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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
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.
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Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With U.S. unemployment at a 26-year high Americans will be feeling the economic downturn for some time. Jill Wilson and Audrey Singer identify the major shifts in U.S. immigration trends that have been impacted by the economic recession.
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Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
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.
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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The latest employment and unemployment statistics confirm that, at least in the job market, this is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, says Gary Burtless. These jobs numbers followed on the heels on new stronger productivity numbers, showing truly bad news for job seekers.
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Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
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.
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Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Alice Rivlin states that a comprehensive reform of the health care system is necessary to reduce the impact of future recessions on working people and make our economy more resilient.
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Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
During testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Gary Burtless stated that the basic system of financing unemployment insurance is scandalously out of date and recommended that Congress consider a basic overhaul of the system.
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Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The second in a series of interactive quarterly reports, the MetroMonitor ranks the nation’s 100 largest metro areas—which generate three quarters of U.S. output—on key indicators of economic performance. This edition of the monitor reveals that, amid signs at the national level that job and income losses are slowing, metropolitan economies continued to perform at highly variable rates through June 2009. While several metro areas may have reached a turning point, there are many others that still have not touched bottom, as well as a few that have almost fully recovered.
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Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 10, 2009, 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
On September 10, the day the U.S. Census Bureau releases its new report on poverty and family income for 2008, the Brookings Center on Children and Families held its seventh annual briefing to discuss the new figures and their implications for families and policymakers.
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Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Alice Rivlin responds to the Washington Post's inquiry as to whether she agreed with the Federal Reserve's statement Wednesday, following a better-than-expected employment report and brisk auto sales, that the economy is "leveling out."
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Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:30:11 GMT
The latest government reports show that the economy contracted at a rate of one-percent last quarter — better than expected. But the new GDP numbers showed that consumers have continued to cut spending, and unemployment is likely to continue to rise for some time. Senior Fellow Alice Rivlin says the news is good, but an end to the recession is not yet at hand.
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Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
William Dickens discusses a new method for estimating the natural rate of unemployment by simultaneously estimating the Phillips and Beveridge curves.
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Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As unemployment continues to climb, questions have arisen as to whether the stimulus package is working, how well it was designed and when it will have an impact. Gary Burtless examines its composition, finding that efforts at creating a social safety net and fiscal relief for the states were appropriately targeted and are working.
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Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
June’s worse-than-expected payroll employment numbers have renewed debate about the success of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus. Do the numbers indicate the administration’s policies are failing? Or do they simply show that the recession is unexpectedly severe and economic forecasting is an inexact science? Gary Burtless analyzes the data.
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Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:03:27 GMT
Despite continued sluggishness in the economy and the recent upheaval in the auto industry, unemployment claims are down. Senior Fellow Gary Burtless says employers are still shedding jobs but says the stimulus program and the growing need for workers in some expanding industries are critical in the effort to stabilize the economy.
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Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With Iran at a political impasse, Navtej Dhillon and Daniel Egel write that the youth of Iran, who account for nearly 40 percent of the voting age population, have been profoundly disappointed by the promises of the Islamic Republic and are yearning for opportunities for economic advancement.
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Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In an interview on NPR’s Marketplace, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani reports from Iran that the post-election political stalemate has put a halt to much economic and social activity in Tehran. Winning back the full participation and confidence of Iran’s “technical elite”—its doctors, engineers, and lawyers—will be a grave challenge for the new government.
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Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:52:06 GMT
When it comes to the U.S. economy, not all areas of the country are created equal. A new Metropolitan Policy Program report on the health of America’s metropolitan economies reveals that different parts of the country are experiencing the recession in different ways. Alan Berube says the study shows that broad-based recovery efforts are not the only answer to the complexities of the recession.
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Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
While the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent, which is the highest rate since 1983, there was actually a tremendous amount of good news in the May 2009 jobs numbers, says Jeffrey Kling. The economy seems to have turned the corner.
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Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In the first Wisconsin Poverty Report, Julia Isaacs and Timothy Smeeding examine poverty in Wisconsin and ask key questions, including: Where is poverty highest? How does Wisconsin poverty compare to that of its neighbors? Where is poverty growing—or receding in the state?
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Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Gary Burtless discusses the latest unemployment figures, saying that the job market is no longer in free fall. And, Burtless adds, the latest statistics on payroll employment and unemployment insurance claims may be giving us a hint that, while the economy is still shrinking, the pace of decline is slowing.
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Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
On May 8, The Brookings Institution and the National Association of State Work Force Agencies hosted a discussion forum on a new paper, "Strengthening One-Stop Career Centers: Helping More Unemployed Workers Find Jobs and Build Skills." Jeffrey Kling made these remarks on Lou Jacobson's paper.
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Fri, 08 May 2009 08:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 08, 2009, 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
One-stop career centers help millions of unemployed and disadvantaged workers each year find new jobs and opportunities for advancement. Unfortunately, such centers are hampered by poor accountability and a lack of adequate funding. Brookings and the National Association of State Work Force Agencies host a discussion on a paper that proposes a new approach.
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Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Each year One-Stop Career Centers help millions of unemployed and disadvantaged workers find new jobs and opportunities for advancement. Unfortunately One-Stops are hampered by poor accountability and a lack of adequate funding. Louis S. Jacobson proposes a new approach to One-Stops that would increase cost effectiveness, reduce unemployment and underemployment, and provide a more highly skilled workforce.
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Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Like Presidents Reagan and Carter, Obama has an ambitious agenda for the nation. But will President Obama be as successful in pushing his agenda as Reagan, or as unsuccessful as Carter? Surprisingly, a key indicator of success is not early economic performance. As Brookings expert William Galston writes, the core issue is clarity and self-discipline, to deal with only a relatively small number of issues at a time. Thus, President Obama needs to focus his considerable leadership and communication skills on the financial crisis.
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Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT
For many of the unemployed, the refusal to accept federal aid seems mystifying. What are reasons to take the money — or not? How might the new requirements placed on the states outweigh the immediate benefits of pumping cash into pockets and the local economy? Gary Burtless and other experts discuss these questions in a New York Times op-ed.
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Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama hosted a Fiscal Responsibility Summit on Monday and set a goal of cutting the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his term. William Gale and Alan Auerbach analyze the long-term fiscal outlook. Under what they view as optimistic assumptions, they project the deficit to average at least $1 trillion per year for the 10 years after 2009 – even if the economy returns to full employment and the stimulus package is allowed to expire in two years. They say the longer-run picture is even bleaker. Although fiscal policy problems are usually described as medium- and long-term issues, they find that the future may be upon us much sooner than expected.
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Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Rebecca M. Blank And Mark H. Greenberg agree that while in the short run, economic need is rising rapidly and we need to address the short-run problems as well as think about the long-term reforms, and that the parts of the recovery plan that are directed to low-income and unemployed families are good economics and good social policy. They say that it would only be the beginning of any serious effort to deal with poverty in America.
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Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Jason Bordoff argues that U.S. economic performance should be measured by how well economic growth raises the living standards of all Americans. He says that with the right policies and long-term investments we can achieve more broadly-shared prosperity.
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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- January 21, 2009, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
In spite of the challenges posed by poverty and high levels of inequality in Latin America, studies show its people are generally happy and continue to support market reforms and democracy. Yet, in the midst of the global financial crisis, will this trend shift in Latin America? On January 21, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings hosted a discussion on the current trends in the region in terms of economic growth, inflation, unemployment and the financial crisis, based on the most recent evaluations from a new approach in economics: the economics of happiness.
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Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Although many ideas have been floated for the incoming administration’s stimulus package, Gary Burtless urges that funds to be used for the nation’s worker training system, which can help equip unemployed and underemployed workers find good jobs when the economy begins to recover and can reduce the number of jobless workers who are looking for work.
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Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Alan Berube urges policy-makers to evaluate short-term opportunities and set long-term strategies in order to help Cleveland’s next generation of residents overcome the challenges of concentrated poverty.
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Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In these days of worldwide economic turmoil, there’s a lot of talk about the “misery index” – which is calculated by adding together the unemployment rate and the annual inflation rate.
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Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
With unemployment rising, more families feel squeezed this holiday season than ever. Rebecca Blank urges the new president to consider a plan to support low-wage workers, ensure an effective safety net and create opportunities in high-poverty neighborhoods that might guarantee American families more on their tables in the seasons ahead.
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Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The bankruptcy and liquidation of any of the Big Three automakers would represent a serious body blow to an already weak and declining economy. Garry Burtless discusses the possible impact of an automaker collapse.
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Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
NPR Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen speaks with Gary Burtless about the potential impact from massive job losses in the auto industry.
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Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Around seven hundred thousand mostly low-income and minority men and women are released from prison each year. Returning to lives of low wages and high rates of unemployment, about two thirds will be rearrested within three years. Bruce Western proposes a national prisoner reentry program whose core element is up to a year of transitional employment available to all parolees in need of work.
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Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:07:14 GMT
President-elect Obama held his first press conference today, focusing on the economy. Kling commented on Obama’s address saying the nation needs two rounds of stimulus to kick-start the economy—the first to stem recent job losses and help homeowners, and then to focus on longer-term growth.
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Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Wall Street saw a boost Monday as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that a second stimulus bill might help the economy. Martin Baily and William Beach examine the prospects for a new stimulus plan.
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Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT
A host of demographic and economic trends in the United States are making it difficult for the nation to make progress against poverty and income inequality. However, Ron Haskins argues, government policies that raise work levels and provide public benefits to supplement earnings have proven to be effective in fighting poverty among female-headed families. But further progress against poverty and economic inequality seems unlikely unless more poor adults work, reduce the number of births outside marriage, and marry at higher rates.
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Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The poor in American cut across all groups, but are disproportionately represented by single mothers and their children, by persons of color, by immigrants, by less-skilled individuals, or by those with physical or mental disabilities. Many working poor and near-poor families face problems with low wages or unstable jobs. This paper by Rebecca Blank outlines three strategic areas where policy and research attention should focus over the next decade.
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Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT
There are a growing number of low-income single mothers who are long-term welfare recipients or are without steady employment. They tend to face more barriers to stable employment, with less education, younger children, higher rates of mental and physical health problems and substance abuse, and a history of domestic violence. In this brief, Rebecca Blank and Brian Kovak propose a new program to link these mothers to medical and economic support and give them greater assistance in securing employment.
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Wed, 07 May 2008 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 07, 2008, 9:00 AM to 11:15 AM
The Center on Children and Families and the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy held a forum to discuss the policy challenges posed by single mothers who have not been able to find stable employment and who may have used up their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families eligibility or face sanctions. These women head the families that are most vulnerable to the current economic downswing.
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Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT
The March unemployment rate jumped to 5.1 percent, fueling concerns about a flagging economy. Rebecca Blank, noting the unusually high rates of long-term unemployment, recommends extending benefits to assist these workers who are clearly having difficulty finding jobs.
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Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- April 08, 2008, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
On April 8, the American Assembly and the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings held a forum to discuss how the nation’s government, business, civic and community leaders can develop and implement new policies to revitalize older industrial areas. The strategies were based on the findings of the Brookings Institution Press book Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America’s Older Industrial Areas.
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Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Rebecca Blank points out some of the troubling signs related to unemployment rates. The author discusses extending unemployment insurance benefits to address long-term unemployment and explains how changing demographics make the current numbers hard to compare to previous recessions.
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Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Despite profound economic changes over recent years, America’s job-transition, or worker adjustment, program remains one of the weakest among advanced economies. Lael Brainard proposes fundamental changes in the nation’s programs in order to provide enhanced training and financial support to help American workers compete.
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Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee, Rebecca Blank argued that the low unemployment rate is misleading when compared to earlier years because the composition of those in the workforce is changing. In fact, she said, the very high rates of long-term unemployment suggest that it might be time to extend Unemployment Insurance benefits beyond the standard 25 weeks.
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Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
In this report, the authors review the past 40 years of federal policy toward transportation mobility for low-income workers, including the most recent Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program, administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
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Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT
At the request of the European Central Bank, Martin N. Baily presented his work at a conference in Frankfurt, in January 2008. His work examined productivity and potential growth in the United States and the European Union for the whole economy and by industry. This is a PDF of Martin Bailey's PowerPoint presentation.
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Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Fellow Navtej Dhillon discusses Egypt's economic prosperity and whether the country's youth will see the benefits of job acceleration.
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Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Although the overall economy has grown reasonably well in the last six years, the gains have not filtered down and the share of Americans in poverty has risen. Jason Furman suggests policy improvements to better facilitate the American dream.
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Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 12, 2007, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
On December 12, the Hamilton Project at Brookings hosted a two-part forum at the National Press Club on ways to encourage, facilitate and reward work. Besides releasing a new Hamilton Project strategy paper, the forum highlighted four new and forthcoming discussion papers.
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Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Jeff Kling testified that more permanent job loss with large wage losses requires the nation to modernize the unemployment system.
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Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT
Wage subsidies and work requirements hold the promise of alleviating many social problems, especially poverty. Brookings’s Ron Haskins writes about counteracting the negative behaviors of adolescent boys and young men in a new brief.
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Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT
To understand how the new global economy is affecting American workers, look no further than Dave Bevard from Galesburg, Ill. Bevard recently testified to a congressional committee about the devastating effects of losing his job: "[We] believed that if you worked hard, played by the rules and made a quality product, you would be rewarded for your efforts. Instead . . . we were given a pink slip and told that our plant would close and move to Mexico . . . "
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Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT
In testimony before the House
Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, Jeff Kling argues that the introduction of wage insurance would increase economic security by reducing unemployment for American workers displaced by offshoring.
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Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Paper by Kletzer and Rosen (9/11/2006)
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Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT
Paper by Jeffrey Kling (9/11/2006)
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Wed, 03 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT
Event Summary of the Brookings Briefing on offshoring. (3/3/04)
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Wed, 03 Mar 2004 13:15:00 GMT
Event Information:
- March 03, 2004, 1:15 PM to 3:00 PM
A Brookings forum
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Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT
The yearly OECD Employment Outlook provides data on unemployment and employment ratios, together with articles on current topics.
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Tue, 22 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT
Opinion by Bruce Katz, Director, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, and Margy Waller, Visiting Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution, in Newsday, January 22, 2002
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Thu, 06 Dec 2001 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 06, 2001, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
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Wed, 14 Nov 2001 00:00:00 GMT
Testimony by Peter Orszag, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, to the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, November 14, 2001
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Sun, 02 Sep 2001 00:00:00 GMT
Rebecca M. Blank suggests a variety of legislative changes might be useful to both provide financial support to states in times of rising economic need, and to assure that state welfare-to-work programs continue to function when private sector jobs are not as readily available.
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Fri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Review article by Mark Greenberg (Sumemr 2001)
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Fri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Review article by Isabel V. Sawhill (Summer 2001)
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Tue, 15 May 2001 00:00:00 GMT
Paper by Jessica Cohen, William T. Dickens, and Adam Posen (5/15/03)
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Tue, 06 Mar 2001 12:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- March 06, 2001, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
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Thu, 01 Feb 2001 00:00:00 GMT
In this policy brief, the authors propose an alternative to the conventional natural rate model. It is based on behavioral assumptions that we believe are more realistic than those underlying the natural rate model and that are backed by research on
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Thu, 02 Nov 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Commentary by William T. Dickens (11/02/00)
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Fri, 02 Jun 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Economic Papers
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Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 GMT
Brookings Review article by Lawrence F. Katz and Alan B. Krueger (Fall 1999)
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Sat, 01 Feb 1997 00:00:00 GMT
The main task of this volume--undertaken in chapters on the United States, Japan, and Europe--is to discuss the evidence of a link from globalization to growing tensions in Trilateral labor markets.
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Wed, 26 Jul 1995 00:00:00 GMT
For almost thirty years, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) has provided academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research of current economic issues.
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Fri, 11 Jun 1993 00:00:00 GMT
For almost thirty years, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) has provided academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research of current economic issues.
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Wed, 02 Jun 1993 00:00:00 GMT
In this book, Robert Crandall examines the causes of industrial migration from the old Rust Belt in the Midwest to the new Sunbelt of the southern states.
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Fri, 17 Jan 1992 00:00:00 GMT
For almost thirty years, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) has provided academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research of current economic issues.