A $250,000 LASER PULSE sub-award, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is connecting DCID’s research and training expertise with Vietnam’s emerging business markets. This past summer, Edmund Malesky (PI) was awarded the grant to conduct a two-year project, titled “Do Better Mangers Engage in Less Corruption.” The project aims to evaluate the impact of improved management training on lowering incidents of corruption among owners of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). LASER PULSE, or Long-term Assistance and Services for Research: Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine, is a five-year program implemented by a consortium comprising Purdue University (lead institution), the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, Makerere University, and Catholic Relief Services. LASER PULSE promotes a model in which development solutions are derived through a co-development process between researchers and development practitioners.

In DCID's first policy brief, MIDP Director of Graduate Studies Sarah Bermeo and co-author David Leblang shared the results of a study on the root causes of migration from Honduras, with a particular emphasis on the interconnected role of climate change and violence. The results indicate that decreases in precipitation are associated with increased migrant flows and that the magnitude of this effect increases with higher levels of violence. Bermeo conducted interviews with several major news outlets and was mentioned in more than 100 news outlets.