Global Data

The introduction of a new presidential administration has brought with it a flurry of executive orders. Among them was an order “Reevaluating and realigning United States Foreign Aid”, which paused federal funding for foreign aid.

On June 7th, 2008, Hillary Clinton suspended her first campaign for president, conceding the Democratic primary to Barack Obama. Obama’s nomination was historic, his eventual victory in the general election even more so. But his triumph over Clinton was also shocking—Clinton had begun the primary campaign as a clear favorite against Obama and the rest of the Democratic candidates.

To help American citizens, President Roosevelt provided federal relief by creating New Deal agencies and providing economic aid for the citizens. Congress also passed legislation aimed at providing economic support to citizens, a course of action initiated by President Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s actions raise a question: Did individuals who received economic support from the federal government exhibit a greater likelihood of supporting the president?

The July 1, 1997 sovereignty transfer of Hong Kong from the U.K. to China transformed the last major British colony into a Special Administrative Region of China. The result of a decade of Sino-British negotiations mandated that Hong Kong’s sovereignty be returned to Beijing on the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, designed to ensure Hong Kong’s continued economic and political distance from the mainland. While the fresh memory of the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 cast doubts on Beijing’s commitment to the institutions that would guarantee Hong Kong’s autonomy, the 1997 handover proceeded largely unopposed.