Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sylvan Herskowitz @sylvanrh.bsky.social · Apr 25

Nice summary of a WASH intervention in DRC by a bunch of my colleagues. Intervention improved access to clean water but didn't improve downstream health outcomes.

voxdev.org/topic/health...

Lessons from a community-led WASH programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo

A community-led water, sanitation, and hygiene programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo improved access but was unable to protect child health. Evidence suggests that more investment in water qua...

voxdev.org

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Sylvan Herskowitz @sylvanrh.bsky.social · Mar 26

lol always appreciate a shoutout Jeff! thanks!

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Reposted by Sylvan Herskowitz

Chris Bennett @chrisbennettedu.bsky.social · Mar 8

Heartbreaking to see announcements of major layoffs at most research organizations that have played a vital role in supporting federal statistics for education and developing high-quality evidence about what policies/practices actually work.

Below are just a few examples from my LinkedIn feed.

Mathematica
65,991 followers
1d •
• • •
To our clients, partners, and peers:
We want to let you know that we are reducing our workforce to align with the needs of our clients and ensure the continued, exceptional support we've offered for decades to the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. The staff we are letting go are skilled, experienced, and passionate about their work. Any organization would be fortunate to have them. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.

Dan Gaylin • 2nd
President and CEO, NORC
10h •
너
+ Follow
Like many of our peer organizations, this week NORC had to reduce our staff to ensure we are operating effectively and have the right mix of skills to align with client needs. The people departing NORC are highly talented and capable professionals, and they have made important contributions to our mission of delivering trustworthy and reliable data and analysis to inform society's most important decisions. They will be valuable employees and colleagues wherever their careers take them next.
To each of you who are leaving, and on behalf of everyone at NORC, I offer our deepest thanks and appreciation for your dedicated service and the lasting impact you've made on our organization.

marc
MDRC
15,135 followers
9h • 0
To our collaborators: Like many of our peer organizations, MDRC has had to reduce our staff in recent days, letting go of many talented and highly skilled professionals. Each of these colleagues would be an asset to another organization, and we encourage you to consider them for any career opportunities you may have.
MDRC remains committed to our mission of learning what works to improve policy, practice, and people's well-being.

// Westat
Westat
35,042 followers
22h •
In light of recent industry changes, Westat is making strategic reductions to our workforce to better align with our clients' needs. The talented professionals who are leaving Westat have made significant contributions to our mission and embody our values of uncompromising excellence, client commitment, and innovation. They are current and future leaders in their fields and will undoubtedly be an asset to any organization they join.
We remain committed to our mission to improve lives by delivering exceptional data-driven research and technical assistance, fostering insights and solutions to advance health, education, and social and economic opportunity.

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Sylvan Herskowitz @sylvanrh.bsky.social · Mar 5

Coney Barrett and Roberts side with the liberals... www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...

Trump Live Updates: Supreme Court Denies Bid to Freeze Nearly $2 Billion in Foreign Aid

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sylvan Herskowitz

HuffPost @huffpost.com · Feb 28

An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.

Georgia Nonprofit That Produces Life-Saving Food For Kids Has Federal Contract Cut

An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.

www.huffpost.com

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NPR @npr.org · Feb 26

He was hired in 2022 so the aid agency could get 'more bang for our buck' with its projects. He tried to reach out to help in the rebuilding of the agency. On Tuesday he tendered his resignation.

Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned on Tuesday

He was hired in 2022 so the aid agency could get 'more bang for our buck' with its projects. He tried to reach out to help in the rebuilding of the agency. On Tuesday he tendered his resignation.

www.npr.org

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Jeff Mosenkis @mosenkis.bsky.social · Feb 26

Why Dean Karlan, Chief Economist of USAID resigned yesterday:

"I was ready to rebuild from wherever we ended up to identify the most effective programs, figure out how to get them back in place, and to recommend new awards.

But I received no response. Zero engagement."
www.npr.org/sections/goa...

Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned on Tuesday

He was hired in 2022 so the aid agency could get 'more bang for our buck' with its projects. He tried to reach out to help in the rebuilding of the agency. On Tuesday he tendered his resignation.

www.npr.org

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Reposted by Sylvan Herskowitz

Josh Busby @busbyj2.bsky.social · Feb 23

A tracker estimating deaths caused by the partial PEPFAR funding suspension: pepfar.impactcounter.com. Methodology here: pepfar.impactcounter.com/methodology.

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · Feb 23

As Elon demands justifications from all federal workers (including many who are not Executive Branch employees), remember that if he paid his taxes, it'd pay for 677K federal jobs.

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · Feb 21

How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes?

Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce.

Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.

Title: What Costs More: Billionaire Tax Avoidance or Federal Workers?
Subtitle: Musk’s tax avoidance could fund 677K federal jobs
• Current Tax Rate: 3.27%
• Top Federal Tax Rate: 37%

Cost Comparison (Bar Chart):
• Cost of Musk’s Tax Avoidance (smallest bar, purple)
• Cost of Top 100 Billionaires’ Tax Avoidance (largest bar, red)
• Total Federal Workforce Salaries (mid-sized bar, green)
X-axis ranges from $0B to $380B, showing that billionaire tax avoidance covers a significant portion of federal workforce salaries.

Impact on Federal Workforce:
• Average Federal Salary: $106,000
• Jobs Musk’s Avoidance Could Fund: 677,782 (29.5% of all federal employees)

Federal Workforce Breakdown (Pie Chart):
• A segment representing 29.5% of the workforce highlights the share Musk’s avoided taxes could fund, labeled “Share Equal to Musk’s Avoided Taxes: 29.5%”.

Sources:
• Musk’s Tax Rate: ProPublica
• Billionaire Gains: Bloomberg Billionaires Index (Dec. 31, 2024)
• Federal Employee Data: USAFacts

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · Feb 23

At least 12 universities now have hiring freezes and nearly 30 have cut PhD admissions this year

If you hear of other places you can add them to this google doc:

Carolyn Ibberson @cbibberson.bsky.social · Feb 22

I created a brief spreadsheet of reductions I've heard of so far. Any additions you know of (especially if you have the links/receipts) would be great: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)

docs.google.com

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Feb 23

Trump administration appointees running USAID have in recent days fired hundreds of employees who help manage responses to urgent humanitarian crises around the world, according to officials and recent employees.

Trump Appointees Fire Hundreds at U.S.A.I.D. Working on Urgent Aid

The firings added to doubts about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency’s acting head, supports lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as he has said he does.

www.nytimes.com

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Sylvan Herskowitz @sylvanrh.bsky.social · Feb 22

‘We Are Seeing Complete Destruction’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/o...

Opinion | ‘We Are Seeing Complete Destruction’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze

Testimonials from around the world show that Trump’s foreign aid funding freeze has been damaging and chaotic.

www.nytimes.com

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Literary Pearls @literarypearls.bsky.social · Feb 21

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist”

James Baldwin

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Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · Feb 21

A smaller and smaller share of the UK's aid is going to the poorest countries,
@ianmitchell1.bsky.social and @samhugh3s.bsky.social find:

Mandela Told the UK That People Could Eradicate Poverty—but Only if They Target It.

In this blog, we look at the UK’s recent patterns in aid allocation. We find that UK aid has drifted away from those countries where extreme poverty is concentrated. The UK’s bilateral aid to Africa…

bit.ly

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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Feb 21

If you could use some amazing good news, here it is

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Sylvan Herskowitz @sylvanrh.bsky.social · Feb 21

Emergency Food, TB Tests and H.I.V. Drugs: Vital Health Aid Remains Frozen Despite Court Ruling www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/h...

Emergency Food, TB Tests and H.I.V. Drugs: Vital Health Aid Remains Frozen Despite Court Ruling

The Trump administration appears to be flouting a judge’s order pausing the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sylvan Herskowitz

Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · Feb 18

History: “Eventually the incompetent fascists invariably lose power and then society recovers in a new and stronger way”

Me: “Oh, cool, so what has to happen for the spell to be broken??”

History: “mmmm…well, that part is less encouraging.”

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NPR @npr.org · Feb 18

Congress created several organizations in the 1980s to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Human rights activists say the freeze is a gift to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

Trump funding freeze halts decades of U.S. democracy work around the world

Congress created several organizations in 1980s to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Human rights activists say the freeze is a gift to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

www.npr.org

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Christopher Zorn @prisonrodeo.bsky.social · Feb 18

holy hell this is smart

Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta @obumbratta.com · Nov 25

Your map’s legend can be turned into a histogram, helping your audience understand the distribution in addition to decoding the colours.

Two maps of US unemployment rates by county. They are identical except that the legend in the second has been converted into a histogram.

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Reposted by Sylvan Herskowitz

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · Feb 15

Christian groups like Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, & the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are also laying off staff and shutting down aid programs due to the Trump-Musk dismantling of the federal gov:

— www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
— www.ncronline.org/news/exclusi...

Exclusive: Catholic Relief Services lays off staff, cuts programs after USAID shakeup

An internal email says CRS is likely to be cut in half this year from Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign assistance. Cuts will "cost people's lives and livelihoods," a former bishops' conference official ...

www.ncronline.org

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AEA Data Editor @aeadata.bsky.social · Feb 14

I've written up a step-by-step for depositing data at datalumos.org - see aeadataeditor.github.io/aea-de-guida.... Before depositing, check what's there - lot of new deposits in the last few days!

DataLumos

datalumos.org

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The Onion @theonion.com · Feb 12

‘You Can’t Let This Happen,’ Says Fundraising Email From Sitting U.S. Congressperson

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · Feb 14

Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s idea of efficiency is stopping research on curing cancer.

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David Evans @daveevansphd.bsky.social · Feb 12

The Inter-American Development Bank is forming a poverty group, with multiple staff positions.

Lead Specialist jobs.iadb.org/job/Economic...

Specialist jobs.iadb.org/job/Economic...

Great opportunity to help shape the organization's operational & analytical work around poverty reduction.

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