PCRD

The increasing pressure on incentives

Incentives are coming under increasing scrutiny as the fiscal crisis just starts to hit state and local governments. The proessure will continue to build on these incentive programs. Many are vulnerable, because they lack the transparency and accountability needed to measure their effectiveness.

Here are reports from North Carolina and Wisconsin that came out recently.

BTC Reports - Special Deals-2 (2).pdf Download this file

Wisconsin Incentives Audit.pdf Download this file

Federal infrastructure policy: The lost decade

The Council on Foreign Relations has released a report on federal infrastructure policy. The picture is not pretty. In 2001 the U.S. ranked 24th in infrastructure quality worldwide. That's down from #5 in 2002.

Infrastructure_Scorecard.pdf Download this file

Infrastructure_Progress_Report.pdf Download this file

Food innovation districts: Land use tools and regional food systems

From our colleagues at Michigan State, a valuable report on Food Innovation Districts.

food_report-1.pdf Download this file

Can the federal government provide stable policies to promote renewable energy?

Can the federal government provide stable policies to promote renewable energy? That's an open question. The editorial board of the Washington Post recently explored the issue of wind power development. 

Policy stability is critical for the development of new energy resources. In the 1920's the Federal government stepped forward with a highly preferential oil depletion allowance. Later, as global petroleum supplies started coming on to the market, the government stepped in again with an oil import quota in 1959. 

In nuclear power, the Federal government in the 1950's stepped in with the Price Anderson Act. That legislation limited the liability for operators of domestic nuclear plants. 

Exploring how to provide stability is part of a report, "Beyond Boom and Bust: Putting Clean Tech on a Path to Subsidy Independence". 

Beyond Boom and Bust.pdf Download this file

Income distribution and mobility in the U.S.

Here's a good report from the Congressional Research Service on the U.S. income distribution and mobility and how they compare internationally.

CRS Income Distribution.pdf Download this file

Re-imagining economics

Economics is reinventing itself (or perhaps rediscovering what it should be). 

This week, we saw the passing of Elinor Ostrom, the Indiana University professor and non-economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work in exploring how people manage common resources. As one professor noted, 

"In economics, every successive cohort of economists is trained to put greater emphasis on the arsenal of mathematical and econometric expertise. That was just not what her work was about.” 

We are also seeing the sprouts of a new economics emerging. The New Economics Foundation (NEF), based in the UK, has announced a partnership with the U.S.-based New Economics Institute.

Read more. 

NEF also released its 2d Happy Planet Index today. 

 

 

 

happy-planet-index-report.pdf Download this file

 

Making the federal budget accessible

National Priorities Project is a research organization that makes the federal budget accessible to regular people. Check out their web site here. 

A Story of Corruption in Xi'an, China

Just returned from trying to revers the seizure of our water factory by the Xi'an governement. I hopeful that -- after last week's meeting -- the Xi'an government will intervene to reverse the actions of some corrupt officials. The chief o staff of the Xi'an Mayor has indicated that we will learn something Friday. 

You can learn more at Xi'ancorruption.net.

Aleba_Overview_June_2012_v2.pdf Download this file