![“Even if you look at a clean study, the [outcome] is usually a composite of multiple components, any one of which could be actually causing the effect,” says Associate Professor Teppei Yamamoto.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/201810/MIT-Yamamoto.jpg?itok=JQxqhoCS)
Refining the “science” of political science
Teppei Yamamoto examines the methods of his discipline, to help scholars nail down cause and effect.
![MIT political scientist In Song Kim has overseen the launch of LobbyView.org, a website that connects the activities of lobbyists, firms, and politicians, so that people “can understand how legislative politics [actually] works in the U.S.,” as Kim puts it.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/201809/MIT-3Q-Lobbying-01.jpg?itok=hpZLX6vU)
3 Questions: Database shines a bright light on Washington lobbying
Launch of In Song Kim’s LobbyView.org makes it simple to follow the path of money in politics.
Why the “solid South” of midcentury U.S. politics was not so solid
Associate Professor Devin Caughey’s new book looks at a massive political shift that took place in a one-party region.
3 Questions: Sasha Costanza-Chock on new “#MoreThanCode” report
Study of 188 practitioners distills key recommendations about using technology to advance social justice and the public interest.
Learning to evaluate social programs
Flagship J-PAL course teaches policy leaders how, why, and when to evaluate social programs ranging from antiviolence interventions to housing mobility initiatives.
What Paris shows us about the history of photography
MIT professor’s book develops a new narrative about photography and the ways we use it, from the place where it all began.
Risk, failure, and living your life: The economics of being an early-career scientist
Doctoral student Ryan Hill studies factors that influence researchers’ professional paths, while lending his voice to support student families.
Environmental regulation in a polarized culture
Doctoral student Parrish Bergquist investigates how politics affects environmental decision-making.
![“What we discovered is, very little [Medicare] money is spent on people who we know with high probability are going to die in a short amount of time,” says Amy Finkelstein, a professor in MIT’s Department of Economics and co-author of a paper in the journal Science.](/sites/default/files/styles/term_page__news_article/public/images/201806/MIT-Health-Care-Spending.jpg?itok=uM3yQvcx)
The value of late-in-life health care spending
Study debunks notion that large chunks of Medicare go to futile end-of-life care.
Discovering hidden stories in the Flint water crisis
Graduate student Elena Sobrino looks beyond the headlines to study interactions between the city’s people and institutions.
Method man
Alberto Abadie refines the tools of economics — and gets some interesting results along the way.
Fighting toxic stress in children is tough but possible
Taking time to understand underlying causes of stress can help children escape debilitating health effects, symposium speakers argue.
CS+HASS SuperUROP debuts with nine research projects
In yearlong program, MIT students apply computer science to humanities, arts, and social science research.
