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10 things we learned at Brookings in August

The number 10 on the door of the Prime Minister's official residence in Downing Street, London.

The summer slowdown is about wind down. Despite the languid season, there was a lot to learn from Brookings scholars in August. Here are some highlights.

1. About 7 million American men aged 25 to 54 are not working or looking for work

This is 12 percent of all men of prime working age, but doesn’t include another 2 million men who are looking but haven’t found work. David Wessel and Jason Furman discuss.

2. The U.S. wants another bilateral nuclear arms reduction round, but Russia has pushed for inclusion of other states

In their new paper, Steven Pifer and James Tyson offer measures to advance multilateral arms control, if only with the inclusion of Britain, France, and China, that could set up more ambitious multilateral progress in the future.

3. Real-wage growth in Israel has outpaced OECD countries by three times over the past 5 years

Israel’s real wage—a measure of purchasing power—was 6 percent larger in 2015 than in 2011, compared to a 2 percent growth among all OECD countries. Dany Bahar writes that this is evidence of Israel’s strong economy, but that there is a lot of room for improvement.

4. Hillary Clinton could net 5 million votes on strength of white college-educated women

In election simulations based on demographic and voter turnout data, William Frey estimates that even if the white, non-college education male turnout is extremely high and, as expected, votes heavily for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton will overcome his support among white, college-educated women.

5. The Netherlands, the EU’s largest natural gas-producing country, has reduced is production cap due to worries about earthquakes

Tim Boersma explains why the Dutch parliament and minister of economic affairs lowered the cap on natural gas production, and why this matters for integrating EU energy markets.

6. Politics exaggerate the divide between urban and rural America

Alan Berube looks at data that show the purported economic and geographic divides between rural and urban America are not as wide as political rhetoric suggests.

7. Early childhood education interventions, like Head Start, do have positive impacts on high school graduation rates

In a new analysis by the Hamilton project, Lauren Bauer and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach find that Head Start improves later educational outcomes, causes additional positive development in participants, and increases positive parenting practices.

8. Africa is the second-fastest growing continent behind Asia

The sub-Saharan Africa region experienced 3.4 percent GDP growth in 2015. South Africa remains the continent’s largest economy.

9. Kenya is first in the latest financial and digital inclusion scorecard

The Financial and Digital Inclusion Project’s second annual report assesses the financial inclusion landscapes of 21 countries across 33 indicators.

10. Minority teachers account for just 18 percent of the public school teacher workforce

Minority students make up about half of all public school students. Michael Hansen and Diana Quintero discuss a new report in which they and co-authors examine how to close this diversity gap.

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