U.S. ECO ONLINE
A SELECTION OF DOCUMENTS RECENTLY PUBLISHED ON THE WEB
Voir TABLE DE L'ECONOMIE ETATS-UNIS
GENERAL INTEREST
The Current Account Deficit & the U.S. Foreign Debt
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing – February 1, 2007
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/NewHearings&Testi.htm
Witnesses:
Dr. C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Dr. William Cline, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
David Malpass, Chief Global Economist, Bear Stearns
Highlights of a GAO Forum: Global Competitiveness: Implications for the Nation's Higher Education System
GAO – Report - January 23, 2007 – 26 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-135SP
“In order to better understand issues related to global competitiveness and international students, the Comptroller General convened selected national leaders and experts in September 2006 to discuss current trends in international student enrollment in the United States and abroad. Participants were asked to explore (1) what is known about the potential impact of these trends, (2) challenges the United States faces in attracting international students, and (3) policies and strategies the country can pursue to compete for international students while also maintaining the nation’s security. Invitees to the forum included experts from government, universities, research institutions, higher education organizations, and industry.”
100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending: Data for the Nation, New York City, and Boston
Bureau of Labor Statistics – BLS Report 991- 2006
http://www.bls.gov/opub/uscs/home.htm
“This report offers a new approach to the use of Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Normally, the survey presents an indepth look at American households at a specific point in time, the reference period being a calendar year. Here, the authors, Michael L. Dolfman and Denis M. McSweeney, use consumer expenditure data longitudinally and draw on information from decennial census reports to present a 100-year history of significant changes in consumer spending, economic status, and family demographics in the country as a whole, as well as in New York City and Boston.”
Alan Reynolds
Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?
Cato Institute - Policy Analysis no. 586 - January 8, 2007 – 28 pages
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa586.pdf
“In sum, studies based on tax return data provide highly misleading comparisons of changes to the U.S. income distribution because of dramatic changes in tax rules and tax reporting in recent decades. Aside from stock option windfalls during the late-1990s stock-market boom, there is little evidence of a significant or sustained increase in the inequality of U.S. incomes, wages, consumption, or wealth over the past 20 years.”
Gary Burtless
Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?
The Brookings Institution - Paper - January 11, 2007 – 9 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/burtless/20070111.pdf
This paper is a comment on a policy analysis paper by Alan Reynolds. “Alan Reynolds poses a straightforward question: "Has American inequality really increased?" Based on my reading of the evidence, including his new paper and the talk we just heard, my answer is "Yes, inequality has increased." … The problem is, he is harshly critical of data series that do not support his viewpoint, while he is usually silent about equal or more serious problems with data sets that show little change in inequality.”
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Economic Outlook Symposium: Summary of 2006 results and forecasts for 2007
FRB Chicago - Fed Letter - February 2007 – 4 pages
http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cflfebruary2007_235.pdf
In 2007, the nation’s economic growth will soften slightly, inflation will decrease, and the unemployment rate will edge higher, according to the median forecast of the participants.”
Timothy Schiller
Housing: Boom or Bubble
FRB Philadelphia - Business Review - Fourth Quarter 2007 – 10 pages
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/files/br/br_q4-2006-2_boom_bubble.pdf
“In recent years, the U.S. has seen an extraordinary increase in demand for housing and a rapid rise in house prices. Data show that nationally, the average price of an existing home, adjusted for inflation, rose more than 8 percent in 2004 and 2005, a faster pace than in any previous year. Some people have questioned whether this rapid rise was sustainable, and recent declines in the housing market have made this question more urgent. The author asks whether there was a so-called bubble in house prices or whether fundamental economic factors explain the rapid increase.”
Chicago Fed Income Based Economic Index (Chicago Fed IBEX)
FRB Chicago - Profitwise News and Views Special Edition – December 2006 – 1 page
http://www.chicagofed.org/community_development/files/12_2006_pnv_chicago_fed_ibex.pdf
“The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is unveiling a new economic index that measures inflation data for more than 30 groups defined by income, education, age, poverty status, and a range of other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics from 1983 to 2005. The Chicago Fed Income Based Economic Index-Consumer Price Index (IBEX-CPI) contains inflation data from 1983 to 2005 for more than 30 groups defined by income, education, age, poverty status, and a range of other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. It will be updated annually and can be found at www.chicagofed.org/CFIBEX.”
James A. Kahn and Robert W. Rich
Tracking Productivity in Real Time
Federal Reserve Bank of New York - Current Issues in Economics and Finance, November 2006
http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci12-8.html
“Because volatile short-term movements in productivity growth obscure the underlying trend, shifts in this trend may go unrecognized for years--a lag that can lead to policy mistakes and hence economic instability. This study develops a model for tracking productivity that brings in additional variables to help reveal the trend. The model’s success is evident in its ability to detect changes in trend productivity within a year or two of their occurrence. Currently, the model indicates that the underlying trend remains strong despite recent weak productivity data.
TAX AND FISCAL POLICIES
Alan D. Viard
The Fiscal Policy Agenda of the New Congress: An Early Assessment
Tax Policy Outlook - AEI Online - January 19, 2007 – 7 pages
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25482,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
“The 110th Congress convened on January 4 with a new Democratic majority and a new policy agenda. That agenda includes tax and fiscal-policy changes, some of which the House of Representatives addressed during its first hundred hours. Congress is adopting a pay-go budget rule and other budget reforms. During 2007, it will almost certainly offer short-term alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief. It will also probably try to raise taxes on domestic oil and gas production and on American firms operating abroad.”
Alison Kadlec and Will Friedman
Facing Up to the Nation’s Finances: Understanding Public Attitudes About the Federal Budget: A Report on Focus Groups
The Brookings Institution, The Concord Coalition, The Heritage Foundation, Public Agenda, and Viewpoint Learning. Web posted December 12, 2006. 13 pages
“This report was generated from six focus groups interviews with a goal of determining the public’s concern over the federal debt. The key findings were: The deficit and the debt are not of great concern when the war in Iraq, jobs, health care, and education are considered; People did not understand the specifics of the deficit versus the debt; Cynicism about the government is broad and deeply felt; and respondents understand that simple solutions are unlikely and that hard choices and compromises must be made.”
The CBO Budget and Economic Outlook
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing – January 25, 2007
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/hearingarchive/testimonies/2007/2007-01-25CBOTesti.pdf
Testimony by Dr. Peter R. Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office
The Long-Term Budget Outlook
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing - January 11, 2007 – 21 pages
Testimony of David M. Walke, Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
The Long-Term Economic and Budget Challenges
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing - January 18, 2007 – 9 pages
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/hearingarchive/testimonies/2007/01-18-07BernankeSenateBudget.pdf
Testimony of Federal reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
Defining Our Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing - January 30, 2007
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/NewHearings&Testi.htm
Witnesses:
Dr. Robert D. Reischauer, President, Urban Institute
Robert Greenstein, Founder and Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Eugene Steuerle, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute
Exploring Solutions to Our Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
U.S. Senate - Committee on the Budget - Hearing - January 31, 2007
http://budget.senate.gov/republican/NewHearings&Testi.htm
Witnesses:
Robert L. Bixby, Executive Director, The Concord Coalition
Dr. Joseph J. Minarik, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Committee for Economic Development
Dr. Jason Furman, Director, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution
Dr. Stuart M. Butler, Vice President, Domestic and Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Steve Forbes
Why Tax Cuts Matter
The Heritage Foundation - WebMemo #1309 - January 16, 2007
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm1309.cfm
“It is fitting that we now mark the 25th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's tax cuts. It's also fitting that we meet at a time when those who don't share our principles are going to take over both Houses on Capitol Hill because it reminds us that the real strength of the principles we represent and believe in come from grassroots efforts. We cannot count on leadership; we have to educate the grassroots and then the leaders will be educated in turn.”
Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Undocumented Immigrants in Texas: A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - December 2006.
http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/specialrpt/undocumented/undocumented.pdf
“Illegal immigration is draining hundreds of millions from local governments but bolstering the Texas economy by $17.7 billion a year. While the debate on the impact of illegal immigrants has roiled the state and nation, the study represents the first time Texas has comprehensively looked at the costs and financial benefits. An estimated 1.4 million illegal immigrants live in Texas.”
Is Social Security Progressive?
Congressional Budget Office. December 15, 2006. 8 pages
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/77xx/doc7705/12-15-Progressivity-SS.pdf
“For people with lower than average earnings, the ratio of the lifetime benefits they receive from Social Security to the lifetime payroll taxes they pay for the program is higher than it is for people with higher average earnings. In that sense, the Social Security system is progressive. For people in the bottom fifth of the earnings distribution, the ratio of benefits to taxes is almost three times as high as it is for those in the top fifth.” The benefits paid to retired workers are also progressive.
MONETARY POLICY
William Poole Understanding the Fed
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review – January/February 2007 – 12 pages
http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/07/01/Poole2.pdf
“This article was originally presented as a speech at the Dyer County Chamber of Commerce Annual Membership Luncheon, Dyersburg, Tennessee, August 31, 2006. The Federal Reserve has the responsibility to provide leadership. The ideal situation is when the market can reasonably predict what the Fed is going to do because the Fed has provided the leadership to make clear its objectives and how it pursues those objectives. The Fed is not and ought not to be viewed as an adversary of the markets. Policy actions and statements do have market effects. Those are unavoidable, but the Fed strives to make policy as clear as it can so that what is really surprising the markets is not Fed actions but the arrival of new information that surprises the Fed and markets together.”
Aubhik Khan The Role of Segmented Markets in Monetary Policy
FRB Philadelphia - Business Review - Fourth Quarter 2007 – 8 pages
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/files/br/br_q4-2006-1_segmented_markets.pdf
“The popular press would lead us to believe that during the stock market boom of the 1990s just about everyone was buying and selling bonds every day. In fact, evidence shows that most households make only infrequent changes to their investment portfolios. The author discusses this market segmentation and its implication for the way monetary policy affects interest rates and inflation.”
FINANCE
Interim Report of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation
Committee on Capital Markets Regulation. November 30, 2006. 152 pages
http://library.law.pace.edu/research/CCMRInterimReport.pdf
“Public capital markets offer the means for growing firms to finance investment as well as to enhance the value of investors’ assets and to lower the cost of capital for firms. “U.S. capital markets are losing their competitiveness in global markets, to the detriment of investors. Our report concludes that regulatory and legal costs play a leading role in this adverse shift.” The report findings support the need to balance costs and benefits of regulations in order to maintain the U.S. markets’ global position.”
Hedge Funds: An Industry in Its Adolescence
Hedge Funds and Investor Protection Regulation
Do Hedge Funds Increase Systemic Risk?
FRB Atlanta Economic Review - Fourth Quarter 2006
“The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2006 annual financial markets conference focused on hedge funds just as such funds became the subject of numerous news articles and discussions at regulatory agencies… All in all, the conference—as the papers in this issue of the Economic Review demonstrate—provided a substantial amount of information and thoughtful analysis on a little understood industry.”
Matthew Higgins, Thomas Klitgaard, and Robert Lerman Recycling Petrodollars
FRB New York - Current Issues in Economics and Finance - December 2006 – 7 pages
http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci12-9/ci12-9.html
“In recent years, oil-exporting countries have experienced windfall gains with the rise in the price of oil. A look at how oil exporters “recycle” their revenues reveals that roughly half of the petrodollar windfall has gone to purchase foreign goods, especially from Europe and China, while the remainder has been invested in foreign assets. Although it is difficult to determine where the funds are first invested, the evidence suggests that the bulk are ending up, directly or indirectly, in the United States.”
Paper, Plastic......or Phone?
FRB Kansas City - Payments System Research Briefings - December 2006 – 4 pages
http://www.kc.frb.org/PUBLICAT/PSR/Briefings/PSR-BriefingDec06.pdf
“This article examines mobile-phone payment and banking alternatives in the United States. It explores prospects for growth, available technologies, and the outlook for one or more technologies coming to dominate the market.”
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: Increasing Access to Affordable Mainstream Credit Using Alternative Data
Political and Economic Research Council - The Brookings Institute - December 18, 2006 - 60 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/umi/pubs/20061218_givecredit.pdf
Approximately 35 million to 54 million Americans remain outside the credit system due to too little information for lenders to evaluate credit risk. Those outside the main credit stream are usually the poor or less advantaged Americans. This study offers a market solution by suggesting an “alternative” or “nontraditional” method of evaluation credit risk by using data gleaned from rent, gas, electric, insurance, and other recurring obligations. “In summary, nontraditional data promise to bring millions into the credit mainstream and improve their chances of building assets.” This change will take time, but public officials can play a major role in bringing about the use of nontraditional data.
Thomas A. Garrett
The Rise in Personal Bankruptcies: The Eighth Federal Reserve District and Beyond
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review – January/February 2007 – 24 pages
http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/07/01/Garrett.pdf
“Personal bankruptcy filings in the United States increased, per capita, nearly 350 percent between 1980 and 2005. This paper first addresses the changes in economic and institutional factors that have occurred over the past 100 years, many of which have occurred in the past 30 years, which are likely contributors to the dramatic rise in personal bankruptcy filings seen across the country. These factors include a reduction in personal savings, an increase in consumer debt, the proliferation of revolving credit, changes to bankruptcy law, and a reduced social stigma associated with filing for bankruptcy. Given the availability of bankruptcy data at various levels of aggregation, the remaining sections of the paper contain results from several different empirical analyses of bankruptcy filings using various data sets. Careful attention is paid to personal bankruptcy filings in counties located in Eighth Federal Reserve District states.”
OTHER ECONOMIC POLICIES
Robert Joseph The U.S. National Space Policy
George C. Marshall Institute – Remarks - December 13, 2006
http://www.marshall.org/article.php?id=481
“In the first address by a senior U.S. official on the recently released National Space Policy, Dr. Robert Joseph discussed the importance of space for U.S. national security as well as our economic prosperity and why the National Space Policy should enjoy international support.”
Eminent Domain: Information about Its Uses and Effect on Property Owners and Communities Is Limited.
GAO – Report - November 30, 2006 – 58 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-28
“Congress mandated that GAO conduct a nationwide study on the use of eminent domain by state and local governments. This report provides information on (1) the purposes for and extent to which eminent domain can be and has been used; (2) the process states and select localities across the country use to acquire land, including by eminent domain; (3) how the use of eminent domain has affected individuals and communities in select localities; and (4) the changes state legislatures made to laws governing the use of eminent domain from June 2005 through July 2006.”
Thomas A. Garrett and Paul Rothstein The Economics of Eminent Domain
FRB Saint-Louis – The Regional Economist – January 2007
http://stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2007/a/pages/prosperity.html
“The forced sale of homes for private development usually results in a zero-sum gain and may actually hinder development in the area, economists have found.”
William Acevedo, Janis L. Taylor, Dave J. Hester, Carol S. Mladinich, and Sonya Glavac
Rates, Trends, Causes, and Consequences of Urban Land-Use Change in the United States
U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Interior. Web posted December 28, 2006. 206 pages
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1726/pp1726.pdf
Urban areas were primarily located along major rivers and bodies of water during the 19th century. Railroads made the expansion and development away from the waters’ edge possible. After World War II, urban areas expanded outward from city centers where land was cheaper and the environment was better. The building of interstate highways expanded the urban areas across the U.S. Economic and population growth after World War II contributed to suburbanization. Federally backed home loans, credit and tax incentives, and less restrictive building and municipal codes contributed to the expansion of suburbs. The purpose of this study was to understand the causes of these changes and to analyze how urbanization physically spreads across the land.
BUSINESS
John Mendeloff, Christopher Nelson, Kilkon Ko, Amelia Haviland
Are Small Businesses Riskier Than Larger Ones?
The Rand Corporation – Research Brief – 2006
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9181/
“This research brief summarizes research that provides a more complete picture of fatality risks found at both smaller establishments and smaller firms, to help inform effective policies toward small businesses.”
America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Master of Engineering Management Program, Duke University and School of Information, U.C. Berkeley -Web posted January 4, 2007 – 41 pages
http://memp.pratt.duke.edu/downloads/americas_new_immigrant_entrepreneurs.pdf
This research documents the economic and intellectual contribution of immigrants in technology and engineering at a national level. The study looked at a large sample of engineering and technology companies founded in the last ten years. The authors concluded that immigration is a driving force in the creation of new businesses in the U.S.
AGRICULTURE
Jake Caldwell
Fueling a New Farm Economy: Creating Incentives for Biofuels in Agriculture and Trade Policy
Center for American Progress – Report - January 2007 – 46 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/01/pdf/farm_economy.pdf
“The newly seated 110th Congress later this year will have a rare chance to enact a fresh set of U.S. agricultural policies that could, if carefully crafted, help tackle three of the most daunting problems facing humanity today—global warming, global poverty and the survival of a free and fair global trading system. What’s more, such progressive farm legislation, if properly enacted, would enhance our own nation’s energy independence and economic prosperity.”
Nancy Novack and Jason Henderson
Can Ethanol Power the Rural Economy?
FRB Kansas City - Main Street Economist - Issue 1, 2007 – 6 pages
http://kansascityfed.org/RegionalAffairs/mainstreet/MSE_0107.pdf
“While ethanol's success has been fierce, profits can swing wildly because of forces beyond the industry's control. What will ethanol profits look like in the future, and what are the risks for the industry?”
Office of Sustainable Fisheries
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter/aquaculture/
“Seafood is becoming popular again. Very popular, it would seem. But there are a number of potential problems with this development, one of them being the fact that a number of oceans and seas across the globe have been depleted of some of the most popular species. Stepping in to address some of these challenges is NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries. With an emphasis on domestic aquaculture production, the Office is interested in developing this production method as a way to reduce dependence on seafood imports, provide jobs for economically depressed coastal communities, and increase regional food supply and security.”
ENERGY
Twenty In Ten: Strengthening America's Energy Security
White House – State of the Union – Fact Sheet – January 2007
http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/energy.html
“Tonight, President Bush Will Ask Congress And America's Scientists, Farmers, Industry Leaders, And Entrepreneurs To Join Him In Pursuing The Goal Of Reducing U.S. Gasoline Usage By 20 Percent In The Next Ten Years – Twenty In Ten. For too long, our Nation has been dependent on oil. America's dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists – who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments, raise the price of oil, and do great harm to our economy.”
Robert McMahon ,The 110th Congress—Democrats and Energy Security
Council on Foreign Relations – Backgrounder – January 16, 2006
http://www.cfr.org/publication/12429/
“At the outset of the 110th Congress, House Democrats announced their first initiatives would include a tax aimed at oil and gas companies, for which revenues would be used for renewable energies. The energy issue has been framed in terms of national security, environmental sustainability, and economic health. But the most robust action from Congress on energy in the coming year could come in the new farm bill. There is bipartisan support for boosting production of biofuels such as ethanol to help ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Policy experts cite the need for a comprehensive energy package but the huge number of overlapping issues involved makes such legislation unlikely.”
Department of Energy: Key Challenges Remain for Developing and Deploying Advanced Energy Technologies to Meet Future Needs
GAO – Report - December 20, 2006 – 73 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-106
“DOE’s total budget authority for energy R&D dropped by over 85 percent (in real terms) from 1978 to 2005, peaking in the late 1970s but falling sharply when oil prices returned to lower levels in the mid-1980s (see table). DOE’s R&D efforts have resulted in steady incremental progress in reducing costs for renewable energy technologies, reducing harmful emissions of coal-fired power plants, and improving safety and efficiency for nuclear power plants. Further development and deployment of advanced renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy technologies face several key challenges.”
David B. Sandalow Ending Oil Dependence
The Brookings Institution – Paper - January 22, 2007 – 27 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/fellows/sandalow20070122.pdf
“Still, a confluence of factors — including a broad political consensus, game-changing technological advances and strong interest from private investors — create the conditions for transformational change on this issue. These conditions offer the prospect of a lasting legacy to the President who makes this issue a priority. But it will take just that — making the issue a priority. Easy rhetoric and small initiatives will not be enough. With sustained commitment, we can end the United States' debilitating dependence on oil. This paper explains how.”
Paul L. Joskow
The Future of Nuclear Power in the United States: Economic and Regulatory Challenges
AEI-Brookings - Working Paper 06-25 - Dec 2006. – 27 pages
http://www.aei-brookings.org/publications/abstract.php?pid=1141
“This paper examines the economic and regulatory challenges that must be faced by potential investors in new nuclear power plants in the United States. The historical development of the existing fleet of over 100 nuclear plants and their recent performance history are discussed. The pattern of re-licensing of existing plants and the implications for the role of the extended operation of the existing fleet in the overall electricity supply portfolio over the next 50 years is examined. The economic competitiveness of investments in new nuclear power plants compared to investments in alternative base load technologies is discussed under a variety of assumptions about construction costs, fuel costs, competitive and economic regulatory environments and various levels of carbon emissions prices affected competing fossil-fueled technologies. The paper then turns to a discussion of federal government efforts to facilitate investment in new nuclear power plants.”
Homegrown Power Could Ease Energy Crunch Stateline.org - Article - January 19, 2007
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=165983
“Homegrown electricity could be one ingredient used to combat the 21st century’s expected energy crunch, easing the load on electrical grids with a system called “net metering,” now legal in 34 states.”
International Energy: International Forums Contribute to Energy Cooperation within Constraints GAO – Study - December 19, 2006 – 76 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-170
“Rising oil prices, resulting from growth in energy consumption by rapidly developing Asian nations and by most industrialized nations, have increased concern about competition over oil and natural gas resources. In particular, Congress expressed interest in how the United States participates in energy cooperation through international forums. GAO was asked to review: (1) what are the key international energy forums in which the United States pursues energy cooperation, (2) what are some of the key emerging energy market issues that are important for international energy cooperation, and (3) how is the United States addressing these issues through its participation in these forums.”
Electric Choices: Deregulation and the Future of Electric Power
The Independent Institute – Book Summary – 2006
http://www.independent.org/publications/books/book_summary.asp?bookID=66
“Can forces handle the delicate matter of transmitting electricity when the simple model of supply and demand must be more precise that other goods and services? How much regulation does the electric industry need? Electric Choices explores these difficult questions and proposes a new, market-based plan to improve America’s electrical future.”
David Rosnick and Mark Weisbrot Center for Economic and Policy Research. December 2006. 12 pages
Are Shorter Work Hours Good for the Environment?:A Comparison of U.S. and European Energy Consumption
http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/energy_2006_12.pdf
This paper looks at the relationship between work hours and energy consumption comparing the “Old Europe” model to U.S. practices. If “Old Europe” were to adopt U.S.-style economic and labor practices and increase the annual work hours to American levels, they would increase energy consumption by 30 percent. However, if the U.S. moves toward the European standard with shorter work weeks or longer vacations, the U.S. would reduce energy consumption. For example, if the U.S. had adopted the European standard in 1990, the carbon dioxide emissions would have been 7 percent lower in 2000 or a reduction of approximately 20 percent today.
TRANSPORTATION
Intercity Passenger Rail: National Policy and Strategies Needed to Maximize Public Benefits from Federal Expenditures GAO – Report – November 13, 2006 – 192 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-15
“Intercity passenger rail service is at a critical juncture in the United States. Amtrak, the current service provider, requires $1 billion a year in federal subsidies to stay financially viable but cannot keep pace with its deteriorating infrastructure. At the same time, the federal government faces growing fiscal challenges. To assist the Congress, GAO reviewed (1) the existing U.S. system and its potential benefits, (2) how foreign countries have handled passenger rail reform and how well the United States is positioned to consider reform, (3) challenges inherent in attempting reform efforts, and (4) potential options for the federal role in intercity passenger rail. GAO analyzed data on intercity passenger rail performance and studied reform efforts in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.”
Surface Transportation Policy Partnership
http://www.transact.org/
In the past few years, there has been a renewed interest in looking at any number of viable transportation options ranging from enhanced carpooling systems to building pedestrian-friendly communities. One coalition that has spent a considerable time examining these matters is the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP).
WORK - EMPLOYMENT
Katharine Bradbury Measuring Unemployment FRB Boston - Public Policy Brief – 10 pages
http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/ppb/2006/ppb062.pdf
“Measures of unemployment tally people without a job who are looking for one. For measurement purposes, the critical question is what constitutes “looking.” This article summarizes how unemployment is measured in the United States and Europe, and describes recent research investigating the permeability of the dividing line between the unemployed and “marginally attached” subgroups of those out of the labor market. A continuum between unemployed and entirely inactive individuals indicates that measures beyond unemployment may be useful in judging the state of the labor market.”
Kristie M. Engemann and Michael T. Owyang
Working Hard or Hardly Working? The Evolution of Leisure in the United States
FRB Saint-Louis – The Regional Economist – January 2007
http://stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2007/a/pages/leisure.html
“Although Americans appear to be spending less time on the job than they were a hundred years ago, there's some question as to whether they have more leisure time.”
Explaining the Decline in Teen Labor Force Participation
FRB Chicago. FedLetter - January 2007 – 4 pages
http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cfljanuary2007_234.pdf
Fewer teenagers are participating in the labor force today than at any point since WWII. At just under 44%, teen labor force participation is 15 percentage points below its peak in the late 1970s. Why has there been a long-run secular decline in the work activity of young adults, and why has it sharply accelerated in the last five years?
General Information on the Minimum Wage Economic Policy Institute, January 2007
http://www.epi.org/issueguides/minwage/epi_minimum_wage_issue_guide.pdf
On January 10, 2007, the House of Representatives voted 311 to 116 to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over two years. The Senate Finance Committee also began hearings on minimum wage legislation this week focusing on tax incentives for businesses that will be affected by the new minimum wage.
Workforce Investment Act: Employers Found One-Stop Centers Useful in Hiring Low-Skilled Workers; Performance Information Could Help Gauge Employer Involvement GAO – Report - December 22, 2006 – 33 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-167
“The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) required that many federal workforce employment and training programs for low-income individuals, the unemployed, and other job seekers provide their services through a streamlined delivery system. WIA also promoted greater employer engagement in this delivery system by, among other things, calling for it to help meet employers’ workforce needs with services provided through one-stop centers. In 2005, we found that about half of employers were aware of their local one-stop centers. However, questions remained about how employers use them. In this report, GAO addressed (1) the extent to which employers, both large and small, hire their employees through one-stops; (2) the extent to which these employers view one-stop services as useful; and (3) factors that may affect one-stop service to employers.”
PENSIONS
Richard W. Kopcke Managing the Risk in Pension Plans and Recent Pension Reforms
FRB Boston - Public Policy Discussion Papers – 61 pages
http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/ppdp/2006/ppdp067.pdf
“This paper examines the characteristics of three funding strategies for pension plans and analyzes the investment strategies that complement these strategies. Although the primary focus is on defined benefit plans, which include Social Security, it also applies to employees’ defined contribution plans, which, when their beneficiaries set specific goals for their future retirement benefits, are essentially defined benefit plans. The findings suggest that pension plans should use interest rates on Treasury securities instead of yields on corporate bonds to calculate the value of their liabilities. Defined benefit plans, including Social Security, could stabilize the balance between the value of their assets and their obligations if they financed only the value of the benefits that their beneficiaries have accrued and they invested their assets in Treasury securities.”
HEALTH
Andrew Schlafly, Esq. and Jane M. Orient White Paper on Medical Financing
M.D. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. November 26, 2006 - 6 pages
http://www.jpands.org/vol11no3/schlafly.pdf
There has been no free market in American medicine for 60 years. “Voluntary, mutually advantageous exchanges between buyers and sellers have been impaired by government intervention.” According to the authors, the drive for “reform” to accomplish “universal coverage” will exacerbate cost inflation while diminishing quality and access to care. The authors suggest that the antitrust provisions modeled on right-to-work laws could preserve both the rights of patients to self-insure and to privately contract for medical services.
Jason Furman, Leonard E. Burman,and Roberton Williams
The President's Health Insurance Proposal - A First Look
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, January 23, 2007 – 10 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/furman/20070123.pdf
“Despite its limitations, the President's plan marks an encouraging step in the right direction. With appropriate modifications, it could expand health insurance coverage and improve market efficiency.”
John C. Goodman Answering the Critics of the Bush Health Plan
National Center for Policy Analysis - Brief Analysis, January 30, 2007 – 2 pages
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba579/
Critics of the Bush health care plan have been quite vocal in their complaints. But a closer look finds them unwarranted.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Benefits of Trade, Costs of Protectionism
U.S. Department of State - eJournal USA January 2007
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0107/ijee/ijee0107.htm
This issue of eJournal USA has articles from authors inside and outside the U.S. government describing the benefits of trade and the costs of protectionism. Contributors include Deputy USTR John Veroneau, Deputy Assistant USTR Christina Sevilla, Bruce Stokes of National Journal, David Dollar of the World Bank, David Feldman of William and Mary, Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute, Jonathan Kimball of the Commerce Department, and former USTR Carla Hills.
Robert McMahon The 110th Congress—Democrats and Trade
Council on Foreign Relations – Backgrounder – January 4, 2006
http://www.cfr.org/publication/12339/110th_congressdemocrats_and_trade.html#1
“The Democratic Party’s congressional sweep in the 2006 midterm elections raised concern among some trade advocates that the party would block bilateral deals and move the country in a protectionist direction… Congress faces issues ranging from ratification of pacts with developing nations to extending the president's ability to negotiate major deals without congressional interference.”
Kei-Mu Yi What Will the Next Export Boom Look Like?
FRB Philadelphia - Business Review - Fourth Quarter 2007 – 8 pages
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/files/br/br_q4-2006-3_export_boom.pdf
“Despite the recent decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. trade deficit remains at historic highs. When this deficit eventually shrinks, it will likely be accompanied by an export boom. The author examines the nature of the last export boom in the United States, which occurred in the late 1980s. He documents whether the increase in exports was accompanied by an increase in the number of export markets, export industries, or exporting firms and plants.”
Dick K. Nanto U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. November 22, 2006. 28 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/77717.pdf
“This report provides an overview of the current status, trends, and forecasts for U.S. international trade. The purpose of this report is to provide current data and brief explanations for the various types of trade flows along with a short discussion of particular trends and points of contention related to trade policy.” The U.S. is currently running a trade deficit at record levels--$766 billion on a census basis and $783 billion on a balance-of-payments basis (BoP). The trade deficits are a concern because they generate trade friction and pressures on the government. As the deficit increases, there is a risk of a drop in the dollar which would cause a disruption in financial markets.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: New Program for Farmers Provides Some Assistance, but Has Had Limited Participation and Low Program Expenditures
GAO – Report - December 18, 2006 – 52 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-201
“While tens of thousands of manufacturing workers have received services through the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, until 2002, farmers and fishermen impacted by imports did not have access to similar assistance. The Trade Act of 2002 (Trade Act) established a new program, TAA for Farmers, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide technical assistance, a cash payment of up to $10,000 a year, and access to Department of Labor (Labor) training and reemployment services for farmers and fishermen who face significant price declines due to increased imports.”
MISCELLANEOUS
E.J. McMahon and Kathryn McCal,
Migrating New York Residents Still Heading for the Exits
Empire Center - Research Bulletin No. 2 - January 2, 2007
http://www.empirecenter.org/pb/2007/01/migrating_new_y.php
“Since 1990, New York has consistently ranked among the top three states for net out-migration. On a regional basis, Census estimates indicate that the West and South have been gaining residents at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest. But the Empire State's out-migration loss of 11.7 residents per 1,000 last year was far worse than the Northeast regional loss of 6.9 residents per 1,000.”
Jared Hardner and Bruce McKenney
The U. S. National Park System: An Economic Asset at Risk
Hardner & Gullison prepared for the National Parks Conservation Association. Web posted December 5, 2006. – 46 pages
http://www.npca.org/park_assets/NPCA_Economic_Significance_Report.pdf
“The U.S. National Park System is an economic asset at risk.” The park system generates at least four dollars in value for every tax dollar it receives, yet it has suffered an $80 million shortfall. The U.S. Congress established and maintains the Park Service; but due to a lack of adequate funding, the park system is now in serious jeopardy as park infrastructures decay and ecosystems are overrun, and historical treasures are not preserved. The authors used a cost-benefit analysis to examine the national economic benefits of the park service. They analyzed the economic impact of the national parks on the communities, and measured economic growth in the regional parks. Their conclusion was that “the U.S. National Park Service is an asset of tremendous economic value at the national, regional, and local level. Failure to properly manage our parks puts this public asset in jeopardy.”
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