Effective Government

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Government plays a vital role in providing public goods and services that private markets fail to provide, and in implementing regulations that facilitate private market activity while protecting the safety of the food we eat, the air we depend on, and the our safety and well-being. These government functions help foster economic growth and improve our quality of life, while also providing a critical safety net and insuring against risks. The Hamilton Project explores innovative proposals for enhancing public goods and services and improving our regulatory system to promote broad-based economic growth and rising living standards.

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A Better Approach to Environmental Regulation: Getting the Costs and Benefits Right

Papers • May 2011 • Ted Gayer

Ted Gayer proposes three reforms addressing several problems that undermine the role played by cost-benefit analysis in environmental regulation: 1) agencies should use a check list of good empirical practices for using cost-benefit analysis; 2) regulators should presume that consumers can make their own energy-saving decisions and focus on regulations addressing harm people impose on others; and 3) a six-month, early regulatory review process should be established for particularly important regulations.

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A Strategy for America’s Energy Future: Illuminating Energy’s Full Costs

Papers • May 2011 • Adam Looney, Michael Greenstone

America’s energy choices are built on the prices we see at the pump and our utility bills. Yet these prices mask the social costs arising from those energy choices, including shorter lives, higher health care expenses, a changing climate, and weakened national security. Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney provide four principles for reforming America’s energy policies to help level the playing field for all energy sources — moving away from a system that favors energy sources with lower prices at the pump but higher costs to society through health impacts and our ongoing reliance on foreign oil.

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Public-Private Partnerships to Revamp U.S. Infrastructure

Papers • February 2011 • Eduardo Engel, Alexander Galetovic, Ronald Fischer

Eduardo Engel, Ronald Fischer, and Alexander Galetovic propose a series of best practices for state and local governments to follow when using public–private partnerships to provide infrastructure.

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Fix It First, Expand It Second, Reward It Third: A New Strategy for America’s Highways

Papers • February 2011 • David M. Levinson, Matthew E. Kahn

Matthew Kahn and David Levinson propose a reorganization of our national highway infrastructure priorities to preserve, maintain, and enhance existing infrastructure and the creation of the Federal Highway Bank to meet these goals.

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Lowering Borrowing Costs for States and Municipalities Through CommonMuni

Papers • February 2011 • Andrew Ang, Rick Green

Andrew Ang and Richard Green propose the establishment of CommonMuni, a not-for-profit advisory firm designed to reduce borrowing costs for municipalities by overcoming the difficulty individual municipalities and investors have coordinating with one another.

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Grading Higher Education: Giving Consumers the Information They Need

Papers • December 2010 • Bridget Terry Long

Potential students and their families must navigate a labyrinth of incomplete and uncertain information when deciding where to go to college, what to study, or what career to pursue, resulting in an arrrray of poor choices being made every day. This proposal calls for the federal government to expand the types of information that are available and allow users to compare indicators like cost, financial aid, student debt, employment outcomes, and average salaries following graduation, across peer institutions.

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Bringing Jobs to People: How Federal Policy Can Target Job Creation for Economically Distressed Areas

Papers • October 2010 • Timothy J. Bartik

This paper proposes three solutions to bring jobs to distressed areas: customized job training programs for businesses and employees, advice and consulting services through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, and a package of grants for local services and tax breaks through a reformed and revitalized Empowerment Zone program.

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From Prison to Work: A Proposal for a National Prisoner Reentry Program

Papers • December 2008 • Bruce Western

This paper 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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An Opt-Out Home Mortgage System

Papers • September 2008 • Michael S. Barr, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir

This paper develops a new framework for understanding the mortgage markets based on behavioral economic insights and proposes a ‘sticky’ opt-out mortgage system.

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Air Support: Creating a Safer and More Reliable Air Traffic Control System

Papers • July 2008 • Dorothy Robyn

Dorothy Robyn argues that there are fundamental problems with the way the federal government manages the air traffic control system and proposes policy changes to improve the system’s safety and reliability.

All Effective Government Papers…

Public Water and Transportation Spending by State and Local Governments

February 25, 2011 • Charts

State and local governments provide most of the funding for critical infrastructure systems, but spending has declined over the last 50 years.

High School and College Completion and Spending per Pupil

February 25, 2011 • Charts

Despite increases in per-student education spending, high school and college completion rates have stagnated over the past 30 years.

Change in Employment-to-Population Ratio Following 1980 Recession

October 13, 2010 • Charts

Employment gaps created during the 1980-1982 recessions still remain today.

Historical GDP per Capita and Three Potential Future Growth Scenarios

April 20, 2010 • Charts

Three different GDP growth scenarios show potential growth scenarios for the next twenty years.

All Charts…

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Improving Regulatory Performance

November 16, 2011 • Michael Greenstone

Hamilton Project Director Michael Greenstone testified before the Senate Budget Committee’s Task Force on Government Performance on how we can improve the government’s system of regulatory review.

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Preliminary Thoughts on Reforming Financial Regulation

October 21, 2008 • Alice M. Rivlin

Hamilton Project Advisory Council member Alice Rivlin testified before the House Committee on Financail Services on reforming financial regulation.

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Testimony of Lawrence H. Summers

September 9, 2008 • Lawrence H. Summers

In recent testimony before the House Budget Committee, Hamilton Project Advisory Council member Lawrence Summers makes a strong case for the prompt enactment of further timely, targeted, and temporary fiscal stimulus measures.

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Reducing the Likelihood of Financial Crisis

May 14, 2008 • Douglas W. Elmendorf

Hamilton Project Senior Scholar Doug Elmendorf testified before the Joint Economic Committee on principles to guide reform of financial markets.

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Options for Fiscal Stimulus

January 24, 2008 • Jason Furman

In a testimony, Jason Furman discusses a timely, temporary and targeted fiscal stimulus as a solution in stabilizing the economy.

All Speeches & Testimony…

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Hard Times, Solid Policies to Renew American Communities

October 13, 2010 • Washington, DC

Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) joined former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, New York City Deputy Mayor Steve Goldsmith, and other experts in a Hamilton Project forum focused on policy solutions for renewing American communities. The Hamilton Project released a strategy paper and three new proposals that provide a range of options for helping communities and workers recover from recent economic shocks.

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From Recession to Recovery to Renewal

April 20, 2010 • Washington, DC

Vice President Joe Biden gave the keynote speech at a forum to kick-off The Hamilton Project’s 2010 policy agenda. The event featured two roundtable discussions to highlight innovative policy ideas and the more general challenges facing the U.S. economy.

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Missing Markets: Fostering Market-Based Solutions to Major Risks

June 5, 2008 • Washington, DC

The Hamilton Project hosted a discussion on what the government can do to foster market-based solutions to major risks. Markets that could potentially mitigate or reduce some of the biggest risks faced by the American people and their broader communities are nonexistent or underutilized.

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If, When, How? Prospects for Fiscal Stimulus in the U.S. Economy

January 10, 2008 • Washington, DC

The Hamilton Project released a briefing paper and convened a discussion on what economists know about fiscal stimulus — if it is appropriate, when should it be implemented, and how should it be done.

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Recent Financial Market Disruptions: Implications for the Economy and American Families

September 26, 2007 • Washington, DC

The Project convened a discussion with experts to help frame the challenges currently facing housing and the financial markets: where we are, what it means for the U.S. economy, possible next steps for recovery, and ways to minimize future problems.

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A New Social Contract

July 26, 2007 • Washington, DC

The Hamilton Project partnered with Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, for a luncheon discussion on the development of a social contract for all Americans. In a global economy marked by rapid technological change, global labor markets, and mobile capital, a new model is needed to provide families with economic security and to keep the economy productive.

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Meeting the Challenge of the Global Economy: Trade, Economic Security, and Effective Government

July 25, 2006 • Washington, DC

The Hamilton Project convened a forum surrounding the release of a new set of policy papers examining trade and government reform policy with a discussion of the challenges presented by a global economy.

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Restoring America’s Promise of Opportunity, Prosperity, and Growth

April 5, 2006 • Washington, DC

President Obama gave the keynote speech at a policy briefing surrounding the launch of The Hamilton Project. The event featured two policy roundtables and the release of the first three Hamilton Project discussion papers.

All Events…

PhDs, Policies, and Patents: Remarks on President Obama’s Regulatory Review Process

June 28, 2011 • Audio

Full audio of OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein's remarks on President Obama’s Regulatory Review Process from the event PhDs, Policies, and Patents: Innovation and America's Future.

PhD’s, Policies, and Patents: Panel 3: A Path Forward — The Future of Innovation in the U.S.

June 28, 2011 • Audio

Full audio of Panel Three: "A Path Forward — The Future of Innovation in the U.S." from the event PhD's, Policies, and Patents: Innovation and Amerca's Future.

PhDs, Policies, and Patents: Panel 2: Obstacles and Opportunities for American Science and Innovation

June 28, 2011 • Audio

Full audio of Panel Two: Panel 2: "Obstacles and Opportunities for American Science and Innovation" from the event PhD's, Policies, and Patents: Innovation and Amerca's Future.

PhDs, Policies, and Patents: Welcome and Panel 1: The State of Scientific America

June 28, 2011 • Audio

Full audio of Welcome and Panel 1: "The State of Scientific America" from the event PhDs, Policies, and Patents: Innovation and America's Future.

Public Water and Transportation Spending by State and Local Governments

February 25, 2011 • Charts

State and local governments provide most of the funding for critical infrastructure systems, but spending has declined over the last 50 years.

High School and College Completion and Spending per Pupil

February 25, 2011 • Charts

Despite increases in per-student education spending, high school and college completion rates have stagnated over the past 30 years.

Governor Jennifer Granholm’s Keynote Remarks at Hard Times, Solid Policies to Renew American Communities

October 13, 2010 • Video

Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) gives keynote remarks at the Hard Times, Solid Policies to Renew American Communities Hamilton Project event.

Robert E. Rubin Moderates Discussion on Perspectives from the Front Lines of American Communities

October 13, 2010 • Video

Council on Foreign Relations Co-Chair and Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin moderates discussion on perspectives from the front lines of American communities at the Hard Times, Solid Policies to Renew American Communities Hamilton Project event.

Roger Altman’s Opening Remarks and Panel on Possible Solutions for Growth and Regeneration

October 13, 2010 • Video

Evercore Partners Founder and Chairman Roger C. Altman gives opening remarks at The Hamilton Project event Hard Times, Solid Policies to Renew American Communities. Hamilton Project Director Michael Greenstone moderates panel discussion on possible solutions for growth and regeneration.