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Item The Impact of Historical Residential Discrimination Policies in Richmond, Virginia(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-03) Schmidt, N KristianThe impact of historical residential segregation polices has affected many cities in the United States, but none more than Richmond Virginia. Richmond has a long history of disenfranchisement which still is prevalent today. Known as the capital of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, Richmond has cultured a path of differences in educational, occupational, and residential opportunities for African Americans. This paper examines how segregation has been able to exist even with policies that were created to improve conditions for minorities. My research will provide a chronological background for housing polices and examine how the implementation of these policies affected African Americans. The academic article will focus on the current impacts of racial covenants and the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation redlining policies of the 1930s. The article will compare and contrast these former redlined areas county by county and examine current conditions in 2021. Conditions such as healthcare access, social vulnerability, and educational opportunities are highlighted. The HOLC highly desirable sections will be examined to provide the disparities in economics, health and education. It is clear that as a result of such polices African Americans attend schools with fewer resources then those located in other areas throughout the city. The paper makes the case for health disparities between blacks and whites by providing statistics which highlight the differences in life expectancy, median age, poverty, and other social vulnerabilities. Lastly, the article concludes with the current state of the city.Item Health Equity Requires Advocacy: Rejecting Silence and Individualism for the Sake of Public Health(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Bogan, Corinne NOver time, the field and profession of public health has shied away from political engagement and reform efforts, focusing primarily on behavioral models of public health. In doing so, we have inadvertently reinforced radical individualism and inoculated the larger society against suspicion that the structures of our health, economic, and social systems are largely responsible for most health disparities. This commentary examines why responding to Covid-19 related inequities requires much more than monetary public health investments. Significant advocacy efforts are required to address the political determinants of health, and I argue that the field of public health should reclaim its position as a leader of progressive social and cultural change, in the interest of health.Item Achieving Carbon Neutrality: US and India Weigh Policy Options(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Krishnan, Palaniappa; Kasturi, PrahladThe paper takes a critical look at the US and India positions on achieving carbon neutrality as per their commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These are based on the climate change policies of the leaders of the two countries, President Joe Biden, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the COP 26 summit held in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. Policy tools to achieve carbon neutrality such as cap and trade and carbon tax (both market-based approaches), regulations (command and control approach) and other economic incentives such as tax credits and subsidies are examined. Based on various empirical research published in the literature regarding the two countries, an assessment is made regarding the use of these tools to achieve the goals of efficiency, equity, liberty, and sustainability in the two countries. Carbon taxation at the national level is currently missing in both countries and has the potential to be a revenue source of climate finance. The US needs to assert its leadership among the OECD donor countries to provide climate finance to developing countries and direct more of such finance for adaptation to climate change among developing countries. Low Carbon Technology (LCT) transfer through trade is low among both countries and there is a need to accelerate this process. Innovations that are occurring in both countries presently in nuclear power, hydrogen power and other clean energy such as solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass can provide a great fillip to early achievement of net zero emissions. International cooperation and partnership between the US and India are growing in pursuing nuclear and solar as clean fuels. However, stepped up co-innovation in clean energy between the two countries holds great dividends to achieve carbon neutrality in both countries.Item Student Resource Officers: Alternative Approaches to Student Safety and School Discipline(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Widom, RachelSchool Resource Officers (SROs) have become more commonplace in recent years in response to school shootings and violence. SROs are law enforcement officials that are responsible for school safety and have the authority to make arrests. The current literature reports conflicting evidence as to whether SROs are effective at mitigating or preventing school shootings. However, research suggests that students with an SRO stationed on school premises are more likely to be arrested, contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline, which disproportionately affects students with disabilities and students of color. Currently, gaps in the literature exist on providing effective, equitable, and feasible alternative approaches to SROs. This report aims to offer alternative solutions to SROs focused on promoting school safety and equitable school discipline practices. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, public and political officials called for social reforms such as the removal of SROs from schools. One policy alternative to SROs includes the implementation of student safety coaches who are trained on mental health, restorative justice, and de-escalation strategies. This initiative has been implemented in school districts in Minnesota and has yielded positive evaluation results. Another alternative includes the reallocation of funds following the removal of SROs to mental health professionals. Mental health professionals have the authority to assess risks and are an effective mechanism at dealing with school safety and school disciplinary policies. Nonetheless, a hybrid model of both policy alternatives is the best mechanism to deal with school safety and student discipline. Student safety coaches should be implemented along with trained mental health professionals in public schools following the removal of SROs.Item The Increasing Concentration of War Powers in the Executive Branch: A Legislative History of Exercised War Powers(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Wolgast, Henry KurtisConstitutional constraints on a President’s ability to lead the nation to war have been unrealized repeatedly since WWII. A legislative trend of granting broad and unchecked authority to the President to use military action has changed the nature of American entry into armed conflicts. The most frequently relied upon legislative method for granting war powers today, Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs), grant broad-reaching war powers to the executive branch. The 2001 and 2002 AUMFs have granted four consecutive Presidents the ability to act swiftly and divisively to combat enemies of the state across the globe without Congressional deliberation or authorization (United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2017, p. 2). While civil liberties groups and Constitutional scholars have widely recognized that this authority poses a threat to the balance of power and transparency of a democratic society (Bradley & Goldsmith, 2005, p. 88), constitutional originalists recognize unilateral power of the executive in military action (Ramsey, 2002, p. 21) and defense officials value security and stress the importance of retaining secrecy as to minimize the global recognition of small but dangerous terrorist groups (Cronk, 2017, p. 1). The Biden administration has called for a new AUMF to replace the outdated and unilateral authorizing language of the post-9-11 war powers that have been utilized to wage war across the globe. This call must be swiftly acted upon by Congress, as it would enact a return to Congressional oversight of presidential war powers not seen in contemporary U.S. military history.Item Regulatory Framework for the Transmission of Offshore Wind Energy(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Schwartz, Walker HThere is no current federal or state plan or framework put in place to ensure the proper transmission and interconnection of offshore wind developments to the regional grid systems through utilities in the United States. Electricity transmission of offshore wind to the local grid is of great importance in order to optimize future offshore wind developments. This policy brief will look to identify the regulatory framework for future offshore wind transmission through the assessment of three policy options that are currently utilized by several European countries. Upon analyzing the Transmission System Operator (TSO), Developer, and Third-Party Model this paper will identify a policy recommendation regarding a certain policy framework. In order to analyze this process this brief will also discuss two transmission processes used which include the Radial connection (alternating current system) and Hub connection (direct current system) for transmission. This policy brief will allow for future policymakers to utilize a future oriented frame of mind in order to implement lasting successful policies that will impact the future direction of the offshore wind industry. Without future federal or state plans or framework regarding offshore wind transmission the current administration’s targets will not be met due to the current transmission framework inhibiting development of future offshore wind sites.Item Policy Perspective: Externalities of Developing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Schwartz, Walker HOffshore wind industry is a growing renewable energy source that has barriers for implementation like many other energy sources. It is key to identify both positive and negative externalities associated to implement well thought out policy. Policymakers must use a future oriented frame of mind to execute lasting successful policies that will impact the future direction of the offshore wind industry. Floating offshore wind technology is a growing tool for the expansion of the industry with its own new and varying effects. As more information and technological advancement comes there will be greater understanding of the externalities that come with the implementation of this new technology. This policy perspective paper will discuss the known externalities associated to direct future policy creation.Item State Capture and the Role of Political Parties in Latin America(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Korman, James GuyThis study explores the impact of political parties on state capture in Latin America. A mixed effects model is used with time as the level one unit nested within countries that serve as the level 2 units with a total sample size of 349 observations pooled across 19 different Latin American countries with data ranging between the years 1996-2017. The model is also estimated with an AR(1) term in order to account for the temporal dimension of the analysis and any problems autocorrelation may pose. First, the impact of political party in power [years], a variable that captures how long one political party is able to stay in power in a given country in years – is analyzed for its effects on state capture. Second, the impact of political party in power [years] on state capture at varying levels of economic development as measured by GDPPC is then examined. The analysis provides support for the negative impacts of political party in power [years] on state capture where the longer one party is able to remain in power – the greater state capture we will see. Overall, the results suggest that a lack of political competition and horizontal accountability that political parties are able to provide in a given country results in enhanced levels of corruption and state capture across the Latin American region.Item Understanding Water Affordability in the United States(Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware, Newark DE 19716, USA, 2022-06-01) Bilal, AyeshaAccess and affordability to clean water in households are primarily considered third world issues – which is why there seems to be limited research on water affordability focused on the first world. However, rising water prices over time have become a growing concern even in the developed world, especially for the low-income population. Therefore, this paper takes a deep dive into the literature available on water affordability in the United States to explain what water affordability means; the equity and efficiency concerns around it; how it is measured; the critiques to the standard affordability threshold being used; the possible alternative criteria that can be considered instead; and the policy responses to the current water affordability challenges. The analysis presented indicates the need to understand water affordability from an equity standpoint, though it does not suggest a decrease in prices across the board or making water services free. This research can serve as a baseline for future studies related to water affordability within different regions in the United States and other developed countries.