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AUGUST 27, 2026 |
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Harvard Kennedy School | | | |
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A study of mothers in Massachusetts provides avenues for better care options, tackling both quality and expense. (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images) | | |
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Education, Training & Labor |
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Finding fixes for the child care crisis |
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Most parents want formal child care, but cost and limited availability put it out of reach for many families. New research on early childhood education in Massachusetts by HKS Professor Jeffrey Liebman finds that 89% of mothers in the state said they would use such care if it were free. But currently, just 53% of children under five in Massachusetts are enrolled in such programs. Expense is a huge factor when it comes to early childhood education, but so is quality. In his paper, Liebman also says that raising teacher pay to reduce turnover would increase stability and serve more children better.
Learn more about Education, Training & Labor at HKS » | | |
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What we're watching |
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Ashton B. Carter Visiting Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall discusses complex security threats. | | |
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Development & Economic Growth |
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How will AI affect the economy, and how should policymakers respond? |
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In a new working paper with Louise Sheiner of the Brookings Institution, HKS Professors Karen Dynan and Douglas Elmendorf map out four scenarios about how AI could affect the economy—ranging from broadly shared productivity gains to widespread job displacement. They suggest fiscal policy responses for each case. Depending on the scenario, policymakers have a broad menu of options, such as expanding financial support and job retraining, making taxes and government benefits more generous for lower earners, or more far-reaching changes like taxing wealth and investments at higher rates or giving the public a stake in business ownership.
Learn more about Development & Economic Growth at HKS » | | |
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What we're reading |
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Quantum Alliance, founded by HKS alum Ujjwal Kumar MC/MPA 2024, ran a program this summer called Q Fellows, training Harvard student teams working on critical minerals, energy and AI supply chains. The fellows heard from HKS Professors Ricardo Hausmann and Anthony Foxx at an opening event, learned from HKS Professor David King, and presented their work at Harvard Business School at the end of the summer. | | | | | |
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Health |
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Oversimplifying how medicines earn money could hurt research and development |
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The Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare new power to negotiate drug prices, with costs affected by how long a medicine has been on the market. New research by HKS Professor Amitabh Chandra and coauthors, however, suggests this approach doesn’t necessarily indicate a drug’s true financial value. Studying more than 600 FDA-approved drugs, the researchers found that revenue patterns vary depending on both the type of drug and the type of disease. Some medicines take a decade to hit their earnings peak, while others peak early and then decline. Policies that ignore these differences, the authors warn, could discourage investment in complex and socially valuable areas of medical research.
Learn more about Health at HKS » | | |
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Join HKS Executive Education for its 50th Anniversary Symposium: Leadership for a New Era event on Saturday, November 14. Find out more or register to join on campus or through livestream. | | |
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