Should we be surprised by General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent policy initiatives to re-exert control over the private sector? One prevailing view is that they mark a distinctive break with the past couple of decades, when China produced massive fortunes for a small elite in real estate and tech. Others argue that they’re necessary to clean up messy sectors that require more effective regulatory oversight. However, the truth is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has always been, at best, suspicious of private entrepreneurs and activities outside of its direct control, and, at worst,... Read more about Tony Saich on the Party and Private Business: Lessons from History
LaChaun Banks, Ash Center Director for Equity and Inclusion, sat down withKhalil Gibran Muhammad, Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project, housed at the Ash Center, to discuss leading organizations to antiracist change and accountability.
As Congress continues to debate the size and scope of President Biden’s signature infrastructure proposal, Stephen Goldsmith, the Daniel Paul Professor of Urban Policy at the Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation argues that policymakers should be focusing not just on the overall spending levels of the President’s plan, but how best to make our infrastructure more intelligent, resilient, and equitable....
We sat down with Ash Center Director Tony Saich, Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, to discuss China's reaction to the Taliban's takeover of Kabul and how recent events impact the Sino-American relationship.
When Weatherhead Professor of Public Management Steve Kelman studied the innovative practices sparked at Denver’s Peak Academy he discovered a new side to government innovation.
As policymakers in Washington debate legislation intended to bolster the U.S.’s competitive standing against China, we sat down with David Dapice, Ash Senior Economist and recent author of an Ash Center Policy Brief Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Immigration Are Needed for the Middle Class to discuss his thoughts on how Washington can bridge the competitiveness gap. In his paper, Dapice argues that regional trade agreements are critical to maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness and job growth into the future. Specifically, he calls for the U.S. to reconsider its rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and argues that it presents an important opportunity for countering China’s growing regional economic hegemony.
Each semester the Ash Center works to spark powerful new ideas, share innovative public-sector solutions, and discuss institutional reforms through our public events. We have never shied away from tough conversations — and this past semester was no different.
Edward Cunningham, Director of Ash Center China Programs and of the Asia Energy and Sustainability Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, discusses how decarbonization can serve as an opportunity for both countries to set aside their political tensions and work towards a common policy objective.
Government services are inherently digital services, says David Eaves, Director of the Project on Digital Government, but governments still lack the personnel and technological capacity to deliver services to a public that expects most simple tasks, such as scheduling a vaccine appointment to be done effortlessly online. That's why Eaves helped develop a free curriculum for teaching digital to future public sector leaders.
Recognizing the significant barriers Americans face in casting a ballot, graduating HKS Masters of Public Policy students, with Ash Center support, used their capstone Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) to work with organizations committed to strengthening civic engagement and voting access.
The Ash Center sat down with Quinton Mayne, Ford Foundation Associate Professor of Public Policy, to understand how a progressive electoral alliance reimagined the relationship between citizens and city hall.
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development's Megan Minoka Hill explains how the American Rescue Plan could bring long-needed aid to Indian Country.
In a new Ash Center policy brief, Fellow Wenchi Yu details why Chinese businesses, subject to privacy and national security scrutiny, need to rethink how they add value to communities when they operate in the U.S.
President Biden unveiled an ambitious $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure proposal this week. The plan calls for $621 billion in spending for a variety of transportation initiatives, including funding roads and bridges, public transportation, rail improvements, airports and ports, as well as a bevy of new and expanded electric vehicle incentives. Congress is expected to act on the ambitious legislative proposal in the coming months.
A spring sandstorm and worsening air pollution came to a head last week in Beijing, causing the city and surrounding area to become enveloped in an orange smog. To better understand the storm and its impact on the environment, Chinese citizens and government, the Ash Center sat down with Jesse Turiel, Ash Center China Energy Postdoctoral Fellow.
