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Begin New Search Topic Government Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution The Brookings Institution

1. Post-Tsunami Aid Effectiveness in Aceh: Proliferation and Coordination in Reconstruction

Author:
Harry Masyrafah and Jock MJA McKeon
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the northeast coast of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh) on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. In the subsequent tsunami that followed, over 150,000 people lost their lives, while an estimated 700,000 people were displaced. The scale of the damage to the local economy, infrastructure and administration was unprecedented. The magnitude of these events triggered a huge outpouring of compassion and generosity from around the world. The influx of aid and assistance into the province of Aceh in the weeks and months that followed was unprecedented and surpassed all expectations. This paper seeks to provide some insight into the effects of such an influx whilst also exploring some of the coordination mechanisms put in place to manage what was the largest reconstruction program in the developing world at the time.
Topic:
Development, Government, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Indonesia

2. Modernizing the Intelligence Surveillance Act

Author:
David Kris
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In December 2005, the New York Times reported, and President Bush confirmed, that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been conducting electronic surveillance of international communications, to or from the United States, without obeying the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). The disclosure ignited a wildfire of political and legal controversy, which continues to generate heat, if not light, today.
Topic:
Government, Intelligence, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and New York

3. Committing to Prosperity: Moving Forward on the Agenda to Renew Pennsylvania

Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Pennsylvania is at once the same and different, three years after the release of the 2003 Brookings Institution report “Back to Prosperity,” which proposed a new vision for how Pennsylvania might revitalize its cities, towns, and regions in order to compete more energetically in today's global economy.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and Pennsylvania

4. A Local Ladder for Low-Income Workers: Recent Trends in the Earned Income Tax Credit

Author:
Elizabeth Kneebone
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The first half of this decade brought with it a range of economic challenges, including increased unemployment, stagnant family incomes, and rising poverty.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Economics, and Government

5. Data DNA: The Next Generation of Statistical Metadata

Author:
Cynthia M. Taeuber, Daniel W. Gillman, and Laura Smith
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Statistical metadata is commonly defined as data about data. Metadata documents information about a statistical dataset's background, purpose, content, collection, processing, quality, and related information that an analyst needs to find, understand, and manipulate statistical data. As such, the metadata for a statistical dataset broadens the number and diversity of people who can successfully use a data source once it is released. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss issues related to the development and use of statistical metadata and to describe resources to standardize and automate statistical metadata. While there are many types of metadata – this paper is concerned only with statistical metadata.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Europe

6. Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revitalizing America's Older Industrial Cities

Author:
Jennifer S. Vey
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The evidence is clear. On the whole, America's central cities are coming back. Employment is up, populations are growing, and many urban real estate markets are hotter than ever, with increasing numbers of young people, empty-nesters, and others choosing city life over the suburbs.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Government
Political Geography:
America

7. A Statistical Analysis of the Quality of Impact Assessment in the European Union

Author:
Caroline Cecot, Robert Hahn, and Andrea Renda
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In 2002, the European Union required that an impact assessment be done for all major initiatives, including many regulations, directives, decisions, and communications. This paper is the first paper to statistically analyze these impact assessments using the largest available dataset. As a benchmark, we compare our results in the EU with recent results on the quality of regulatory analysis in the U.S. We score impact assessments using a number of objective measures of quality, such as whether a particular assessment provides any quantitative information on costs or benefits, and use the scores to develop two indices of quality.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Europe

8. Nigeria's Economic Reforms Progress and Challenges

Author:
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Philip Osafo-Kwaako
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Following years of economic stagnation, Nigeria embarked on a comprehensive reform program during the second term of the Obasanjo administration. The program was based on the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and focused on four main areas: improving the macroeconomic environment, pursuing structural reforms, strengthening public expenditure management, and implementing institutional and governance reforms. This paper reviews Nigeria's recent experience with economic reforms and outlines major policy measures that have been implemented. Although there have been notable achievements under the program, significant challenges exist, particularly in translating the benefits of reforms into welfare improvements for citizens, in improving the domestic business environment, and in extending reform policies to states and local governments. Consequently, we argue that the recent reform program must be viewed as the initial steps of a much longer journey of economic recovery and sustained growth. This paper concludes by outlining a number of outstanding issues that future Nigerian administrations must address.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

9. Making Trade Agreements Relevant for Poor Countries: Why Dispute Settlement Is Not Enough

Author:
Bernard Hoekman and Chad Brown
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Poor countries are rarely challenged in formal WTO trade disputes for failing to live up to commitments, reducing the benefits of their participation in international trade agreements. This paper examines the political-economic causes of the failure to challenge poor countries and discusses the static and dynamic costs and externality implications of this failure. Given the weak incentives to enforce WTO rules and disciplines against small and poor members, bolstering the transparency function of the WTO is important to make trade agreements more relevant to trade constituencies in developing countries. While our focus is on the WTO system, our arguments also apply to reciprocal North-South trade agreements.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance

10. The Implications of Service Offshoring for Metropolitan Economies

Author:
Howard Wial and Robert Atkinson
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In the months running up to the 2004 election the issue of off- shoring—the movement of jobs from the United States to other nations—seemed to be on the front pages of newspapers every day. Some of the concern was about the loss of manufacturing jobs to lower-wage countries such as China and Mexico, a process that had been going on for decades. The offshoring of service jobs, though, was something new. Service workers—including college- educated professionals—who previously thought their jobs immune to foreign competition began to worry about this new source of job in security. Policymakers concerned about the American standard of living wondered whether service offshoring would eliminate the United States' advantage in high technology industries.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Government, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Mexico

11. Give Credit Where Credit is Due

Author:
Patrick D. Walker, Robin Varghese, Ann Schnare, Alyssa Stewart Lee, and Michael A. Turner
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Despite the vast accomplishments of the American credit system, approximately 35 million to 54 million Americans remain outside the credit system. For a variety of reasons, mainstream lenders have too little information on them to evaluate risk and thereby extend credit. As a result, those in most need of credit often turn to check cashing services and payday loan providers, with effective interest rates as high as 500 percent. The lack of reliable credit places them at a great disadvantage in building assets (such as homes, small businesses, or loans for education) and thereby improving their lives.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Government, and Poverty
Political Geography:
America

12. Tools to Avoid Disclosing Information About Individuals in Public Use Microdata Files

Author:
Cynthia Taeuber
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Statistical agencies walk a fine line to meet the needs of two sets of customers: those who demand more detailed data to better understand complex policy questions, and those who demand that their responses to surveys or their use of public services be kept confidential.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Science and Technology

13. Katrina Index: Tracking Variables of Post-Katrina Reconstruction

Author:
Bruce Katz, Matt Fellowes, and Mia Mabanta
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Over the past thirty days, the number of new building perm its filed in the metro area more than quadrupled, and the first of thousands of homes destroyed by Katrina finally started being demolished in Orleans Parish. Meanwhile, the most recent population statistics released by the city of New Orleans in March showed that over 180,000 people now live in New Orleans. But, little or no progress was made in rebuilding many key components of the area's infrastructure and hospitality industry.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Government, and Industrial Policy

14. Federal Allocations in Response to Katrina, Rita, and Wilma

Author:
Amy Liu and Matthew Fellowes
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Federal allocations in response to hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma now total over $88 billion. Additionally, over $8 billion in tax relief is available, and another $19.8 billion in spending has been proposed by the Bush administration in February 2006. While these numbers appear quite large, widespread uncertainty exists over how much of this money has actually been spent and where.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Environment, and Government

15. Making Sense of Clusters: Regional Competitiveness and Economic Development

Author:
Joseph Cortright
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In recent years, "cluster strategies" have become a popular economic development approach among state and local policymakers and economic development practitioners. An industry cluster is a group of firms, and related economic actors and institutions, that are located near one another and that draw productive advantage from their mutual proximity and connections. Cluster analysis can help diagnose a region's economic strengths and challenges and identify realistic ways to shape the region's economic future. Yet many policymakers and practitioners have only a limited understanding of what clusters are and how to build economic development strategies around them.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

16. The New Safety Net: How the Tax Code Helped Low-Income Working Families During the Early 2000s

Author:
Alan Berube
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The early years of the twenty- first century marked a period of change in both the labor market and in public policy for the nation's low-income working families. Most prominently, employment conditions deteriorated after 2000. The nation's unemployment rate climbed from 4 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2003. The unemployment rate for workers with less than a high school education rose to nearly 9 percent in 2003. Real hourly wages continued to increase slightly for most workers during this period, but the weak labor market reduced the number of hours worked, along with overall earnings and family incomes. The steady rise in labor force participation among low-income families during the 1990s, spurred in part by the 1996 welfare reform law and other policies to “make work pay,” gave way to a decline after 2000.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
New York

17. The Earned Income Tax Credit at Age 30: What We Know

Author:
Steve Holt
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the nation's largest antipoverty program for working families, plays an important role in the economic life of America's low- income households and communities. It increases the ability of workers in lower paying jobs to support themselves and their families. It represents a large inflow of resources into local economies. It magnifies the importance of the annual tax filing process. The federal EITC turned 30 years old in 2005. During the past 20 years, many states and localities have enacted versions of the federal credit to benefit their own residents. Meanwhile, a new generation of local leaders has emerged to publicize the availability of the EITC and related tax credits for lower-income families and neighborhoods, and to argue for progressive federal tax policies.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
America

18. The Affordability Index

Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
This brief describes a new information tool developed by the Urban Markets Initiative to quantify, for the first time, the impact of transportation costs on the affordability of housing choices. This brief explains the background, creation, and purpose of this new tool. The first section provides a project overview and a short summary of the method used to create the Affordability Index. The next section highlights the results from testing the index in a seven-county area in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. To demonstrate the usefulness of this tool at a neighborhood level, the third section projects the effect of transportation and housing choices on three hypothetical low- and moderate-income families in each of four different neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. The brief concludes with suggested policy recommendations and applications of the new tool for various actors in the housing market, and for regulators, planners, and funders in the transportation and land use arenas at all levels of government.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

19. An Inherent Bias? Geographic and Racial-Ethnic Patterns of Metropolitan Planning Organization Boards

Author:
Thomas W. Sanchez
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Among the most important transportation reforms initiated by the federal government in recent decades was the increased focus on metropolitan areas and the devolution of greater responsibility for planning and implementation to metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). 2 By empowering MPOs to play a more active and authoritative role in transportation planning and programming, these reforms created a policy framework for increased local and regional decisionmaking. By requiring sustained and meaningful public involvement, they also demanded increased sensitivity to the community effects of large-scale public investments.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Government, and Migration

20. Central Asia Human Development Report

Author:
Johannes F. Linn
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Increased cooperation among the Central Asian republics stands to produce big gains for the people of the region. The benefits from reducing trade costs, increasing remittances from migrant workers, and more efficient use of water and energy resources could generate a regional economy twice as large and well off 10 years from now. The price of non-cooperation could also be large, a heavy toll extracted from the spread of disease, lost economic opportunities, natural disasters and environmental destruction, as well as conflict and insecurity. Both costs and benefits will be felt most among the region's poorer populations.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Central Asia

21. Higher Education in Pennsylvania: A Competitive Asset for Communities

Author:
Jennifer S. Vey
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In 2003, the Brookings Institution released a report on how to enhance Pennsylvania's economic competitiveness. “Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania” called for the state to rejuvenate its many distinctive cities, towns, and older suburbs and to invest in the high quality service industries often located there. The Commonwealth's institutions of higher learning are among those industries.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
Pennsylvania

22. A New Federal Contribution to the District of Columbia? The Need, Likely Impact, and Some Options

Author:
Ed Lazere and David Garrison
Publication Date:
11-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
A 2003 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the District of Columbia faces a large structural budget imbalance—that is, a persistent gap between its ability to raise revenues and the cost of providing basic services. DC's imbalance stems largely from its being a "city without a state" and from revenue limitations caused by the federal presence. The most logical solution to this problem would be an annual contribution from the federal government to help address the challenges that arise from DC's unique status as the nation's capital.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
Colombia

23. Can Rich Countries Afford to Grow Old?

Author:
Gary Burtless
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Observers in many industrialized countries believe population aging represents a serious economic threat. Increases in the percentage of the population past retirement age may impose unsustainable burdens on future workers. Either taxes or government debt will have to rise substantially to pay for old-age income support. This paper considers the extent of these burdens and corrects the widespread impression that the burdens are unsupportable. Population aging means that contributions needed to support the retired elderly must rise. But this extra burden will be at least partly offset by a reduced need to support the dependent young, who will become relatively less numerous. The extra burden of an aging population would be smaller still if labor force participation rates among the working-age and elderly populations increased. Indeed, employment rates among the nonaged have risen in nearly all the industrialized countries as a growing percentage of women has entered the work force. Many countries, including the United States, have adopted policies to encourage work among people past the traditional retirement age.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, International Relations, Economics, Government, and Population
Political Geography:
United States

24. Deficits, Interest Rates, and the User Cost of Capital: A Reconsideration of the Effects of Tax Policy on Investment

Author:
William G. Gale and Peter R. Orszag
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Under traditional formulations, lower capital income tax rates reduce the user cost of capital and stimulate investment. The traditional approach, however, implictly or explicitly considers a revenue-neutral reduction in capital income taxation. We extend the traditional approach by considering a reduction in taxes that generates an increase in the budget deficit; the expanded budget deficit raises interest rates and the opportunity cost of investment. This provides a mechanism through which tax cuts can raise the cost of capital. Representative calculations show that, even with relatively modest interest rate effects, the net effect of making the Administration's recent tax cuts permanent or a 10-percent reduction in individual income tax rates would be to raise the user cost of capital. Thus, sustained tax cuts can raise the cost of capital and reduce investment.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

25. Articulating a Policy Framework for Long-Term Federal Entitlement Reform

Author:
James C. Capretta
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
President Bush's top first-term objectives—in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—were waging and winning the global war on terror, significantly enhancing our homeland security systems, and strengthening economic growth.1 With sluggish economic growth following the 2001 recession persisting in 2002 and 2003—due, in part, to the revelation of several corporate governance scandals and the aftermath of technology stock "bubble burst"—the President placed a high premium on tax relief proposals aimed at accelerating the pace of short and long-term economic growth. In this context, it is not at all surprising that large federal budget deficits emerged.
Topic:
Security, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

26. Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2005: Meeting the Long-Run Challenge

Author:
Alice M. Rivlin and Isabel B. Sawhill
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Sometimes good news poses hard choices. Over the next several decades Americans will be forced to make difficult decisions necessitated by the good news that people are living longer and that medical care has become far more effective (albeit more expensive) than ever in history. These choices will require adjustments by almost everyone—families, communities, employers, and older people themselves—but they will be most starkly evident in the federal budget.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Government, and Human Welfare

27. Homes for an Inclusive City: A Comprehensive Housing Strategy for Washington, D. C.

Publication Date:
06-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The growth and movement of jobs and population in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and the persistence of the booming housing market in the city have created both a crisis of affordability and an opportunity to strengthen and rebuild portions of the District of Columbia.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Washington and Colombia

28. Building an Effective, Sustainable Partnership Between the Government and the Private Sector

Author:
James B. Steinberg and Gilman Louie
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The challenge of preventing and responding to the new security threats is very different from the one we, as a nation, faced in the Cold War. Today, the private sector is on the frontline of the homeland security effort: Its members are holders of information that may prove crucial to thwarting terrorist attacks; stewards of critical infrastructure that must be protected and dangerous materials that could be used to do harm; and important actors in responding to attacks. As we said in our first Task Force report, private sector information is essential to counter-terrorism, and government agencies should have timely, needed access to that information, pursuant to guidelines that give confidence that the information will be used in a responsible way.
Topic:
Government, National Security, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States

29. Assessing the Department of Homeland Security

Author:
Michael E. O'Hanlon, Peter R. Orszag, James B. Steinberg, Ivo H. Daaldar, James M. Lindsay, Robert E. Litan, Paul C. Light, and I. M. Destler
Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
President Bush's June 6 proposal to create a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would constitute the largest reorganization of the federal government in fifty years. Given the urgency of the terrorist threat, Congress has pledged to act rapidly. It aims to have a bill ready for the President's signature in time for the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Government, and Terrorism

30. The Bush National Security Strategy: An Evaluation

Author:
Ivo H. Daaldar
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
President Bush's first National Security Strategy presents his vision of “a distinctly American internationalism.” Media reports focused on the Strategy's support for preempting emerging threats militarily, but the 31-page document covers a far broader set of important issues. At its core, the Strategy calls for the United States to use its “unparalleled military strength and great economic and political influence” to establish “a balance of power that favors human freedom” and to defeat the threat posed by “terrorists and tyrants.” These are themes that will likely resonate with the American people, who believe that the United States should play a leading role in making the world a safer and better place.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Government, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States