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Begin New Search Topic Economics Content Type Policy Brief Publishing Institution The Brookings Institution

31. Insuring America's Workers in a New Era of Offshoring

Author:
Robert E. Litan, Nicholas Warren, and Lael Brainard
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
With a new wave of white-collar offshoring coming fast on the heels of accelerated job losses in manufacturing, an ever-broader pool of American workers is finding that the nation's safety net has more holes than netting. The nation can and must do more to help insure the livelihoods of American workers in the face of structural shifts of whatever form, while preserving the benefits of an open and innovative economy. With technological change and offshoring accelerating job turnover and the pace at which workers' job-specific skills lose value, the time has come for the federal government to strengthen the existing safety net.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:
America

32. Can the U.S. Government Live Within Its Means? Lessons from Abroad

Author:
Allen Schick
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
When George W. Bush leaves office in 2009, the federal government will owe at least $15,000 more for every American than it did when he became president eight years earlier. This unprecedented build-up of public debt will result from budget deficits projected to average more than $250 billion a year during the Bush presidency, plus more than one trillion dollars borrowed from social security trust funds. Although this budget projection may be high, there is far greater risk that actual deficits will exceed current estimates than that they will be lower.
Topic:
International Relations, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

33. Individual Development Accounts: Policies to Build Savings and Assets for the Poor

Author:
Ray Boshara
Publication Date:
03-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)—matched savings accounts for low-income households—are a relatively new means of improving the lives of the poor. Advocates of IDAs argue that those with assets are more economically secure, have more options in life, and can pass on status and opportunities to future generations. They further argue that assets have positive social, psychological, and civic effects that are independent of the effects of income. Over the last decade, research and demonstration projects have been initiated to address these claims; some of the key findings are that IDAs do lead the poor to save or acquire assets, but do not necessarily increase their net worth (assets minus debt). While costs are declining, IDAs are expensive to administer and are often used by the poor as checking and savings accounts as well as a means to accumulate wealth, reflecting in part the dearth of savings products aimed at the poor.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Government

34. Thinking About Political Polarization

Author:
Pietro S. Nivola
Publication Date:
01-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
American politics are said to have become bitterly polarized. Journalistic accounts speak frequently of culture wars, and of a chasm between "red" and "blue" states. The defining issue in last November's tightly contested election was reported to be a deep divide over something called "moral values." Senator John F. Kerry's defeat was imputed to his party's alleged deficit in moralists. George W. Bush's victory was attributed to a mobilization of religious zealots. The passions and polemics of maximalists, we are told, are crowding out the preferences of moderates. The country's traditions of pragmatic accommodation and centrist policymaking are supposedly at risk in this hardened political landscape.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, Government, and Politics

35. The Challenge of Achieving High Work Participation Rates in Welfare Programs

Author:
LaDonna Pavetti
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Efforts to reform the welfare system over the last two decades have largely focused on reducing welfare dependency by getting welfare recipients to work. By the time the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was created by the welfare reform law of 1996, there was widespread agreement in the states that welfare recipients should be required to look for work and to do so shortly after (or even before) they began receiving cash assistance. Once TANF was implemented, work became a central focus of local welfare offices. However, as shown by the recent debates on the reauthorization, consensus on work requirements remains elusive.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Human Welfare, and Poverty

36. Financial Access for Immigrants: Learning from Diverse Perspectives

Author:
Audrey Singer and Anna Paulson
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Policymakers and academics are now catching up to financial institutions in their desire to understand how and why immigrants use U.S. financial markets. “Financial Access for Immigrants: Learning from Diverse Perspectives,” a conference co-sponsored by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program formerly the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, was held at the Chicago Fed on April 15-16, 2004. It included presentations from scholars and practitioners who discussed recent research on the financial practices of immigrants as well as the practical experiences of for-profit and nonprofit institutions working to provide financial services to the immigrant community.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States and Chicago

37. Law of the Sea Convention: Should the U.S. Join?

Author:
David B. Sandalow
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The United States has vital interests in the oceans. U.S. national security depends on naval mobility. U.S. prosperity depends on underwater energy resources. Ocean fisheries help feed the United States and much of the world. On February 25, 2004, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously recommended that the United States accede to the Law of the Sea Convention, which sets forth a comprehensive framework of rules for governing the oceans. The recommendation followed two hearings in which the committee heard testimony supporting the Convention from the Bush administration, the armed services, ocean industries, and environmental groups, among others. Following the favorable report from Foreign Relations, other congressional committees held hearings at which several lawmakers raised concerns about the treaty. The United States should promptly join the Law of the Sea Convention. Doing so would help protect U.S. national security, advance U.S. economic interests, and protect the marine environment. Prompt action is needed to ensure that the United States is a party by November 2004, when the Convention is open to amendment for the first time.
Topic:
Economics and International Law
Political Geography:
United States

38. Offshoring, Import Competition, and the Jobless Recovery

Author:
Charles L. Schultze
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Until the end of 2003, the United States had been experiencing a “jobless” recovery, with employment stagnating at levels well below those in 2000. A widespread perception has arisen that a major culprit behind the dearth of jobs was the growing practice of U.S. firms to relocate part of their domestic operations to lower-wage countries abroad. “Offshoring” presumably caused a reduction in U.S. output and a corresponding loss of jobs.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

39. Improving the Saver's Credit

Author:
William G. Gale and Peter R. Orszag
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
For decades, the U.S. private pension system has provided preferential tax treatment to employer-provided pensions, 401(k) plans, and individual retirement accounts relative to other forms of saving. The effectiveness of this system of subsidies is controversial. Despite the accumulation of vast amounts of wealth in pension accounts, concerns persist about the ability of the pension system to raise private and national saving, and in particular to improve saving outcomes among those households most in danger of inadequately preparing for retirement.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

40. Higher Education Spending: The Role of Medicaid and the Business Cycle

Author:
Thomas J. Kane and Peter R. Orszag
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In recent years, many public colleges and universities around the country have announced double-digit increases in tuition. The recession and the resulting squeeze on state revenues are the immediate causes. However, the short-term crisis should not be allowed to obscure a longer-term shift in state financing of higher education, which began more than a decade ago. As states have struggled to respond to other demands on their budgets-primarily due to rising state Medicaid obligations-parents and students have been asked to pay an increasingly large share of the costs in public higher education.
Topic:
Economics and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States