Pepperdine Policy Review
Our Mission
The Pepperdine Policy Review is a student-run journal that showcases the best scholarly work of School of Public Policy students at Pepperdine University. It features articles, commentaries, opinion pieces, and book reviews that address a variety of issues from health care and national security to political philosophy.
The mission of the Pepperdine Policy Review is to publish the best scholarly research, innovative policy solutions, and insightful commentary that School of Public Policy students have to offer. This journal seeks to inform policy makers, academic researchers, and the general public of ideas that will help transform public policy debate in the U.S. and abroad. All articles are thoroughly reviewed by student editors and must meet rigorous academic standards.
ISSN (print): 2158-2572
ISSN (online): 1946-7192
Current Editorial Board
2024-2025 Editorial Board
President & Editor-in-Chief:
Sophie Collins
Vice President & Managing Editor:
Connor Merk
Editors:
Darren Borsini
Faith Chang
Scott Di Panni
Wyatt Greco
Kevin Liu
Christian Mayer
Vanessa Rice
Eve Velasquez
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. James Prieger
VOLUME XIV - 2022
Threats to Religious Higher Ed and the Implications of Title IX Regulation
Andrew Davenport
The Shifting Sands of Soft Power: Comparing Soft Power Influences on U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East
Jackson T. Grasz
Quietly Encouraging Saudi Arabia’s Transient Economy
Austin H. Hardman
Transparency and Incentives: How California Policymakers Can Encourage Patients to Shop for Care
Lawson H. Mansell
Immigration Reform for the American Worker
Gabriel J. Millar
The European Union’s CBAM: Is It an Effective Economic Climate Policy?
Naomi S. Newman
India-Pakistan Conflict: The Dispute over the Kashmir-Jammu Border
Simone Nicolson
Policy Solutions for Affordable Housing in Cuenca Ecuador
Jordan B. Parrish
Equal Healthcare Act: A Brief Review of Health Insurance Programs and how Healthcare Vouchers Ameliorates many Endemic Issues
Miles Pollard
VOLUME XIII - 2021
Restoring The Public In Public Policy: Lessons from Lasch, Arendt, and Rawls
Anthony M. Barr
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Microcredit for Female Recipients in Mexico
Chloe I. Buckler Henry
Maximum Pressure with Minimal Success: Recognizing Iranian Resolve in Pursuit of a Revised U.S. Foreign Policy
Alexine D. Carr
Tweeting Terror: Evaluating Changes to the Terror Recruitment and Radicalization Process in the Age of Social Media
Jackson T. Grasz
The Rwandan Genocide: A study for policymakers engaged in foreign policy, diplomacy, and international development
Emily A. Milnes
VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017
Abigail W. Scott
VOLUME XII - 2020
National Standards and Education Reform Policy Proposal
Anastasia Aguas
An Exploration of Gender and National Security Through the Integration of Women into Military Roles
Alexine D. Carr
Gerrymandering: The Best Solution at Our Disposal
Ibrahim Kilic
Examining the Relationship Between Effective Income Tax Rates & Capital Gains Realizations
Connor Chase
Utilizing Economic Ties with China: Brazilian Economic Development Policy in the Age of Bolsonaro
Aotian Zheng
Negotiations with a Rogue
Brigitta Sanchez-O'Brien
Individualism Reverses Freedom in America Beginning with Political Freedoms
Danielle Moore
Undocumented Immigrant Access to Housing Under the Trump Administration: Potential Impacts and Policy Alternatives
Shelby Dewberry
VOLUME XI - 2019
Epistemological Threads of American Journalism
Currie Dickerson
The Connection Between Mass Shootings and Domestic Violence
Jacob Shawn Dunlap
The Rise and Fall of the Media as an Elite Institution
Zachary Hayes
Indicators for Support for Economic Integration in Latin America
Will Humphrey
The Life of Julia: A Failed Progressive Political Campaign
Caleb Jasso
The Quest for Diversity in Higher Education
Andrew Phillips
Constitutional Theory & The Political Process
Stephen Richardson
Educating Latin American Baseball Players: How MLB Should Protect Their Players for After Their Careers
Gabrielle Rockwell
Justice in the Philippines: A Checkered Past with Implications for the Future
Spencer Roush
Judicial Authority in the United States
Christina Syriani
VOLUME X - 2018
Articles
Awaiting the Rising Dragon: Preparing for the Emboldened Aspirations of China's Red Dynasty
Enrique Navarro-Donnellan
Resolving the Water Pollution Crisis in the Philippines: the Implications of Water Pollution on Public Health and the Economy
Gabriella Andrews
Ireland and the Economic Impacts of Brexit
Abigail Wordin
Politics of the Global Economy "Brexit"
Zachary Hayes
America's State of Readiness against Bioterrorism
Cameron Funk
To Arm or Not to Arm the Kurds: A Look as U.S. National Security Interests in Kurdistan
Nathaniel Barton
Automated Vehicles and the Environment
Joshua Amberg
Food Security as U.S. National Security: Why Fragile States in Africa Matter
Alexandra Perez
Information Communication Technologies in Bolivia: Fostering Political Development?
Zachary Decker
VOLUME IX - 2017
Articles
Reflecting Back on the Ebola Outbreak and the Future of Bioterrorism
Christian Pedersen
Blackwater USA: The Success and Failures of the Worlds Most Powerful Mercenary Army in the War on Terror
Marina Harden
Solving Human Trafficking Between Mexico and the United States
Alexandra Still
Putting Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again: Lessons Learned From State-Building in Iraq
Andrew F. Clark
The Feasibility of Road User Fees and Other Alternative Sources of Transportation Funding
Joshua R. Amberg
A Constitutional and Efficacious Analysis of Affirmative Action Policies
Jeff Longust
Book Review
Book Review of Philip K. Howard's "The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government"
Brittany K. Tayloe
VOLUME VIII - 2015
Articles
Decomposing the Wage Gap: Analysis of the Wage Gap Between Racial and Ethnic Minorities and Whites
Jennifer Kamara
The Expansion of Cooperative Threat Reduction programs: The case for a formalized agreement with Pakistan
Christian Pedersen
Unanswered Questions: Modernizing the US Nuclear Arsenal and Forces?
Todd C. Royal
Projecting Power In The Arctic: The Russian Scramble for Energy, Power, and Prestige In The High North
Shane C. Tayloe
The U.S. and Mexican Cooperation: The Merida Initiative and Beyond
Yasemin Tekin
Is Mexico the Emerging Leader of Latin America in Post-Carbon Politics?
Eddy Waty
Chile's Educational Reform: The Struggle Between Nationalization and Privatization
Vannia J. Zelaya
VOLUME VII - 2014
Message
Message from the Editor
Jordan Sandler
Articles
Nets or Vaccines: Malaria Vaccine Research
David Ernenwein
Much Ado about Cyber-space: Cyber-terrorism and the Reformation of the Cyber-security
Christian Pedersen
Agricultural Patenting: A Case Study of Monsanto
Shannon Moran
Federal v. State Effectiveness: An Analysis of the Endangered Species Act and Current Potential Attempts at Reform
Nicholas Primo
The Impact of Clean Energy on Economic Growth: An Econometrics Approach
Cheng Zhang
The Minimum Wage and Teen Unemployment: A Study of the Effect of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007
Alexander Pino
Symposium Article
James Q. Wilson and Public Policy Education
Adam Crepelle
VOLUME VI - 2013
Message
Message from the Editor
Amy Kennedy
Articles
A Global Blasphemy Law: Protecting Believers at the Expense of Free Speech
Kiley Widelitz
Can clean drinking water and sanitation reduce child mortality in Senegal?
Catherine Bampoky
Financial Openness and Growth: 2000-2010
Amy Kennedy
Mobile Health Technology in Developing Countries: The Case of Tanzania
Shruti Modi
No Music in Timbuktu: A Brief Analysis of the Conflict in Mali and Al Qaeda's Rebirth
Nicholas Primo
Oil Sands Extraction: Lessons From Alberta Can, and Should, Inform American Policies
Victoria Lopez
Preparing for the Inevitable: US Climate Change Preparation
David Ernenwein
Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale Gas Formations in the United States
Fatemeh Bagheri
The Korean Conflict and the United States National Security
Matthew Smith
The Rising Digital Missile Gap: the Security Threat of the United States' Cyber Inactivity
Christian Pedersen
The Role of Health Care in a Democratic Capitalist Society
Barbi Appelquist
VOLUME V - 2012
Download the full Pepperdine Policy Review Volume V in Adobe Acrobat.
Message
Message from the Editors
Michael Crouch and Michele Ogawa
Articles
Egypt Wrestles with Democracy: Expectations versus Realities
Melody Harvey
United States Strategy in Afghanistan from 2001 to Today
Haley Stauss
Providing Aid to Fragile or Failed States: A Short Argument for Moderation
Anthony H. Miller
The Crisis of America's Soul: How American Leaders Have Betrayed First Principles
Amy L. Kennedy
Stephen Colbert's Super PAC: A Better Tomorrow?
Shannon K. Anderson
"It's all Political, but Public Policy is Irrational"
Jaquelyn King
Citizens' Jury 2011: Combating Homelessness within the Greater Los Angeles County
Lara Arsinian
Are All R&D Dollars Created Equal?: A Look at the Effect of Federal Investment on Patent Success
Casey J. O'Neil
Estimating the Impact of Cell Phone Laws on Car Accident Fatalities
Odinakachi Anyanwu
Commentary
A Memo on Social Security
Michele Ogawa
Book Review
Memoirs of a Paleo
Tulio S. de Oliveira
VOLUME IV - 2011
Download the full Pepperdine Policy Review Volume IV in Adobe Acrobat.
Message
Message from the Editor
Alexander N. Fondrier
Student Articles
The Political and Economic Implications of the Asian Carp
Thomas Just
Given the Choice: Family Values in California's Largest School Districts
Raija Churchill
The Merida Initiative: An Effective Way of Reducing Violence in Mexico?
Sabrina Abu-Hamdeh
The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Sub-Saharan Africa
Odinakachi J. Anyanwu
The HOPE Worldwide Indonesia Positive-Choice Program
Jillian Kissee
Bilingual, ESL, and English Immersion: Educational Models for Limited English Proficient Students in Texas
Kelly Faltis
Here and Back Again: US National Security Interest in the Arab/Israeli Conflict
Miriam Keim
Commentary
Unions Matter
John S. Thomas
Book Review
Against Gloom and Doom
Michael Crouch
VOLUME III - 2010
Download the full Pepperdine Policy Review Volume III in Adobe Acrobat.
Message
Message from the Editor
Nicole Hutchinson
Student Articles
The Honduran Question: The U.S. Answer to Latin America
Lindsay Young
Terrorism and Game Theory: From the Terrorists' Point of View
Kevin Chlebik
The Rise of Russia and the National Security Implications for the United States
Matthew Saha
Alumni Articles
The Policy Debate Over the Bailout Plan
Kevin Simons
Symposium Articles
The Bush-Obama Stimulus Programs and the Future of American Capitalism
Dr. Randall Holcombe
The Future of Regulation
Dr. Jerry Ellig
Latin America and the Financial Crisis of 2008: Lessons and Challenges
Dr. Luisa Blanco
VOLUME II - 2009
Download the full Pepperdine Policy Review Volume II in Adobe Acrobat.
Message
Message from the Editor
Nicolas Valbuena
Articles
Beyond Greenspan
Rich Danker
Why Does the U.S. Military Have Chaplains?
Hans Zieger
The Domestic Causes and International Consequences of the US Government's Sugar Price Support Programs
Shannon Anderson
"Peace at Home, Peace in the World": The Rise and Role of Nationalism in Turkish Political Life
Morgan Beach
Alumni Feature
Republican Agonistes
Troy Senik
VOLUME I - 2008
Download the full Pepperdine Policy Review Volume I in Adobe Acrobat.
Message
Message from the Editor
Matthew C. Piccolo
Articles
Educating Citizens: Have We Kept the Founders' Ideals for Higher Education?
Hans Zeiger
Is Going Yellow Really Going Green? A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Ethanol Production in America
Michelle Isenhouer
Mental Health Care in India: Prescribing the Right Policy
Kimberly Meltzer
Going All In: The Gamble of Globalization & European Economic Integration
Lauren S. Koffs
Alumni Feature
Standing Up for Charity: A Book Review of "Who Really Cares" by Arthur C. Brooks
Alumnus Jeffrey M. Jones of the Hoover Institution
Commentary
Poking the Russian Bear: The European Missile Defense Shield
Jeremy Anderson
Corporate Environmentalists: Green Business Strategy
Danielle Bersen
Barack Obama: Same Story, New Character
Jonathan Freinberg
All volumes of Pepperdine Policy Review may also be viewed and downloaded through the Pepperdine Libraries Digital Commons repository.
Articles published in Pepperdine Policy Review do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or the School of Public Policy. The journal is published annually and accepts submissions from current students and alumni of the School of Public Policy.