Stanford and Harvard are launching a project to develop and evaluate a national policy on poverty and inequality in America. The Collaboration for Poverty Research will tap the intellectual resources of both institutions to focus attention and garner public support for new measures to attack and solve one of the most significant public problems of our time.

Tagged: poverty, On Campus, Public Service, Humanities & Sciences

In developing nations, where at least 20 million low-birth-weight babies are born every year, incubators are important lifesaving devices. The problem? They typically cost a cool $20,000, plus you need to plug them in. Two years ago, a team of Stanford students figured out how to take electricity out of the equation while whittling that price tag down to a mere $25

Tagged: International Initiative, poverty, premature birth, Human Health, International Issues, Business, Engineering

Rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, leave half of the world's population facing serious food shortages, according to a study published in the Jan. 9 edition of the journal Science.

Tagged: climate change, farming, food, International Initiative, poverty, Environment & Sustainability, International Issues, Earth Sciences

Gavin Jones, a professor of English, discusses how literature can provide us with an emotionally resonant and complex understanding of poverty, and David Grusky, a professor of sociology, discusses why reducing poverty is in the collective interest.

Tagged: economics, literature, poverty, Arts & Creativity, International Issues, Humanities & Sciences

When a developing country opens its stock market to foreign capital, it usually helps more than just big business. A recent study of 18 nations found that typical workers saw their real wages rise seven times faster after the inflow of foreign capital.

Tagged: International Initiative, poverty, productivity, stock market, International Issues, Business

Not long after a congressional panel warned the country was splitting into separate societies divided by race, the nation took notice. More money was pumped into urban schools. Opportunities once reserved for white students began opening to their black peers. New teachers were encouraged to take jobs in city schools.

That was 40 years ago. But educators and policy experts who gathered last week at Stanford said that many achievements that peaked in the country's schools by the mid-1970s have eroded.

Tagged: learning, poverty, race, youth, K-12 Education, Education

While global food prices have doubled or tripled over the past 12-18 months, the situation could dramatically worsen if climate change decreases crop yields.  Stanford researchers are assessing potential impacts of climate change and evaluating potential agricultural adaptations to minimize the risk to the global food system.

Tagged: climate change, food, poverty, Environment & Sustainability, Human Health, International Issues, Earth Sciences

Roughly 75% of people living in poverty worldwide are in rural areas where they often lack access to the electricity that could be used to improve farm yields. Stanford researchers are working on a program to bring solar-powered drip irrigation to Benin and assess its effectiveness.

Tagged: Africa, farming, International Initiative, poverty, solar, Environment & Sustainability, International Issues, Earth Sciences

In China, only 5% of rural poor students go on to pursue higher education compared to 70% of their counterparts in urban areas. Stanford researchers are working in rural China to help improve education through a combination of direct interventions and scientific research.

Tagged: China, International Initiative, poverty, youth, International Issues, K-12 Education, Public Service, Education

Many of the world's poorest regions could face severe crop losses in the next two decades because of climate change, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford Program on Food Security and the Environment (FSE). Their findings were published in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Science.

Tagged: Africa, Asia, climate change, farming, poverty, Environment & Sustainability, International Issues