Our Publications, Reports, and Short Articles
Open, citable research that turns evidence into policy action.
At Studio 1848., our publications are designed to help decision-makers act with clarity and stay informed. Each report, insight note, and flagship brief distills complex evidence into practical intelligence by connecting data to the dilemmas governments, institutions, and citizens across Latin America and the world face today. We focus on what’s changing, why it matters, and what options are realistically on the table.
More than research for its own sake, our work aims to shift how problems are framed and how policies are built. Whether testing a fiscal reform against long-term debt risk or mapping the unintended costs of foreign influence, our goal is the same: to equip our readers with the tools to choose wisely, before circumstances choose for them.
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The Breakdown: The Economic Effects of Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering isn’t just a problem for democracy: it’s a drag on the economy. By turning many seats “safe,” partisan maps weaken the link between performance and reelection. When that accountability slope flattens, officials exert less effort on broad public goals and channel more favors to allies. Those favors distort where private firms invest (through taxes, permits, and credit) and where public money goes (roads, ports, broadband). The result is capital piling up in politically favored places rather than where it earns the highest return, which lowers productivity and growth, and compounds the losses as the bias becomes more entrenched. The fix doubles as productivity policy: restore contestability with independent redistricting and transparent rules, and insulate infrastructure choices with rigorous cost-benefit criteria and sunset clauses for place-based subsidies.