Explore all Articles

filter by–Region

filter by–Country

search by–Keyword

Rethinking the Use of Sovereign Wealth Funds in a Knowledge Economy

11.19.13

By Will Hickey The time has come for sovereign wealth funds to produce some meaningful value. Now conservatively valued at around 6 trillion dollars, sovereign wealth funds, or SWFs, are massive state-owned investment vehicles of stocks, bonds, property, precious metals and other financial instruments, including private equity. They are overwhelmingly funded through oil and gas […]

Who is Medicaid Missing? What I learned in “Introduction to U.S. Health Care Policy” shocked me

10.9.13

BY KARLY SCHLEDWITZ With a historic overhaul of our health care system underway, I felt like a good public policy student should understand the basics of American health policy. Dutifully, I enrolled in “Introduction to U.S. Health Policy,” a semester-long course co-taught by Sheila Burke and Richard Frank. I knew there would be new vocabulary […]

Will the Supreme Court Abolish Common Sense Limits on Campaign Spending?

10.8.13

BY PATRICK KIBBE Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for a case that could be worse for the American public than Citizens United v. FEC, and unleash countless millions of special interest dollars into political campaigns. In this case ­– McCutcheon and the Republican National Committee v. FEC – Shaun McCutcheon, an Alabama […]

Interview: Sarah Kliff on Covering Health Reform

09.11.13

BY BRIAN CHIGLINSKY On the bright, sunny morning of Thursday, July 28, 2012, a group of reporters and interns could be seen in their best work outfits and most comfortable running shoes sprinting out of the regal, marble halls of the Supreme Court to the legions of cameras situated just beyond the front steps. In […]

Banks should have to use 50% equity, not 3%-6%

08.26.13

BY JOSH RUDOLPH  Over the summer, US bank regulators announced that the eight largest US banks will have to maintain leverage ratios[1] (equity / total assets) of at least 5% for their holding companies and 6% for their depository institutions. This new supplement to the international standard of 3% is a step in the right direction, but […]

View from Main Street: The Case for Financial Reform

04.1.12

BY MARK TRUMAN In early 2009, I attempted to secure a loan through a new federal program designed to help entrepreneurs improve their cash flow by consolidating outstanding debt. As a cash-poor but profitable enterprise, my tutoring business, Omniac Education, seemed to be a perfect candidate for the program. Although we sometimes had trouble making […]

Public Finance

Call for Submissions


Join the HKS Student Policy Review—

to research, write, and learn about policy in a new way. We offer Harvard students an opportunity to engage with the most important policy issues of our time, across a whole range of topics and regions.