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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

Trump Warns of Auto Tariffs, Targets Venezuela in Expanding Trade Crackdown

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on automobiles are coming very soon, signaling a continuation of his aggressive trade strategy. While initially set to unveil sweeping tariffs on April 2, Trump suggested...

Trump’s China Ship Fee Plan Risks U.S. Jobs, Higher Prices, and Supply Chain Chaos

President Donald Trumps plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding by imposing hefty fees on China-built vessels is facing fierce backlash from the American maritime industry. Industry leaders argue that the proposed port...

S&P 500 Surges as Tariff Fears Ease and Tech Stocks Rally

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Monday, with the SP 500 jumping 1.7% as easing trade concerns lifted market sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 597 points (1.4%), and the tech-heavy NASDAQ soared 2.3%,...

India's Business Growth Slows Slightly in March Despite Strong Manufacturing Surge

Indias overall business activity saw a slight dip in March as robust manufacturing growth couldnt fully offset a services sector slowdown, according to HSBCs flash India Composite PMI by SP Global. The index eased to 58.6...

Canadian Miners Flock to ASX Amid Pension Wealth and Global Instability

Australias stock exchange is attracting a record number of secondary listings from Canadian mining firms in 2025, driven by strong investor demand, regulatory stability, and access to Australias vast pension capital. The...

Politics

Trump Targets Venezuela Oil Trade with 25% Tariff Amid Chevron Extension

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all countries buying oil or gas from Venezuela, aiming to pressure foreign buyers while extending Chevrons license to operate in the sanctioned South American nation...

Alaska Governor Leads Energy Delegation to South Korea Amid LNG Project Talks

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is leading a delegation to South Korea this week to revive a long-stalled $44 billion natural gas pipeline project. The group includes officials from the Glanfarne Group, a project partner,...

Trump Administration Eyes Greater Control Over U.S. Bank Regulators

The U.S. Treasury Department is reportedly preparing a set of recommendations to streamline banking oversight, potentially reshaping the role of key regulators like the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and...

U.S. Rule Change Sparks Fears for Migrant Families Claiming Children

The U.S. government will now allow the Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to share the immigration status of sponsors for unaccompanied migrant children with law enforcement agenciesa regulatory shift raising concerns...

Marco Rubio Heads to Caribbean to Boost U.S. Ties and Tackle Immigration

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Jamaica, Guyana, and Suriname from March 26 to 27, according to a State Department spokesperson. The diplomatic tour aims to strengthen U.S.-Caribbean relations and...

Science

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it

When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like youre living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around...

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

In December 2024, astronomers in Chile spotted a new asteroid streaking through the sky, which they named 2024 YR4. Whats significant about this 100m-wide space rock is that it has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2023....

Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible studies of human anatomy still don’t get the recognition they deserve

Wikimedia, CC BY-SA The mere mention of Leonardo da Vinci evokes genius. We know him as a polymath whose interests spanned astronomy, geology, hydrology, engineering and physics. As a painter, his Mona Lisa and Last Supper...

Technology

DeepSeek Launches V3 AI Model With Major Performance Boost and MIT License

DeepSeek has rolled out an upgraded version of its artificial intelligence model, V3-0324, boasting significant improvements in reasoning and programming capabilities. The update, quietly released on GitHub, also marks a...

AI Datacenter Bubble? Alibaba's Tsai Raises Red Flags Amid Soaring Investments

Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Chairman Joseph Tsai has issued a warning about a potential bubble forming in AI datacenter construction, citing the growing disconnect between infrastructure development and actual demand. Speaking at...

PsiQuantum Eyes $750M Funding to Scale Quantum Chip Production with BlackRock's Backing

Quantum computing startup PsiQuantum is raising at least $750 million at a $6 billion pre-money valuation, with BlackRock reportedly leading the round, according to sources familiar with the matter. The funding aims to...

Xiaomi Raises $5.5B to Supercharge EV and AI Ambitions

Chinas Xiaomi Corp (OTC:XIACF) has raised $5.5 billion through an upsized share sale, fueling its aggressive push into electric vehicles (EVs) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tech giant sold 800 million shares at...

FuriosaAI Rejects $800M Meta Takeover, Aims to Rival NVIDIA in AI Chip Race

South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI has reportedly turned down an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), according to local media. The decision wasnt driven by price but rather...