Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Making College Worth It: Inequalities In Higher Education And How To Solve Them, Katharine Meyer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Most students who graduate from college go on to earn higher wages, have more employment stability, and enjoy better health. While posted tuitions are high, a “high price, high aid” approach to college pricing means that the average cost of college has actually declined in recent years. Yet, public confidence in higher education is at an all-time low. What explains this tension? Who gains from going to college and who does not? What can colleges do to change perceptions about the value of a college education? This lecture by Brookings Institution scholar Katharine Meyer highlights trends in college enrollment and …

The Safety Net Should Work For Working Age Adults, Lauren Bauer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture focuses attention on a population that is ill-served by the safety net but rarely acknowledged: low-income, working-age adults without dependents or government-determined disabilities. In this lecture, Brookings Scholar Lauren Bauer, a former Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Education, argues that a safety net that is inaccessible to ABAWDs (able-bodied adults without dependents) fails to recognize the precarious state of the low-wage labor market or how safety-net programs allow these workers to remain in the workforce. By modernizing the parameters of who qualifies for access to safety-net programs, assistance can be …

Payments As A Tool For Policy, Aaron Klein

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

What are the implications of using payment systems to enforce foreign policy (against Russia, Iran, Cuba, etc...) and domestic policy (on-line poker, cannabis, etc..)? What are the long-term ramifications for the United States, with its dominant status as a global financial system and home to the world reserve currency, using payment systems to achieve its political objectives? In this lecture, Brookings Institution scholar and former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Department of Treasury, Aaron Klein discusses the pros, cons, and intended and unintended consequences of our current system. He proposes a path forward to maximize economic growth …

Isn’T There A Better Way To Nominate Presidential Candidates?, Elaine Kamarck

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture examines why every four years the major political parties undertake a drawn-out, confusing series of primaries, caucuses, and conventions to determine their presidential nominees. Over the years, a number of rational and more orderly ways to select presidential nominees have been proposed but none of these ideas have been adopted. Brookings Institution scholar Elaine Kamarck, who has written extensively on the topic and served as a presidential and presidential campaign advisor, addresses these topics and more.

Headwinds And Tailwinds: The Present And Future Of Work For Women, Molly Kinder

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Headwinds and Tailwinds: The Present and Future of Work for Women” by Brookings fellow in the Brookings Metro, Molly Kinder. Women comprise nearly half of the US labor force, and today outnumber men on college campuses. Yet the gender pay gap persists and women are overrepresented in the lowest paying occupations. In what ways are jobs and economic opportunities changing for women in the labor force? Over the next decade, how will demographic changes like the aging of the baby boom generation and technological changes …

Intentional Conversations: Co-Creating Global Family, School, And Community Engagement Research, Emily Markovich Morris

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Intentional Conversations: Co-Creating Global Family, School, and Community Engagement Research" by Brookings fellow in global economy and development, Emily Markovich Morris. The more that families, schools, and communities work in partnership, the more students and schools have the support needed to thrive. This lecture explores a school and community-based research study representing education institutions in 14 countries across 6 continents. The project identifies beliefs held by families, educators, and students on the purpose of school, and global barriers to family, school, and community engagement. Surveys …

Of Boys And Men: Why The Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, And What To Do About It, Richard Reeves

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Boys and men are struggling. Profound economic and social changes of recent decades have many losing ground in the classroom, the workplace, and in the family. While the lives of women have changed, the lives of many men have remained the same or even deteriorated. Our attitudes, our institutions, and our laws have failed to keep up. Conservative and progressive politicians, mired in their own ideological warfare, fail to provide thoughtful solutions.

The father of three sons, a journalist, and a Brookings Institution scholar, Richard V. Reeves has spent twenty-five years worrying about boys both at home and work. His …

Migrants And Refugees: Are They Holding Us Back Or Pushing Us Forward?, Dany Bahar

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Migrants and Refugees: Are they holding us back or pushing us forward?" by Brookings Fellow in Global Economy and Development, Dany Bahar. It is often cited that human mobility is key to economic growth and productivity. Evidence also points to the economic costs and benefits of international migration for both the sending and receiving countries. This lecture explores if roads to economic growth and prosperity require restrictions to migration, or quite the contrary.

The Causes And Consequences Of Student Discipline Disparities, Jon Valant

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West invites you to a lecture titled "The Causes and Consequences of Student Discipline Disparities " by Fellow in Governance Studies, Brown Center on Education Policy, Jon Valant. Students of color and students from low-income families are suspended or expelled from school at much higher rates than their white and non-poor peers. This lecture presented data on discipline disparities. It considered explanations such as discrimination in how schools punish students and whether majority-minority and majority-white schools approach discipline differently. This discussion is placed in the context of local, state, and …

"The Great Debate" 2019 - Brookings V. Unlv Debate Team, Brookings Mountain West, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with the UNLV Debate Team, was proud to host the inaugural UNLV - Brookings Institution event, “The Great Debate.” Representatives from the nationally ranked UNLV Debate Team engaged colleagues from the Brookings Institution in a battle of ideas and policy positions destined to be remembered as one of the great intellectual forums of the 21st century. Featured speakers participated in a modified format of intercollegiate debate rules that allowed teams and individual members the opportunity to craft their arguments and responses in an open and respectful exchange of information to persuade, inform, and entertain audience …

The Devaluation Of Assets In Black Neighborhoods: How Racism Robs Homeowner Of The American Dream, Andre Perry

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Homeownership lies at the heart of the American Dream, representing success, opportunity, and wealth. However, for many of its citizens, America deferred that dream. For much of the 20th century, the devaluing of black lives led to segregation and racist federal housing policy through redlining that shut out chances for black people to purchase homes and build wealth, making it more difficult to start and invest in businesses and afford college tuition. This lecture explained how much money majority-black communities are losing in the housing market stemming from racial bias, finding that owner-occupied homes in black neighborhoods are undervalued by …

How Technology Will Change Our Built Environment, Adie Tomer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the ongoing Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presented a lecture titled, "Digital Place: How Technology Will Change Our Built Environment" by Fellow in Metropolitan Policy, Adie Tomer on February 6, 2019. Digital technologies promise to upend nearly every component of the economy, including how we work, shop, travel, and even live inside our homes. There is too little conversation about how adoption of various technologies will interact with the current built environment and the policies that guide future investment. This lecture explores how the economy currently functions, where technology will transform economic functions, and how …

Higher Education Reform: A Time For Action, The Lincy Institute

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The Lincy Institute has been at the forefront of research and analysis on higher education governance reform in Nevada. Following numerous statewide studies, The Lincy Institute has produced reports and policy briefs recommending significant structural changes to the State’s higher education landscape. To provide future generations of students with quality education and training in our 21st-century economy, researchers summarized findings and presented model legislation to improve the quality of education offered by Nevada’s eight institutions of higher learning. All Nevadans should demand an honest and transparent discussion of higher education reform. The 2019 legislative session will be a time for …

Reflecting On 1 October: Using Research To Inform Public Policy And Heal Our Community, Brookings Mountain West

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

On October 1, 2017, Las Vegas joined a growing list of cities in the United States home to a mass shooting, including Blacksburg, Virginia; Newtown, Connecticut; San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida; Columbine, Colorado; Fort Hood, Texas; Parkland and Jacksonville, Florida and other locations. In the weeks following the tragedy, the nation and the Las Vegas community, including UNLV, responded with tributes to the victims, short- and long-term memorials to those killed and wounded, and calls to investigate the circumstances that led to this tragic event and to find ways to prevent future atrocities. Following the one-year anniversary of the 1 …

Las Vegas And The Middle Class, Brookings Mountain West

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

On Friday November 9, 2018, Brookings Mountain West launched “Las Vegas and the Middle Class,” a major project exploring public policy initiatives designed to improve the quality of life of the middle class in Las Vegas, and to increase the number of people rising to join its ranks. Through independent, non-partisan analysis and policy development, the project aims to advance public understanding of the challenges facing the middle class in Las Vegas, and barriers to upward mobility. In collaboration with visiting scholars from the Brookings Institution - including Richard Reeves, Camille Busette, and others – experts at Brookings Mountain West, …

The Life She Deserves: Medical Marijuana In The United States, John Hudak, George Burroughs, Maritza Bermudez

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West offered an event titled, "The Life She Deserves: Medical Marijuana in the United States on Monday, November 5, 2018. This event featured a viewing of the film, and was followed by a panel discussion with John Hudak, George Burroughs, and Maritza Bermudez. “The Life She Deserves” is an intimate portrait of Jennifer Collins and her family’s struggle to find a treatment to control her debilitating epilepsy. Because her legal pharmaceutical treatments cause severe side effects, Jennifer and her mother move across the country to access medical marijuana. The therapy provides Jennifer and her family with the relief …

The 2018 Midterm Election: Nevada And The Nation Post-Election Analysis, John Hudak, Robert E. Lang, Rebecca D. Gill, David Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with CSUN, was pleased to present part two of a two-part analysis on the 2018 Midterm elections. The 2018 Midterms included elections for all 435 members of the House of Representatives, including four seats in Nevada. In the U.S. Senate, 34 seats were up for election, including one seat in Nevada. Across the United States, 36 states elected governors, including the State of Nevada. The Democratic Party sought to flip a minimum of 24 seats to become the majority party in House and 2 seats to become the majority party in the Senate. Two Mountain …

The 2018 Midterm Election: Nevada And The Nation Pre-Election Analysis, John Hudak, Robert E. Lang, Molly Reynolds, David Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West, in partnership with CSUN, was pleased to present part one of a two-part analysis on the 2018 Midterm elections. The 2018 Midterms included elections for all 435 members of the House of Representatives, including four seats in Nevada. In the U.S. Senate, 34 seats were up for election, including one seat in Nevada. Across the United States, 36 states elected governors, including the State of Nevada. The Democratic Party sought to flip a minimum of 24 seats to become the majority party in House and 2 seats to become the majority party in the Senate. Two Mountain …

Unlv School Of Medicine: Rethinking Governance, Planning, And Economic Impact, The Lincy Institute

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The launch of the UNLV School of Medicine presented a unique opportunity for Southern Nevada to address two critical issues: the absence of adequate healthcare services for a region of more than 2.2 million people, and the economic impact of a new medical school resulting in an expanded regional health care economy. A collaborative process that engages local, state, and private sector interests is essential to the development of the UNLV School of Medicine and the expansion of an effective, efficient, and profitable healthcare economy.

In this colloquium The Lincy Institute released new health policy publications prepared with the support …

Commercial Interests In American Foreign Policy, From Dollar Diplomacy To The Trump Administration, Geoffrey Gertz

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Throughout history, foreign investors have often relied on their home governments for support in managing complex relationships with foreign governments. This commercial diplomacy is particularly important for businesses in highly-regulated industries, such as mining and natural resources. This lecture assesses how American diplomats have responded to these private pressures, and explains why commercial diplomacy has (re)emerged as a key priority in American foreign policy.

Obama’S Fight For Rigor And Results In Social Policy, Ron Haskins

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture tells the story of how the Obama administration changed the role of evidence in federal policy making. Based on public documents and 135 interviews with major players from the White House, the Office of Management and Budget, federal agencies, Congress, and the child advocacy community, the lecture provides insight into the tools and methods that should serve as a blueprint for policymakers on how to bring social science evidence – especially from program evaluation – to the center of policy making.

Changing The Focus Of Urban Transport From Congestion To Access, Jeffrey Gutman

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The traditional approach of urban transport planners has been to focus on the reduction of traffic congestion. More recently, with the growth of cities worldwide and the ever-present challenge of congestion, transport and urban planners have started to focus on the concept of access as the ultimate goal. How can we ensure and enhance access to jobs, education, commerce, and other services by all segments of the population? This requires a more complementary effort by transport planners and urban planners as well as finance and fiscal experts. The lecture will follow this shift in emphasis, the opportunities it poses, and …

The Partisan Politics Of The Congressional Budget Process, Molly Reynolds

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Observers of Congress often cite the budget process as evidence of the institution’s contemporary dysfunction. Indeed, in the past ten years, the House and Senate have failed to agree on a budget resolution six times and Congress has failed to pass nearly all of its appropriations bills before the October 1 deadline. This inability to fulfill one of its basic responsibilities is often blamed on increasingly polarized congressional parties attempting to leverage the process to their advantages. Is this claim accurate? How have partisan dynamics in the budget process changed over time? How can we make the process work better …

Access To Quality Teaching: Myths, Facts, And Potential Policy Solutions For The Future, Michael Hansen

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Many believe the public schools serving the most affluent students have a monopoly on quality teaching, and schools in high-poverty areas perform poorly due to its lack. Yet a variety of research studies in recent years have challenged this myth. This research shows teacher quality varies much more within the same school than it does across schools, even looking across schools serving students from very different backgrounds. Access to quality teaching is not equal, though it is not nearly as formidable a challenge as previously believed. A variety of potential policy solutions will be presented to enhance the access of …

Making Cooperative Extension Work For Southern Nevada: Fulfilling Unlv's Urban Land Grant Mission, Robert Lang, Shannon M. Monnat, Fatma Nasoz, David F. Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West at UNLV are pleased to host a colloquium entitled, “Making Cooperative Extension Work for Southern Nevada: Fulfilling UNLV’s Urban Land Grant Mission.” The event will explore ways to rethink and reform County Cooperative Extension so that it is relevant to the modern metropolis that is the Las Vegas area. The colloquium will feature research presentations that examine County Cooperative Extension from social, economic, and operational perspectives.

Nevada: Powered By The Sun: The Impact And Potential Of Rooftop Solar In Nevada, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) and distributed energy resources can deliver net benefits to Nevadans today and, if thoughtfully utilized, play a significant role in Nevada’s energy future. However, these benefits are not being fully realized in practice today. Narrow accounting of distributed resources’ contribution to the grid, financial disincentives embedded in utility regulatory models, and outdated grid planning procedures are preventing full utilization of these assets. But these obstacles can be readily overcome. Doing so will deliver benefits to all Nevadans, as well as cement Nevada’s position as a leader in the transition to a clean, resilient, and affordable electric …

Inequality, Mobility, And Cities, Alan Berube

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Inequality may be the result of global economic forces, but it matters in a local sense. Large population, diverse housing types, and generally progressive politics mean that big cities will always have higher shares of the rich and poor than smaller places. But a city where the rich are very rich, and the poor very poor, is likely to face difficulties educationally, fiscally, and socially. In the face of these economic forces and political gridlock in Washington, many cities are becoming the testing ground for new public policies to fight inequality and promote social mobility: local minimum wages, new affordable …

Reconciling The Rhetoric And Reality Of Student Loan Debt, Elizabeth Akers

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Student loan debt has increased over the past three decades. This lecture will identify the factors that led to that increase in student loan debt what economic and social factors drove that increase. The talk will also consider the economic effects of increased or decreased earnings generated by individuals with student loan debt. This analysis will present data to assess the validity of several widely-held beliefs about the impact of student loan debt in the United States (e.g., increased student loan debt is depressing the housing market) and apply data-backed evidence to determine ways in which current and proposed policies …

The Changing Geography Of Poverty & Opportunity In Nevada, Elizabeth Kneebone

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Today, suburbs are home to the largest and fastest growing poor population in the country. Regions like Las Vegas have been at the forefront of that trend since 2000. Elizabeth Kneebone, co-author of the book Confronting Suburban Poverty in America, will discuss the rapid growth of poverty and concentrated disadvantage in the suburbs; how these trends intersect with the changing location of affordable housing, services, transit, and jobs; and what the changing geography of poverty means for policymakers and practitioners in Nevada working to promote economic opportunity throughout the state.

What Is Light Rail And How Can It Benefit Las Vegas?, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Brookings Mountain West will lead an analysis of selected rail transportation systems in place and under construction throughout the United States, with an emphasis on the development of light rail systems in America's western cities. The implications for developing a light rail system in the Las Vegas Valley, including the impact on traffic congestion, environmental conditions, and the larger metropolitan economy will be explored. In addition, Keolis, a rail and transit operator in the United States and Canada, will be available to discuss the light rail option from a technological perspective. This summit is brought to you by Brookings Mountain …