Why has Argentina been unable to sustain a democracy? Why has establishing Iraq’s been particularly dicey? According to the Harvard economist Edward Glaeser, it comes down to schools. If we want stable democracies, he writes, we need to invest in education. Being a numbers guy, though, he doesn’t just argue the case philosophically. He’s got data to back him up.

What kind of data? The kind that shows that the more educated a country is, the…

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Digital Democracy

Numerous times since January, the Obama administration has found that making promises about governmental transparency is a lot easier than actually making the government transparent. But Data.gov, the repository of data from federal agencies, is certainly a step in the right direction. Need to know the daily interest rates on Treasury bills in 2005? You can find it on Data.gov. Of course, the promise of the website lies not in personal use, but in what…

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I am writing to ask you all to support PublicStuff, a social enterprise start-up that I am launching this year with the help of some other great folks! We have entered an investor pitch contest through Start-up Nation and ask for your votes to bring us to the top of the heap!   The top 5 pitches..
Read & Discuss

Why has Argentina been unable to sustain a democracy? Why has establishing Iraq’s been particularly dicey? According to the Harvard economist Edward Glaeser, it comes down to schools. If we want stable democracies, he writes, we need to invest in education. Being a numbers guy, though, he doesn’t just argue the case philosophically. He’s got data to back him up.

What kind of data? The kind that shows that the more educated a country is, the…

Read & Discuss

I am writing to ask you all to support PublicStuff, a social enterprise start-up that I am launching this year with the help of some other great folks! We have entered an investor pitch contest through Start-up Nation and ask for your votes to bring us to the top of the heap!   The top 5 pitches..
Read & Discuss

Digital Democracy

Numerous times since January, the Obama administration has found that making promises about governmental transparency is a lot easier than actually making the government transparent. But Data.gov, the repository of data from federal agencies, is certainly a step in the right direction. Need to know the daily interest rates on Treasury bills in 2005? You can find it on Data.gov. Of course, the promise of the website lies not in personal use, but in what…

Read & Discuss