Economic Planning

Critical Infrastructure Protection
commentary
U.S. Military Power Comes from More Than Just the Defense Budget
Miranda Priebe @MirandaPriebe, Bryan Rooney, Grant Johnson
May 10, 2021
Defense News
With U.S. domestic challenges ranging from the ongoing pandemic to long-delayed infrastructure investments, now is a good time to consider spending that provides both domestic and national security benefits. Infrastructure spending offers one such example.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
commentary
Be Wary of Proposals for Less Defense Budget Transparency
Miranda Priebe @MirandaPriebe
Apr 29, 2020
Breaking Defense
The Pentagon has asked Congress to end the requirement that it make public an unclassified version of the Future Years Defense Program—the department's budget plans for at least the next five years. Although some information needs to be classified, the value of transparency for public debate and oversight in a democracy outweighs the marginal intelligence gains to U.S. adversaries.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
commentary
Defense Budget Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Daniel Egel, Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz, Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Edward R. Harshberger
Apr 7, 2020
RealClearDefense
The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a dramatic toll on the U.S. economy. This could have significant medium-term implications for the U.S. defense budget. The U.S. Department of Defense will need to find efficiencies that are of at least the same magnitude as the recent sequestration.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
commentary
On the Horns of the COVID-19 Dilemma
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, James Giordano
Mar 30, 2020
CNN
COVID-19 poses two dire threats to the United States: the potential deaths of many thousands of Americans, and the devastation of the $22 trillion annual economy. Protecting the health of as many people as possible by shutting down ordinary life seems completely justifiable, but that necessarily inflicts damage to the economy. This is truly a dilemma.
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commentary
Investing in Russia's Future
William Courtney @courtneywmh
Mar 1, 2019
The Moscow Times
Russia's economic problems can be traced to sanctions, lack of investment, and lack of reform. The Kremlin has the power to address these problems. Reforms could unlock economic potential and enable Russians to improve their living standards.
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Infrastructure Finance
commentary
The Olympic Legacy — What Can Rio Learn?
Richard Warnes
Aug 3, 2016
StratScope
Rio will spend $14.4 billion on the Olympics. Like other host cities, it hopes to achieve an “Olympic legacy” to ensure that this investment pays dividends after the games and provides long-term economic, social, sporting, and cultural benefits.
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Military Acquisition and Procurement
commentary
Improving DHS Accountability for Acquisitions
Henry H. Willis @HenryHWillis, Jeffrey A. Drezner, Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Laura Patton
Apr 22, 2014
The RAND Blog
While management at the Department of Homeland Security progressed in many areas during the past decade, there is still plenty of room for growth and improvement, especially in the area of acquisition management.
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commentary
Tax the Nonprofits
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Mar 6, 2013
The Weekly Standard
Charles Wolf asks: Can the NPO sector contribute to easing the U.S. fiscal imbalance, while helping rather than hindering the dynamic free enterprise system, and retaining societal benefits provided by nonprofits?
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International Economic Relations
commentary
U.S. 'Soft Power' Abroad Is Losing Its Punch
C. Richard Neu
Feb 8, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
America's fiscal predicament and the seeming inability of its political system to resolve these matters may be taking a toll on the instruments of U.S.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
commentary
Big Defense Cuts Are Coming, Regardless of the Fiscal Cliff
Stuart Johnson, Irv Blickstein
Dec 28, 2012
U.S. News & World Report
The prudent approach is to decide on a strategic direction that provides a framework for prioritizing which forces and equipment the United States should preserve and determining which can be trimmed or eliminated with limited risk to security, write Stuart Johnson and Irv Blickstein.
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blog
Economic Battle Royale: Infrastructure Spending vs. Austerity
Dec 26, 2012
At RAND's Politics Aside event, Robert Hormats, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and environment, goes toe to toe with Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps on whether the government should spend on infrastructure to bolster the economy or cut spending.
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blog
Can Austerity Fix the Economy?
Dec 11, 2012
At RAND's Politics Aside event, Reuters Editor-at-Large Sir Harold Evans moderates a discussion on whether the government should slash or boost spending to try to bolster the economy that includes Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps and Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
commentary
Bad Stats Skew Defense Needs
Timothy M. Bonds, Lauren Skrabala
Dec 7, 2012
The Orange County Register
The urgency with which the fiscal cliff question must be addressed should not excuse faulty calculations when it comes to the U.S. military's operational and personnel needs, write Tim Bonds and Lauren Skrabala.
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commentary
Research Funding and Economic Growth
Jonathan Grant, Jon Sussex
Nov 29, 2011
Research Fortnight
Publicly funded R&D investment is a coherent policy to support long term economic growth. Our only note of caution is about how far and how fast that growth can be delivered because the evidence we have is out of date and skewed towards the experience of just one country, write Jonathan Grant and Jon Sussex.
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commentary
Public Libraries Are Needed Now More Than Ever
Susan M. Sohler Everingham, Sally Sleeper
May 29, 2009
Pittsburgh Business Times
What Pittsburgh attraction provides $3 of economic output for every public dollar invested? The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. If you find this factoid unlikely, it is because the research that discovered it received an astounding lack of attention, write Susan Everingham and Sally Sleeper.
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Globalization
commentary
It's 2018, and the Economy's Hot...
Jonathan Grant
Oct 22, 2008
Research Fortnight
If the nation is to emerge from a recession in a position of strength, we should chart our course carefully now. The government bailout of the banking sector could yield a substantial payout one day - and now is the time to earmark that money for our knowledge sector, writes Jonathan Grant.
Read More »

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Economic Planning

U.S. Military Power Comes from More Than Just the Defense Budget

Be Wary of Proposals for Less Defense Budget Transparency

Defense Budget Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic

On the Horns of the COVID-19 Dilemma

Investing in Russia's Future

The Olympic Legacy — What Can Rio Learn?

Improving DHS Accountability for Acquisitions

Tax the Nonprofits

U.S. 'Soft Power' Abroad Is Losing Its Punch

Big Defense Cuts Are Coming, Regardless of the Fiscal Cliff

Economic Battle Royale: Infrastructure Spending vs. Austerity

Can Austerity Fix the Economy?

Bad Stats Skew Defense Needs

Research Funding and Economic Growth

Public Libraries Are Needed Now More Than Ever

It's 2018, and the Economy's Hot...

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