Category: HCI

Excess US Deaths Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mortality rates decreased more slowly in the US than in other high-income countries (HICs) between 1980 and 2019, resulting in growing numbers of excess US deaths compared with other HICs.  A new journal article published in JAMA Health Forum by Jacob Bor and coauthors assesses trends in excess US deaths before (1980-2019), during (2020-2022) and after (2023) the […]

Reducing Emissions and Air Pollution from Informal Brick Kilns: Evidence from Bangladesh

In many low- and middle-income countries, it is commonly believed that weak state and regulatory capacities limit the ability to reduce pollution and mitigate climate impact. In Bangladesh and across South Asia, most brick manufacturing takes place in informal, traditional coal-fired kilns. These kilns are among the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air […]

Seminar Summary – The Inclusion Trap: Evidence from the Elite Civil Service

By Naomi Frim-Abrams On April 9th, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted Shaheen Naseer, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, as a part of the Spring 2025 Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Seminar Series. She discussed her recent work on the unintended consequences of gender-sensitive reform and leadership pipelines in Pakistan’s civil […]

Seminar Summary – Queering Repression: How the Global Crackdown on Civil Society Affects LGBT+ NGO Foundings

By Naomi Frim-Abrams On February 26, 2025, the Spring 2025 Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Seminar Series at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted Kristopher Velasco, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, to share his work “Queering Repression: How the Global Crackdown on Civil Society Affects LGBT+ NGO Foundings.” Velasco’s research explores how […]

The Dynamics of Women’s Political and Economic Empowerment: Q&A With Rachel Brulé

By Maureen Heydt Rachel Brulé, Associate Director of the Human Capital Initiative (HCI), Associate Professor of Global Development Policy with the Pardee School of Global Studies and 2024-2025 SAGE Sara Miller McCune Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University has been awarded a US National Science Foundation […]

Global Development Policy Center – Annual Report 2024

The Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) is a policy-oriented research center working to advance financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability across the globe through rigorous interdisciplinary research, policy engagement and strategic communications. The GDP Center is a University-wide research center in partnership with the Office of Research and the Frederick S. […]