes lead to significant losses in output and incomes, while higher land taxes lead to significant gains. These gains are increasing in the share of land in net wealth, a statistic for which better data would be invaluable.

Men In Higher Education In Nevada, 1993-2023, Mia Tschan, Kristian Thymianos, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet compares enrollment, graduation, and earnings data for men and women that enrolled in the seven institutions of higher learning in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) between 1993 and 2023. This fact sheet further focuses on how male enrollment and graduation shares have changed with time. The data are derived from the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM) report, “Men in higher education: A national data tool,” which includes data for all fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This fact sheet focuses on institution-level data for seven public NSHE institutions: the University of …

Diaper Insecurity In Nevada And The Mountain West, 2024, Mia Tschan, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on diaper insecurity in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. It also presents data on the diaper gaps faced by fifteen Nevada counties: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, and White Pine. Esmeralda County and Eureka County are not included due to a lack of data. The 2025 Urban Institute report, “Mapping Diaper Insecurity in the US,” highlights 2024 data on diaper insecurity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Polarization, Performance, Responsiveness, And Trust In Malawian Executive, Legislative, And Judicial Institutions, Rodgers Brenner Chawani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Political trust matters for good governance and democracy. Although Malawi's constitution affirms trust as a key component of authority, Afrobarometer surveys have revealed broad declines, hindering democratic consolidation and the achievement of the long-term Vision 2063 development goals. Prior researchers studying the country have fixated on qualitative analyses and overlooked affective polarization and differentiation across government branches. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to examine the predictive relationship between perceived government performance, responsiveness, corruption, affective polarization, democratic satisfaction, and trust in the Malawi president, parliament, and judiciary, using generalized linear models to apply Easton's political support theory to …