RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes, November 20, 2009, The Hill
With rising concern about the nation’s anemic job numbers, infrastructure has emerged as a centerpiece of a number of proposed “jobs bills.” In a Hill op-ed, Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes point out that infrastructure is not necessarily a cure-all and outline the federal leadership and strategies necessary for successful investment in the way we move goods, people and power. Read More
VIDEO
Robert E. Litan, November 19, 2009
The economy is showing some bright spots, but rising unemployment, weak consumer spending and the housing market continue to be concerns. Robert Litan examines the state of the economy and offers insights into job creation and entrepreneurship, the possibility of a “double dip” recession and higher capital requirements for lending institutions.
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Washington, DC
What stands in the way of recovery? On Wednesday, November 18, Alan Berube and Politico Senior Editor David Mark answered questions in a live web chat about how the nation’s large metropolitan areas—including Washington, DC—have fared in the downturn. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alan Berube, November 18, 2009, The Brookings Institution
What stands in the way of recovery? On Wednesday, November 18, Alan Berube and Politico Senior Editor David Mark answered questions in a live web chat about how the nation’s large metropolitan areas—including Washington, DC—have fared in the downturn. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Andrew Reamer, November 16, 2009, The Brookings Institution
America continues to grope toward the development of an effective innovation strategy as part of a credible push toward economic reinvention. Mark Muro and Andrew Reamer urge Congress to implement and test an important new strategy - a regional industry clusters program. This program would play a critical role in the nation’s economic recovery and longer-term revitalization at the metropolitan and rural levels ultimately stimulating innovation and job-creation. Read More
VIDEO
Karen Dynan and Alan Berube, November 15, 2009
Despite the economy’s expansion last quarter, many American workers still lack jobs, the confidence to spend money or a home to call their own. Brookings scholars have been tracking data on various dimensions of national and international well-being since early this year. Karen Dynan and Alan Berube examine the findings in the second Brookings “How We’re Doing” Index.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Karen Dynan, Ted Gayer and Alan Berube, November 15, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Despite the economy’s expansion in the last quarter, many American workers still lack jobs, the confidence to spend or a home to call their own. A team of Brookings experts began tracking data early this year to assess various dimensions of national and international well-being. The second quarterly "How We’re Doing" index looks at forces that stand in the way of a strong rebound and asks, "where are we going?" Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Gary Burtless, November 09, 2009, National Journal
When the stimulus package was enacted last winter, the Obama administration said its goal was to create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010. Gary Burtless analyzes how closely the administration is coming to achieving that goal so far. He finds that, on the whole, recent reports have understated the net effect of the stimulus program on overall employment by not taking into account the indirect effects of the stimulus on consumer spending and employment. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
John C. Austin, November 04, 2009, The Brookings Institution
During a recent visit to Milwaukee, John Austin explored the economic revitalization of the Great Lakes region. Austin writes that these efforts have been given a major boost by President Obama, signing a bill that provided $475 million in Great Lakes cleanup dollars, a down-payment on a long term multi-billion dollar federal-state-local plan to clean water and reboot municipal waste systems. The empirical data shows that the clean up is creating jobs and is an economic engine throughout the Great Lakes region. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Karen Dynan, October 30, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Yesterday's GDP figures may show that growth has returned to the US economy, but 3.5 percent isn't a strong rebound compared to past recession bounce-backs, writes Karen Dynan. She says the recovery will likely be long, and that means the economy is unlikely to see full employment for many years. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
October 29, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The nation appears to have entered a fragile state of recovery, with the worst recession since the 1930s at an end. After four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the Commerce Department reported this morning that the economy grew in the third quarter of 2009, fueled by government spending on cars and homes. Experts from around the halls of Brookings responded to this news. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Karen Dynan, October 29, 2009, Joint Economic Committee
How long will the economic recovery take? Karen Dynan testified before the Joint Economic Committee that there is a great deal of uncertainty about the strength and speed of the nation’s recovery, with gradual expansion being the most likely economic scenario. She says that consumer spending is likely to grow modestly over the next few years because of weak income growth, higher saving and lower borrowing. Policymakers have options to bolster the recovery but they should be mindful of the long-run costs, particularly in terms of the budget deficit, she says. Read More
VIDEO
Ron Haskins and Isabel V. Sawhill, October 19, 2009
Despite its status as one of the world’s leading economies, the United States is faced with high poverty rates and less economic opportunity than many other affluent countries. Senior Fellows Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins, argue that it will take a combination of personal responsibility along with smarter and better-targeted government policies to make the American Dream a reality for children and families now stuck at the bottom.
VIDEO
Ted Gayer, September 25, 2009
New U.S. home sales were flat in August and existing home sales fell, showing that the housing sector still remains weak. Ted Gayer, co-director of Economic Studies, says there has been some housing stabilization thanks to the Federal Reserve, but that there is still downside risk in the market. Costly tax incentives to encourage homeownership have long-term budget consequences.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Benjamin Orr, September 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Greater Washington Research at Brookings partnered with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to create the first MetroDCMonitor, a quarterly publication tracking indicators of economic recession and recovery in the Washington region and the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The report finds that the Washington area is weathering the recession comparatively well with a less volatile labor market than other metros and a healthy gross regional product. However, the housing market is weaker, and regional averages mask varying levels of economic distress throughout the area. Read More