Brookings Today, 9/25/14

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

• Will you marry me? Isabel Sawhill offers reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic about the future of marriage in the United States.
• Hutchins Roundup. The latest collection of research on fiscal and monetary policy from the Hutchins Center includes items on wasteful spending, growth slowdown in emerging markets, and central bank tools.
• Getting education legislation finished. Russ Whitehurst argues that it is important that two education-related bills become law.
• A humanitarian success story. The recent recognition of a prohibition of arbitrary denial of humanitarian access as part of the legal duties of states is a necessary element to enhancing the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including internally displaced persons, says Walter Kälin.
• How to avoid a new cold war with Russia. Samuel Charap and Jeremy Shapiro say the U.S. and European allies need to respond to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and destabilization of eastern Ukraine, but focusing on Vladimir Putin is a “dangerous approach.” 

Charmaine Crutchfield contributed to this post.