Brookings Today, 6/5/14

A roundup of some of the content published today by Brookings.

• Policy implications of clarifying types of mobility. Joanna Venator and Richard Reeves call for clarity of the various types of mobility in the term’s usage by both the media and politicians alike.

• The worth of a master’s degree in education. Matthew Chingos argues that the Master’s “pay bump” should be eliminated for teachers as such programs are costly and do not render teachers more effective.

• Complications in thawing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Suzanne Maloney explores Iran’s foreign minister’s snub of a Saudi Arabian invitation in the broader context of Saudi-Iranian relations.

• Big data’s place in predicting human displacement. Elizabeth Ferris foreshadows the importance of big data in predicting and understanding the human displacement and its causes, patterns, and reasoning.

• The dual threat of Arctic oil and gas. Charles Ebinger stresses the importance of U.S. initiative in strengthening Arctic offshore oil and gas governance, calling this region both a security threat in a geopolitical sense and a safety threat with regard to climate change and environmental protection.

• The importance of early diagnosis of autism. Darshak Sanghavi advises parents to have their toddlers screened for autism.

Elina Saxena contributed to this post.