Thursday May 3, 2012

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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Ongoing Impact of Foreclosures on Children

Julia B. Isaacs, March 2012, First Focus/The Brookings Institution

A girl plays next to family belongings after family is evicted from house More than 8 million children are being directly affected by the ongoing foreclosure crisis, impacting social growth and increasing their risk of falling behind academically. As the crisis continues, Julia Isaacs explores policies that can help limit the damage caused by these disruptions in the lives of children. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioMeans-Tested Programs, Work Incentives, and Block Grants

Ron Haskins, April 17, 2012, House Budget Committee

In testimony before the House Budget Committee, Ron Haskins examined trends in spending on means-tested programs; work incentives and phase out rates for means-tested programs; and block grants. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIn Defense of Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan

Isabel V. Sawhill, March 20, 2012, The Brookings Institution

House Budget Chairman Ryan shows a copy of Isabel Sawhill examines the Republican proposal for the federal budget recently introduced by Representative Paul Ryan. While the budget proposal relies on spending cuts rather than increased revenues to reduce the deficit, it does, Sawhill argues, contain several ideas that are worth consideration. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioStarting School at a Disadvantage: The School Readiness of Poor Children

Julia B. Isaacs, March 19, 2012, The Brookings Institution

Four-year-old Omar is fitted for shoes at a Julia Isaacs examines the reasons why poor children are less ready for school and evaluates three interventions for improving their school readiness. While a diverse set of policy interventions might improve school readiness, Isaacs finds that evidence that preschool programs offer the most promise. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioHow Targeted Are Federal Expenditures on Children?

Tracy Vericker, Julia B. Isaacs, Heather Hahn, Katherine Toran and Stephanie Rennane, March 13, 2012, The Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution

Homeless children arrive at the Union Rescue Mission shelter Public spending on children may be in jeopardy as Congress debates federal spending cuts and states seek to reduce their budgets. Using federal spending in 2009 as a guide, this year's Kids' Share report tracks how children fare in the allocation of public resources and how this spending varies by family income, to see what the long-term consequences of reduced spending and investment from budget cuts could be. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioAddressing Challenges Beyond Economic Growth

Elisabeth Jacobs, March 07, 2012, The Brookings Institution

Occupy Wall Street protesterRestoring economic growth will not by itself solve the U.S. economy’s structural problems, according to Elisabeth Jacobs. Jacobs argues that the next president will have to meet heightened public concern about income inequality and act forcefully to promote economic security and opportunity. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioHow Higher Gas Prices Hurt Less Affluent Consumers and the Economy

Isabel V. Sawhill, March 06, 2012, 24/7 Wall St.

Gas prices on sign in Carlsbad, CaliforniaWith gas prices now rivaling unemployment as a key issue in this year’s election, Isabel Sawhill explains how rising gas prices adversely affect the economy and consumers, especially lower- and moderate-income households. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPolicy Solutions for Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy

Adam Thomas, March 2012, The Brookings Institution

Guadalupe Hernandez receives an ultrasound by nurse practitioner Gail Brown Adam Thomas reviews research on evidence-based pregnancy prevention policies, showing that expansions in these policies would likely lead to reductions in unwanted pregnancies and child poverty while producing substantial taxpayer savings. Thomas argues that policymakers would be wise to expand these programs rather than paring them back. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioWelfare Reform Worked

Ron Haskins and Peter H. Schuck, February 28, 2012, Los Angeles Times

A woman plays with a baby as they wait to go into a With economic mobility in the spotlight, Ron Haskins and Peter Schuck look at 1996's reform of welfare programs as an example of how to reduce poverty and inequality. Haskins and Schuck explain how welfare reform improved the status of never-married mothers and how government learned from past misguided policies. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioAssessing Income Inequality, Mobility and Opportunity

Scott Winship, February 09, 2012, Senate Budget Committee

A man leans against the wall of City Hall at the Occupy LA encampment Testifying before the Senate Budget Committee, Scott Winship discusses inequality, economic mobility and opportunity in America. Winship clarifies statistics regarding the state of the poor and middle class and notes that policies to promote opportunity and upward mobility can take many forms, including investments in education, reforms to school governance, safety net programs, work, marriage, and savings. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioStop Feeling Sorry for the Middle Class—They’re Doing Just Fine

Scott Winship, February 07, 2012, The New Republic

Homeless man makes a sign on a piece of cardboardScott Winship writes that the idea that up to 95 percent of Americans are struggling may be popular, but is incorrect. Winship argues that the attention paid to the overstated problems of the middle class comes at the expense of the more critical challenges facing the poor. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Obama Administration's Questionable Economic Mobility Claims

Scott Winship, January 17, 2012, National Review Online

The Obama Administration's Questionable Economic Mobility ClaimsAs the idea that America has less economic mobility than in the past becomes a major campaign theme for President Obama, Scott Winship challenges the Obama administration's claims and notes that the president may be ultimately harming the economic recovery by misstating the facts. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioOpportunity in America: The Disadvantages Start at Conception

Isabel V. Sawhill, January 09, 2012, The New York Times

Opportunity in America: The Disadvantages Start at ConceptionIsabel Sawhill discusses mobility and opportunity in America, claiming that upward mobility is particularly constrained for those born into lower classes. Sawhill argues that increased investment in three areas — family planning, early education and higher education — could increase opportunity, economic growth and competitiveness. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioBogeyman Economics: Has Economic Insecurity Been Overstated?

Scott Winship, Winter 2012, National Affairs

Bogeyman Economics: Has Economic Insecurity Been Overstated?Scott Winship challenges the view that most Americans are exposed to overwhelming economic risk, arguing not only that this view is not supported by data, but that it damages the country’s economic prospects by sapping the confidence of consumers, business, and investors. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe President’s Suspect Statistics

Scott Winship, January 02, 2012, National Review

Scott Winship writes that President Obama's claim that upward mobility is growing more difficult in the United States is overstated. While upward mobility is more limited in the United States than in other countries, Winship says that there is little credible evidence that it has fallen over time. Read More

In Brief

Nearly 20 percent of America’s children–and 13 percent of all Americans–live in poverty. Although the nation has made some progress against poverty, particularly among the elderly and female-headed families, a great deal remains to be done to move people out of poverty and up the ladder towards the middle class.

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Darrell M. WestExpertDarrell M. West

Darrell M. West is vice president and director of Governance Studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. His studies include technology policy, electronic government, and mass media.

Brookings Mobile ApplicationsNEW FEATUREBrookings Mobile Applications

Stay up-to-date with our independent, high-quality research, learn about Brookings events and search our directory of experts all from your BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone or Android device.

Daniel KaufmannExpertDaniel Kaufmann

Daniel Kaufmann is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program. His areas of expertise include public sector and regulatory reform, development, governance and anti-corruption. Previously, he served as director at the World Bank Institute, leading the work on governance and anti-corruption.

Campaign 2012Research ProjectCampaign 2012

Brookings’s Campaign 2012 project identifies and addresses the 12 most crucial policy challenges facing the next president in the months leading up to Election Day.

State of Metropolitan AmericaMetropolitan Policy ProgramState of Metropolitan America

Foreshadowing 2010 Census results, this new Brookings report and interactive map defines who Americans are—and who they are becoming—in the face of continued growth, population aging and diversification, uneven educational attainment and income polarization.

Suzanne MaloneyExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

John L. Thornton China CenterPolicy CenterJohn L. Thornton China Center

The John L. Thornton China Center develops analysis and policy recommendations to help address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.

Center for Technology InnovationPolicy CenterCenter for Technology Innovation

The Center for Technology Innovation is at the forefront of shaping public debate on technology innovation and developing data-driven scholarship to enhance understanding of technology’s legal, economic, social, and governance ramifications.

Robert KaganExpertRobert Kagan

Robert Kagan is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings. His most recent book isThe World America Made. Dr. Kagan also serves as a member of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board and is co-chairman of the bipartisan Working Group on Egypt. He writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post, and is a contributing editor at both the Weekly Standard and The New Republic.

William G. GaleExpertWilliam G. Gale

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.

Mwangi S. KimenyiExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative. The founding executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (1999-2005), he focuses on Africa's development including institutions for economic growth, political economy, and private sector development.

Donald KohnExpertDonald Kohn

Donald Kohn is a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System and served as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2010. He was recently appointed by the government of the United Kingdom and the Bank of England to serve on its interim Financial Policy Committee. Kohn focuses on issues of monetary policy, financial regulation and macroeconomics.

Budgeting for National PrioritiesResearch ProjectBudgeting for National Priorities

The Budgeting for National Priorities project promotes greater fiscal responsibility by developing new ideas, educating the public and finding common ground among experts and policy-makers.

Shadi HamidExpertShadi Hamid

Shadi Hamid focuses on Islamist political parties and democratic reform in the Middle East. Prior to joining Brookings, he was Director of Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and a Hewlett Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Katherine SierraExpertKatherine Sierra

Katherine Sierra is a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development program who focuses on climate change, with a particular emphasis on the issues and policies in the developing world. Ms. Sierra has more than 30 years experience as a development professional, previously serving as a senior executive at the World Bank.

Energy and ClimateTopicEnergy and Climate

What will it take to mitigate severe climate disruption? What should our priorities be in the relationship between fresh water and climate change? What will it take to help vulnerable countries and regions adapt to change already taking place?

Center on Children and FamiliesPolicy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

Vanda Felbab-BrownExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is the author of Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs (Brookings Institution Press, 2009).

Global ChangeTopicGlobal Change

How do we develop more realistic approaches and more effective means of ending intractable old conflicts and preventing new ones? How do we enhance measures to thwart nonstate actors—especially terrorists and illicit traffickers—and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons?

Africa Growth InitiativeResearch ProjectAfrica Growth Initiative

The Africa Growth Initiative conducts high-quality policy research and analysis focused on attaining sustainable economic development and prosperity in Africa, while amplifying the voice of African researchers in policy-making and planning.

Alice M. RivlinExpertAlice M. Rivlin

In February 1975, the Congressional Budget Office was established with Alice Rivlin as its first director. Rivlin is an expert on fiscal, monetary and social policy as well as on issues related to the Greater Washington, DC area.

Isabel V. SawhillExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families and the Budgeting for National Priorities Project at Brookings.

Growth through InnovationTopicGrowth through Innovation

What new practices and mechanisms will help prevent another economic downturn from turning into a financial panic that could become a truly global meltdown? What changes in the public and private sectors will build the workforce and infrastructure required for a global information-based economy?

Opportunity and Well-beingTopicOpportunity and Well-being

As they weather the current economic storm, will our governments and societies address the basic needs and aspirations of the least well-off? How can we better use education to raise individual aspirations? How should governments around the world accelerate preparations to provide social services for the billions moving from poverty into the middle class?