The outward expression of interest in public administration and public policy denotes an inner desire to understand and improve upon the collective programs and actions that impact us all. By visiting and exploring The Cornell Policy Review, you have taken the first step in joining a community of thinkers and actors at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA). We are constantly striving to evaluate and articulate various approaches to policymaking, and we encourage you to delve deeper into the practice with us by reading on.
In this second edition of The Review, we have the privilege of presenting thoughtful analytical pieces from both former and current CIPA Fellows, as well as some outstanding pieces from our colleagues at peer institutions.
Edward Grodin presents a critique of Theodore Lowi’s Arenas of Power model and contributes a new perspective given the increasingly global context of national politics. Bobby Hall discuses the benefits of distance learning education and encourages increased emphasis on improving educational opportunities for rural populations. Anne-Marie Dao offers a legal rendering of free speech on college campuses, and Tenzin Keyzom Ngodup provides a fiscal policy analysis of the Iraqi financial sector. We are also please to include Santiago Calderon’s counterfactual case study on humanitarian intervention in conflict zones.
This edition also hosts The Review’s first dual perspective interview. Our former Editor-in-Chief, Sean Murphy, was able to interview Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and H.I. Latifee about microfinance. Current editors Nicole Majestic, Morgann Ross, and Daniel Nolan then interviewed Indian non-profit leader Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, founder of the Swami Vivekanda Youth Movement (SVYM), who offered an alternative opinion on the merits of microfinance. We are excited to print these interviews with three leading practitioners in the same edition, an hope that their perspective viewpoints will enliven discussions about development theory and fiscal policy in the developing world. Rounding out this edition is a comment from Robyn Ziperstein, who turns a critical eye toward the United States’ school lunch program.
I would like to thank Managing Editor, Marquise Hawkins, along with Editorial Board and entire staff for their hard work in bringing this edition together. Furthermore, it would not be possible to print this journal without the support of the CIPA staff and Cornell University. We hope that this journal educates you about some of the policies and programs that deserve your attention, and encourages you to join the discussion.
– Michael Donovan, MPA 2012, Editor-in-Chief