The School of Global Policy & Strategy is filled with talented students working in policy fields from local politics to international development. This year’s Journal board is no exception, spending our summers in Europe, Africa, and the United States for a United Nations agency, international agro-research institute, and U.S. government agencies. Our internships reflect the policy issues we care about most. Using the knowledge we gained from our core classes, we put our education to use, supporting policy solutions and research around the globe.
Using MPP core classes for international advocacy campaigns
Working with Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) of the International Office for Migration (IOM), Gustavo López spent his summer in Berlin researching and designing a randomized control trial experiment to measure the causal impact of information campaigns disseminated via social media. Targeting potential migrants and migrants in Western Africa the campaign disseminated ads on social media, particularly Facebook. The pilot project is expected to turn into a multi-country study of IOM campaigns later this fall. Gustavo also worked with Professor David FitzGerald, co-Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, in researching perceived discrimination of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. through econometric analysis.
Finding the connection between migration on household welfare
How does migration affect women in rural households? That is exactly what Alexandra Murphy set out to find out trading her summer in San Diego for a winter in Nairobi working as a fellow for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) with the Socioeconomics Research team. She received the Research and Innovation Fellowship for Agriculture funded by the University of California's Global Food Initiative, which connects graduate students with research opportunities in the field of international and agricultural development. Working directly on a research project called the “Feminization of Agriculture,” the project focuses on understanding the welfare impacts of migration on women and agriculture production at the household level for seven different African countries.
Data checks for defense
As the largest government agency and the largest employer in the world, the Department of Defense handles a lot of money and resources that need to be spent effectively. How is this done? Our Director of Content, Noah Gerber, got first-hand experience in Washington DC this summer working for the Government Accountability Office as an analyst with the Defense Capabilities and Management team. Investigating the consolidation of the Defense Resale System and its impacts, it required Noah to utilize program analysis skills as well as experiment assessment tools learned in Quantitative Methods classes at GPS. Specifically, he analyzed a report on consolidation issued by the Department of Defense to determine whether the correct statistical and experimental methods were used. Program analysis ensures that budgeted money is being used efficiently and that all legislative agendas are being met.
Monitoring the global trade nexus
In any social science field, it is easy to rely too heavily on theoretical models, but this can be dangerous when crafting policy that has to interact with real-world counterparts. This is where Nick Rhodes comes in, interning at the U.S. Trade Representative’s Interagency Center on Monitoring and Enforcement. Tasked with assessing foreign WTO commitments and analyzing possible issues arising from noncompliance with these commitments, he worked on monitoring issues surrounding illegal subsidies, transshipment, and regulatory transparency using the data analysis skills he gained from GPS. His research was used by policymakers when interacting with the WTO.