Policy

Signifying the forest, the Climate Changed Symposium dinner appetizer was a trio of dried, preserved and foraged mushrooms — fungi known to help the soil store carbon dioxide and thus slow the pace of climate change.

What will we eat in the year 2050?

Climate Changed Symposium combines art and science to envision the global food system under climate change.

April 30, 2018

At the MIT Policy Hackathon, interdisciplinary teams worked together to find policy solutions to real societal challenges.

Using data science to improve public policy

MIT Policy Hackathon, run by students within MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, seeks interdisciplinary solutions to societal challenges.

April 23, 2018

MIT students and postdocs visited Congress to advocate for increased federal spending on science and engineering.

MIT students and postdocs visit Capitol Hill to advocate for increases in federal science funding

Members of MIT's Science Policy Initiative meet with members of Congress on Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day 2018.

April 9, 2018

Putting a price on carbon, in the form of a fee or tax on the producers of fossil fuels, can be an effective way to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.

Carbon taxes could make significant dent in climate change, study finds

Several different carbon-pricing approaches would help reduce emissions, and some would be fair as well, researchers report.

April 6, 2018

David Goldston, director of MIT’s Washington Office

3Q: David Goldston on the new federal budget

Director of MIT Washington Office calls bill “very good news for science funding.”

April 4, 2018

Daniel Kammen, professor of energy at the University of California at Berkeley, spoke on clean energy innovation and implementation in a talk at MIT.

3 Questions: Innovating for the clean energy economy

Daniel Kammen of the University of California at Berkeley discusses current efforts in clean energy innovation and implementation, and what's coming next.

March 28, 2018

A team of researchers led by an MIT economist has found that medical expenses account for roughly 4 percent of bankruptcy filings among nonelderly adults in the U.S.

How often do medical problems lead to bankruptcy?

Poor health is a less common cause of bankruptcy than commonly thought, but it brings other economic woes, study finds.

March 21, 2018

Daniel Sperling, professor of civil engineering and environmental science and policy at the University of California at Davis and member of the California Air Resources board, during his talk at MIT.

3 Questions: The future of transportation systems

Daniel Sperling of the University of California at Davis discusses the major transformations in store for mobility.

March 13, 2018

Bill Evans, co-founder of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, discusses the current evidence on strategies to reduce homelessness.

Conference advances use of data and evaluation in policymaking

Government leaders, social service providers, and leading scholars gathered for the second conference of J-PAL North America’s State and Local Innovation Initiative.

March 7, 2018