Can El Salvador's homicide figures be trusted?

The most interesting articles that came to our attention this week

Liberals and Conservatives Rely on Very Similar Sets of Foundations When Comparing Moral Violations. Jack Blumenau and Benjamin Lauderdale re-examine moral foundations theory, which claims that liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. In experiments where individuals are asked to say which of two concrete moral violations is worse, they find that liberals and conservatives rely on similar sets of moral foundations.

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Consumption and Household Balance Sheets. Alexander Bartik and colleagues report results from an RCT in which 1,000 low-income individuals received either $1,000 per month for three years or only $50 per month. They find that those receiving $1,000 per month were no less likely to go bankrupt or pay off debt. As a consequence, the experimental effect on net-worth was close to zero.

The Long-Run Impacts of Banning Affirmative Action in US Higher Education. Francisca Antman and colleagues examine the long-run impact of banning affirmative action. Comparing blacks and Hispanics to whites before and after bans went into effect in several US states, they find that the impact is negative for Hispanic women but null or even positive for black men. The magnitude of the mismatch effect may vary by demographic group.