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Topher L. McDougal

I am a development economist and professor at the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego, California, where I direct graduate programs in Humanitarian Action and Peace & Justice. My research interests include the economics of peace and conflict, illicit markets (especially for firearms), and human predation of environmental systems. In addition to consulting for various organizations including the World Bank, Mercy Corps, and the International Rescue Committee, I have been a research affiliate at the Centre on Conflict, Development & Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Graduate Institute for International & Development Studies (Geneva, Switzerland), a principal of the Small Arms Data Observatory (SADO), and an invited scholar-in-residence at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Tecnológico de Monterrey. My first book, The Political Economy of Rural-Urban Conflict: Predation, Production, and Peripheries (Oxford, 2017), explained how trade networks shape the nature and extent of civil war violence. I received a PhD and MCP from MIT, and a BA from Swarthmore College.

California is about to tax guns more like alcohol and tobacco

May 22, 2024 06:21 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics Law

Starting in July 2024, California will be the first state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition. The new tax an 11% levy on each sale will come on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and...

Delivering aid during war is tricky − here’s what to know about what Gaza relief operations may face

Oct 23, 2023 08:18 am UTC| Insights & Views

The 2.2 million people who live in Gaza are facing economic isolation and experiencing incessant bombardment. Their supplies of essential resources, including food and water, are quickly dwindling. In response, U.S....

Gaza depends on UN and other global aid groups for food, medicine and basic services – Israel's war means nothing is getting in

Oct 15, 2023 04:03 am UTC| Insights & Views

International aid groups are warning that they cannot deliver food and other basic services to people in the Gaza Strip and that a dire humanitarian crisis is set to worsen. International aid groups provide food and...

Economy

Philippines Posts $2 Billion BOP Deficit in March Amid Economic Headwinds

The Philippines recorded a $2 billion balance of payments (BOP) deficit in March 2025, reversing a $3.1 billion surplus in February, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This shift pushed the countrys...

Indonesia’s March Exports Beat Expectations with $23.25B Surge

Indonesias exports rose by 3.16% year-on-year in March 2025, reaching $23.25 billion, according to data released by Statistics Indonesia on Monday. This performance exceeded market expectations, which had forecast a 3.40%...

EU May Soften Methane Rules to Boost U.S. LNG Imports Amid Trade Tensions

The European Union is considering easing the application of its methane emissions regulations to help U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports comply with its new climate rules, sources told Reuters. The move comes as the...

Japan Core Inflation Accelerates in March, Complicating BoJ Rate Outlook

Japans core consumer inflation rose in March, fueled by persistent food price hikes, adding complexity to the Bank of Japans (BoJ) rate trajectory amid ongoing U.S. tariff tensions. According to official data released...

Dollar Plunges to Three-Year Low Amid Fed Shake-Up Fears and Trade Uncertainty

The U.S. dollar fell sharply on Monday, hitting multi-year lows against major currencies as fears mounted over the independence of the Federal Reserve and escalating trade tensions. Investor sentiment weakened after...

Politics

China Imposes Sanctions on U.S. Officials Over Hong Kong Dispute

BEIJING China has announced sanctions targeting several U.S. lawmakers, government officials, and heads of non-governmental organizations in retaliation for what it described as egregious behavior concerning Hong Kong....

JD Vance Visits India Amid U.S.-India Trade Talks and Growing Diplomatic Ties

U.S. Vice President JD Vance began a four-day visit to India on Monday, aiming to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations as both countries work toward a potential trade deal. Vance is scheduled to meet Prime Minister...

Trump Threatens to Cut $1B in Health Research Funds to Harvard Amid Campus Protest Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump is escalating his administrations conflict with elite universities, threatening to cut an additional $1 billion in federal health research funding to Harvard University, according to the Wall...

China Warns Against Trade Deals That Undermine Its Interests

China has issued a strong warning against any economic or trade agreements made at its expense, responding to reports that the U.S. is pressuring other nations to curb trade with China in exchange for tariff exemptions. In...

Pentagon Leak Probe Sparks Backlash After Advisor Ouster

Dan Caldwell, a former top adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has spoken out following his sudden removal from the Pentagon amid a controversial leak investigation. In a joint statement with fellow ousted...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Nintendo Faces Tariff Hurdles Ahead of Switch 2 Launch

Nintendo is preparing to launch the highly anticipated Switch 2 on June 5, marking eight years since the original Switch debuted. The console, which sold over 150 million units globally, became a pandemic-era favorite....

Apple iPhone Sales Drop 9% in China as Xiaomi Surges 40%

Apples iPhone shipments in China dropped 9% year-over-year in Q1 2025, making it the only major smartphone brand to report a decline, according to IDC. The U.S. tech giant shipped 9.8 million iPhones during the quarter,...

Nvidia Faces $5.5B Hit as U.S. Restricts H20 AI Chip Exports to China

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced it will incur $5.5 billion in charges after the U.S. government indefinitely restricted exports of its H20 AI chip to China, a critical market for its data center products. The H20 chip,...

Intel Restructures Leadership Under New CEO to Boost AI and Engineering Focus

Intels new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has initiated a major leadership shakeup aimed at streamlining operations and reviving the chipmakers competitive edge. In a recent internal memo obtained by Reuters, Tan announced a flatter...

TSMC Q1 Profit Surges 60% on Booming AI Chip Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the worlds largest contract chipmaker, reported a 60% year-over-year surge in first-quarter net profit, driven by skyrocketing demand for chips powering artificial intelligence...