Weekend Reads: Implementing the Affordable Care Act, and More

Implementing the Affordable Care Act; Palestinian political dynamics after the coup in Egypt; why Union City, NJ is not a model for other school districts; a new U.S. policy toward North Korea; from the archives: a chapter on gang behavior, law enforcement and community values by Fed Chair-nominee Janet Yellen.

The Affordable Care Act: A User’s Guide to Implementation

by Sheila Burke and Elaine Kamarck

Sheila Burke and Elaine Kamarck offer a balanced way of looking at the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that goes beyond today’s thorny political situation. They outline some meaningful metrics for establishing success or failure (or both) in the years to come. The authors first describe the complex federal-state architecture of the law and how, in many states, politics have dictated the choices made. And then they ask eight key questions that will determine the long-term versus the short-term success or failure of the health care law.

Palestinian Political Dynamics in the Aftermath of the Egyptian Coup

by Khaled Elgindy

Elgindy writes about his recent trip to Ramallah and the Palestinian territories. He discusses the skepticism of the Palestinians toward the peace talks, the impact of the Egyptian coup on Palestinian politics and the insecurity Hamas now faces as a result of the Muslim Brotherhood’s overthrow.

Deconstructing Union City

By Tom Loveless

At NBC’s Education Nation summit, Union City, New Jersey was heralded as a playbook for education reform by scholar David Kirp. In this post, Russ Whitehurst explains why Union City cannot – and should not – be used as a model for other school districts, and offers sound advice to those who seek to study, and potentially emulate the characteristics of high-achieving districts.

Facing the Facts: Towards a New U.S. North Korea Policy

By Evans J.R. Revere

For two decades, the United States has sought to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program without much success. Today, North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs despite the efforts of the U.S. to stop this. Evans Revere writes that denuclearization should remain the goal of U.S. policy and identifies steps through which this may be achieved.

Gang Behavior, Law Enforcement, and Community Values

By George Akerlof and Janet Yellen

In this chapter from Brookings’s 1993 volume Values and Public Policy,George Akerlof and Janet L. Yellen discuss the problem of gang criminality, focusing on the role of community values in controlling crime