BOOK
Ron Haskins and Isabel V. Sawhill, September 15, 2009
Creating an Opportunity Society examines economic opportunity in the United States and explores how to create more of it, particularly for those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, June 04, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s deficit tripled over the last six months and could top out at more than $100 billion. According to Douglas Elliott, this accelerated loss is the result of a combination of factors, including the PBGC’s inability—thanks to Congress—to charge premium rates that would cover its risk, and the investment and funding choices made by the companies that sponsor the pension plans insured by the PBGC. Is another massive bailout in store? Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Douglas J. Elliott, May 20, 2009, Center On Federal Financial Institutions
As Chrysler and GM face bankruptcy proceedings and restructuring, the Senate held a hearing on whether the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has the capacity to insure the pensions of nearly 44 million Americans who work or have worked at those firms. Douglas Elliott explores the particulars of the PBGC, the precarious situation that the automotive industry finds itself in, and offers 14 possible solutions to the problems that plague the government’s pension program. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alan Berube, May 15, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The detailed FY 2010 federal budget reveals many elements of the administration’s strategy to achieve needed reforms in schooling and worker skills. Alan Berube analyzes the significant steps in the departments of Education and Labor budgets toward a national economic strategy that invests strategically in human capital to improve our collective prosperity. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jennifer Bradley, May 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Jennifer Bradley argues that sustainable growth strengthens existing cities and communities, conserves fiscal and natural resources, and advances U.S. efforts to address climate change and achieve energy independence—a central theme of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program’s Blueprint for American Prosperity Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ron Haskins and James Kemple, Spring 2009, The Future of Children
![A New Goal for America’s High Schools: College Preparation for All]( "A New Goal for America’s High Schools: College Preparation for All")
In this policy brief, a companion to the volume of The Future of Children devoted to high school reforms, Ron Haskins and James Kemple examine the steps high schools should take to help low-income students prepare for and succeed in college. Specifically, they argue, high schools should boost students’ subject matter knowledge and study skills and counsel students on how to select colleges and obtain financial aid. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Robert Puentes, May 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Robert Puentes discusses how President Obama’s FY 2010 budget holds the baseline on transportation infrastructure spending with slight increases at the modal agencies at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro, May 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The in-depth versions of President Obama’s first budget released in early May detail a number of significant direct and indirect investments in the innovation capacity of U.S. metropolitan areas. Several of these proposals reflect ideas generated by Metropolitan Policy Program experts. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ron Haskins, Harry Holzer and Robert Lerman, May 2009, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Many low-income students miss out on college because they don’t know how much it actually costs or how to get access to billions of dollars in financial aid, says Ron Haskins. That’s why improving the equality of educational opportunity—a traditional American value—is one key to promoting economic mobility for disadvantaged students. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Sara Goldrick-Rab, Douglas N. Harris, Christopher Mazzeo and Gregory Kienzl, May 07, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To renew America’s status as the world’s leader in college attainment, the federal government needs to transform America’s community colleges and equip them for the 21st century. This report outlines a structure for this long-overdue investment and proposes to establish national goals and a related performance measurement system; provide resources to drive college performance toward those goals; and stimulate greater innovation to enhance the quality of sub-baccalaureate education. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Carol Graham and Soumya Chattopadhyay, May 2009, The Brookings Institution
In Afghanistan, individuals have to cope with the most adverse of circumstances. Carol Graham and Soumya Chattopadhyay use tools provided by a new approach in economics that relies on surveys of happiness or reported well-being to deepen our understanding of conditions there.They conclude that average happiness scores in Afghanistan are higher than the world average and discuss the implications of this and other findings for policy. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro, March 10, 2009, The Vine, The New Republic
Some say America needs to deploy existing green technology quickly while others say the nation needs to stress new scientific breakthroughs. Mark Muro says both camps are right, and that MPP’s proposal for the federal government to create a series of energy discovery-innovation institutes (e-DIIs) suggests a way to make progress on both counts. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro, March 02, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Mark Muro explains how President Obama’s first budget makes important gestures toward putting commercial innovation at the center of national economic concern. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jennifer Bradley, March 02, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Jennifer Bradley argues that sustainable growth strengthens our existing metropolitan areas, conserves fiscal and natural resources and advances our nation’s efforts to address climate change and find alternative sources of energy. She notes how President Obama's first budget advances some of these goals. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Barry P. Bosworth and Sarah Anders, February 2008, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
This paper by Barry Bosworth and Sarah Anders reports on a project to construct and evaluate a wealth and saving dataset for those households who responded to the supplementary wealth and active saving modules of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) over the period of 1984 to 2005. Read More