Why does social policy matter?
Through data-driven research, hands-on training, and collaborative public engagement, the Malcolm Wiener Center advances policy initiatives that empower people to solve the most urgent social challenges and questions of our times.
Professor Amitabh Chandra has been appointed faculty director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. Chandra, who started his appointment on July 1, also serves as the Ethel Zimmerman Wiener Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School and the Henry and Allison McCance Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
Spotlight
Where does scientific discovery happen, and why does it matter? A by Amitabh Chandra, faculty director of the Wiener Center, and Connie Xu, a Harvard PhD candidate in health policy, investigates whether individuals or institutions are bigger drivers of scientific breakthroughs. They find that strong scientific institutions play a significant role in output in the life sciences. “In the context of life-science discovery, the institution of a researcher has a consequential effect on their output,” the authors write.
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Faculty Focus
Desmond Ang
Desmond Ang is an applied economist and Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Ang, who received his PhD in economics from the University of California, San Diego, brings an economist’s eye to issues of race, inequality, and justice. His research examines the educational consequences of police violence, the long-run effects of federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act, and the role of media on racial prejudice.
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