Research

In our research published in the Journal of Political Economy, we considered an urban revitalization program implemented in Richmond, Virginia, which subsidized housing investments in poor neighborhoods. The magnitude and scope of the measured housing externalities indicates that the social value of this policy was positive and large. It also suggests that the current wave of foreclosures is probably reducing the value of urban land in the U.S. way beyond its direct effect on foreclosed homes.

Mathematics professor Manjul Bhargava and graduate student Arul Shankar are shaping the understanding of elliptic curves. Beyond advancing the subject of number theory in general, a heightened understanding of elliptic curves also has important implications in coding theory and cryptography. Encryption schemes, such as those used to protect our privacy when transmitting information online, often centrally involve the use of elliptic curves and the connect-the-dots construction.