Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University

Research

Rigorous, relevant research is a hallmark of the Sanford School of Public Policy and its faculty. With expertise in a wide variety of fields, the public policy faculty is recognized for research in health policy, media and democracy, education finance and achievement, and many other areas. Recent publications are highlighted here; for additional publications information, you may visit individual faculty web pages or use the links at the top of this page. To find faculty with a particular area of expertise, browse this list of topic areas or search within our faculty directory.

Recent Publications

 

Brands Traces Latin America’s Violent Cold War History

Sanford Professor Hal Brands chronicles the dark and often gruesome years of political upheaval, guerrilla warfare, superpower domination, and rebellion in Latin America between the late 1940s and the early 1990s. Brands explains the cause of these events and their impacts on Latin America’s development, as well as the key local, national and international players who shaped its Cold War. Addressing traumatic events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, liberation movements, the Cuban Revolution, military coupes, and violent civil wars, the book shows that Latin America’s Cold War was not a technology race like its American counterpart, but a collection of violent political dilemmas.

“An outstanding book, well written and extremely well conceived in its coverage and structure. This is a major contribution to Cold War history, and will undoubtedly become the standard work on Latin America and the Cold War. Brands has produced an important study that provides a real service to readers.”– Odd Arne Westad, author ofThe Global Cold War

The book was published in September 2010 by the Harvard University Press.

Jentleson, Weber Forecast New Era in American Foreign Policy

This 195-page book, The End of Arrogance: America in the Global Competition of Ideas, considers the new, 21st century approaches America must take to maintain its strong stance as a global competitor. The book proposes that the concepts of “free-market capitalism, hegemony, Western culture, peace, and democracy have lost a good deal of their strength.”  Steve Webster, University of California Burkley professor, and Bruce W. Jentleson, Sanford professor, argue that we must view the world with a new outlook, using strategy and making tradeoffs, to compete in the global market of ideas. Instead of using military strategy to dominate other countries, Americans must view the world through the lens of mutuality, finding ways to coexist with and inspire other societies.

"Weber and Jentleson put forward a powerful and provocative view of the coming frontiers for foreign policy- a global competition of ideas. Their arguments pose the right challenge to governments, corporations, and NGOs operating on a global stage, and provide a practical advice for what to do about it."—Janice Stein, Director, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

The book was published in August 2010 by the Harvard University Press.

Krishna Studies 35,000 Households Worldwide to Explore Pathways of Poverty

In a sweeping review of poverty, Anirudh Krishna, Sanford Professor, proposes that policy makers focus too much on new ideas for lifting people out of poverty instead of coming to terms with why billions of people become poor in the first place. Krishna spent the past decade studying more than 35,000 households and conducting thousands of interviews on four continents. He calls on government officials, economists and others to pay more attention to the everyday lives and ordinary events that underlie poverty.

"Many studies of poverty deal with it as a statistical phenomenon, but this book is different. Krishna is a brilliant scholar who has spent considerable time in the field. He is aware that no panaceas or quick fixes exist, but he develops an ingenious approach to helping people out of poverty. This is a must-read for graduate students and policy makers alike."— Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2009 and Co-director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Political Analysis, Indiana University

The book was published in August 2010 by the Oxford University Press.

Clotfelter Examines Factors Affecting America's Successes in Higher Education

Emerging from the 2008 National Bureau of Economic Research conference, American Universities in a Global Market addresses the United States' position of leadership in the world, primarily its role in higher education pertaining to the fields of science and technology. Charles T. Clotfelter, Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics and Law, edited this volume that examines factors that contribute to America's successes in higher education and examines the current state of American higher education relative to similar institutions around the world.

The book was published in June 2010 by the University of Chicago Press.

Krupp Reflects on Challenges Regarding Infrastructure Expansion

Set in a modern era desperate to find the balance between sustainability and economic growth, Physical Infrastructure Development: Balancing the Growth, Equity, and Environmental Imperatives addresses key issues regarding poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and the development of major physical infrastructure. Sanford Associate Professor Corinne Krupp works with Claremont McKenna College's William Ascher to reflect on the challenges from the perspectives of economics, political science, and engineering and to assess strategies for infrastructure expansion relating to people affected by the development.

"This book offers indispensible advice to governments at all levels—in both developed and developing countries—about the complex endeavor of planning, adopting, and maintaining new physical infrastructure projects....Their careful consideration improves the likelihood that physical infrastructure projects actually deliver what they promise." – Matthew R. Auer, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

The book was published in May 2010 by Palgrave MacMillan.

The anti-poverty impact of the North Carolina Fund created by Gov. Sanford

When Governor Terry Sanford established the North Carolina Fund in 1963, he saw it as a way to provide a better life for the “tens of thousands whose family income is so low that daily subsistence is always in doubt.” Illustrated with evocative photographs by Billy Barnes, To Right These Wrongs offers an incisive account of this pioneering effort in America’s War on Poverty.

Robert Korstad, Sanford professor, and James Leloudis, associate professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, describe how the Fund’s initial successes grew out of its reliance on private philanthropy and federal dollars and its commitment to the democratic mobilization of the poor. Both were calculated tactics designed to outflank conservative state lawmakers and entrenched local interests that nourished Jim Crow, perpetuated one-party politics, and protected an economy built on cheap labor. By late 1968, when the Fund closed its doors, a resurgent politics of race had gained the advantage, led by a Republican Party that had reorganized itself around opposition to civil rights and aid to the poor.

The North Carolina Fund came up short in its battle against poverty, but its story continues to be a source of inspiration and instruction for new generations of Americans.

The book was published in May 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press.

Jentleson Focuses on Recent Foreign Policy Developments in the 21st Century

In his fourth edition of American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science Bruce W. Jentleson focuses on recent developments, including the Middle East, the global financial crisis, and environmental issues. He also highlights similarities and differences in U.S. policy under the Obama administration.

"Jentleson does an excellent job of providing undergraduates with a conceptual framework for understanding the complexities of American foreign policy....The absence of obscure jargon and abstract theorizing helps to enlighten instead of mystify students." – Shaheen Mozaffar, Bridgewater State College

The book was published in February 2010 by W.W. Norton.

Vigdor examines assimilations of immigrants in America
over the last 160 years

From Immigrants to Americans: The Rise and Fall of Fitting In by Jacob Vigdor evaluates the assimilation of immigrants in the United States between 1850 and 2007, placing contemporary immigrants in historical perspective. The book finds that on average, the path toward the American mainstream is traveled more rapidly by modern immigrants than it was by their predecessors a century ago. The average does not tell the whole story, however. Some contemporary groups exhibit extraordinary rates of naturalization and economic progress, while others lag behind to an extent never before witnessed. The lack of legal status is a major impediment to assimilation for many of these groups.

"Jacob Vigdor has written a must-read book on immigrant assimilation. The book examines a wide range of issues relating to the assimilation experience. It is sure to become a standard reference in this increasingly important social policy issue."—Geroge Borjas, Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School

The book was published in December, 2009, by the Manhattan Institute and Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Hamilton and de Marchi present research on decision-making styles

Several recent books, from Blink to Freakonomics to Predictably Irrational, have examined how people make choices. But none explain why different people have such different styles of decision making - and why those styles seem consistent across many contexts. For instance, why is a gambler always a gambler, whether at work, on the highway, or in a voting booth?

Duke professors Scott de Marchi and James T. Hamilton present a new theory about how we decide, based on an extensive survey of more than thirty thousand subjects. They show that each of us possesses six core traits that shape every decision, from what to have for lunch to where to invest. We go with “the usual” way of deciding whenever there’s a trade-off between current and future happiness, when facing the risk of a bad outcome, or when a choice might hurt other people. We’re also consistent about how much information we want and how much we care about the opinions of others.

Readers can determine their own decision-making profile with a test in the book or on the authors' website. Once they understand the six core traits, they’ll have a big advantage in their marketing campaigns, management strategies, investments, and many other contexts. 

The book was published in November 2009 by Portfolio Publishing at Penguin.

 

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