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SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 |
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Harvard Kennedy School | | | |
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"SNAP welcomed here" sign is seen at the entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon, in 2020. (Photo by Getty Images) | | |
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Poverty, inequality & opportunity |
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Simple nudges work in getting people to use benefits |
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Even when they are eligible for government assistance, plenty of people—from 20 to 50%—don’t use it. Newly published research by Associate Professor Elizabeth Linos, Jessica Lasky-Fink, and colleagues examined whether more complex (and expensive) outreach methods might help get people to use these benefits. What they found was that context matters, and that simple outreach works and is cost effective. Light-touch reminders—including text messages, emails, and robocalls telling families they could claim benefits—consistently increased participation. Even small percentage increases translated into millions of dollars reaching families who needed the support.
Learn more about Poverty, Inequality & Opportunity at HKS » | | |
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Health |
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What’s the role of state government in health care? |
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Amid confusion over vaccines and health care coverage policies, Massachusetts became the first state to require insurers to cover vaccines recommended by the state rather than by the federal government. Professor Kimberlyn Leary, a psychologist who studies how systems change, shares her insights on this move and the role of government in health care in a new Q&A. “While states cannot alter FDA approvals or contravene national safety standards, local leaders often have authority of their own to regulate insurers, mobilize public health departments, and use emergency powers to secure supplies and access to services,” Leary explains. “By using these tools, governors could expand vaccine availability within their jurisdictions, legally, and counterbalance federal guidance.”
See also: Leary says that “the tools of public health are grounded in community engagement as well as data science and innovation,” in a conversation about her work in public service, medicine, and academia.
Learn more about Health at HKS » | | |
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What we're reading |
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HKS students helped the city of Boston come up with ways to tackle the mounds of junk furniture left out on the sidewalks each September when college students move. | | | | | |
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Development & economic growth |
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Universal lessons from the director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development |
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Harvard Kennedy School Professor Randall Kekoa Akee is the new faculty director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development. Akee explains how research he has conducted—such as on household income and children’s educational attainment—could have broad applications. “We want to look at the impact on children. What happens to children in households when you eliminate poverty? That’s a universal question,” Akee says. “And it’s not just in the United States. It’s the world as a whole. What we found is, as you would expect, when households are less poor, children are better off. They stay in school longer. They are able to have stable, healthy mental health outcomes. They go to college at a higher rate.”
Learn more about Development & Economic Growth at HKS » | | |
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