local-reporting

Racial profiling and discrimination against African-American youth by police are problems that periodically grab national attention. Yet there is seldom subtle discussion of whether such discrimination is more prevalent in predominantly black or white neighborhoods, or in mixed racial settings. Moreover, data from black adolescents themselves who may face these realities are infrequently collected, analyzed and cited.

The debate over charter schools shows few signs of receding as a central component in the discussion about improving U.S. public education. While proponents see charter schools as a vital source of innovation in public education, opponents feel they are largely ineffective and operate at the expense of large numbers of students. To complicate matters, previous research about the impact of charter schools on student achievement has uncovered mixed results.

The record-breaking number of home foreclosures in recent years has prompted calls to ban subprime mortgage financial instruments. But there are a variety of types of subprime loans, and not all may be associated with higher default rates.

The financial crisis of 2007-08 resulted in widespread job losses, and the task of recovery has proven to be difficult. While the importance of entrepreneurship is well established in economic theory as well as political discourse, there has been a long-term decline in the number of jobs created by newly established firms in the United States.

Retaining college graduates is widely thought to be an important part of how cities and regions maintain their competitive edge — the theory is that more educated workers means greater human capital, which leads to economic growth. Although data has been compiled on educational attainment by many states and regions, there has not been sustained research on the impact that colleges and universities have.