Choosing to finance health care reform by taxing the rich is bad economic policy, bad health policy, bad budget policy and poor leadership...
Read the column here.
woensdag 22 juli 2009
maandag 20 juli 2009
Rescue, recovery, reform
The current financial crisis has been the most challenging for policymakers around the world. This column introduces the 79th Annual Report of the Bank for International Settlements, discusses the risks posed by the massive policy initiatives undertaken in response to the crisis, and offers suggestions for systemic reforms.
Read the column here.
Absent an International Agreement, World Greenhouse Gas Emissions Likely to Grow 30 Percent by 2030
The U.S. Department of Energy's International Energy Outlook (which counts only carbon dioxide) finds low- and middle-income countries accounting for 9 billion of a likely 11 billion tons in annual CO2 emissions growth by 2030.
Read the article from the DLC here.
Why Toxic Assets Are So Hard to Clean Up
Securitization was maddeningly complex. Mandated transparency is the only solution.
Read this WSJ article here.
Read this WSJ article here.
Productive Parents
Reform (think-tank, UK) proposes necessary changes to the current parental leave provision to make it flatter, fairer and more flexible.
Read the complete Reform Bulletin here.
Read the report "Productive Parents" here.
Reform recommends a new approach that rebalances maternity pay towards low income families, makes it available to fathers and gives freedom over parental leave. It advocates a much more flexible approach to the workplace by taking employers out of the various state payment schemes and instead allowing employees to work flexibly during the first year – keeping in touch with the workplace as much as they like. And in a time when public finances are tight, these changes could be undertaken within current levels of expenditure, or even with reduced expenditure, and unnecessary bureaucracy abandoned.
Read the complete Reform Bulletin here.
Read the report "Productive Parents" here.
Largest poll of unemployed Muslim women reveals they want to work
A new Quilliam report contains the largest poll to date of unemployed South Asian Muslim women. The report, Immigrant, Muslim, Female: Triple Paralysis?, shows that contrary to popular stereotypes, most (57%) of the UK’s unemployed Muslim female immigrants want to work but are held back by a lack of support from their families and insufficient practical support from the Government. In so doing, given the high rates of migration through marriage, Britain is under-utilizing a vast resource for boosting integration and national cohesion, and preventing extremism in the next generation.
Read the complete Quilliam's press release here.
Hyperion Power Generation
Hyperion Power Generation, een bedrijf uit de VS heeft de oplossing voor uw energieprobleem: een kerncentrale op dorpsniveau. Naar eigen zeggen kan het ding 25000 gezinnen van stroom voorzien voor een periode van minstens 5 jaar. Het ding is maar even groot als uw tuinhuis, hoeft geen menselijke operator, heeft geen beweeglijke delen en wordt beschouwd als zeer veilig. De module wordt verzegeld in de fabriek en zo afgeleverd in uw achterbuurt. Ze moet pas worden geopend na 5-7 jaar om opnieuw te “vullen” met een “uranium kern” omgeven met waterstof. De module wordt in uw tuin begraven in een laag beton zodat dieven, terroristen of uw buurman ze niet kan “stelen”. De module genereert ongeveer 27 MW aan energie. Kandidaten?
(Econoshock.be, 19/07/09)
(Econoshock.be, 19/07/09)
Financement des pensions : un choix politique !
Retrouvez ici la Carte Blanche (Le Soir, 20/07/09) de Bertrand Montulet Docteur en sociologie, chercheur qualifié aux Facultés Saint-Louis, chargé de cours invité à l’ULB.
La pollution réduit le QI des enfants
Cette étude suggère que la pollution ne concerne pas que les voisins des usines crachant des fumées. L'atmosphère urbaine recèle donc des dangers qu'on ignore.
Pour lire l'article complet, cliquez ici.
vrijdag 17 juli 2009
Where the New Deal went badly wrong
Harold Cole of Penn and Lee Ohanian of UCLA argue that FDR's meddling with markets did more harm than good, lengthening the Great Depression by some seven years. "Indeed, the New Deal is best seen as a cautionary tale for those prepared to rush to regulate the economy. Read the complete article from the Milken Institute here.
Efficiency and beyond
The efficient-markets hypothesis has underpinned many of the financial industry’s models for years. After the crash, what remains of it? Read the complete article here.
The other-worldly philosophers
Although the crisis has exposed bitter divisions among economists, it could still be good for economics. Our first article looks at the turmoil among macroeconomists. Read the complete article here.
National Long-Term Care Insurance: How Much Would It Cost?
About two-thirds of those over 65 will need some long-term care before they die. Howard Gleckman looks at a key question at the heart of the debate over long-term care insurance: how much will premiums cost?
Read the article here.
Give Up A Benefit, Gain Jobs
In this Washington Post commentary, Leonard Burman makes a modest proposal: workers should agree to a cap on tax-free health insurance provided by their employers. This would lead to higher wages and partially protect employees from layoffs.
Read the article here.
Crisisbuffer
Jan Denys over de nadelen... en voordelen van zwartwerk in tijden van crisis. Lees het volledige opiniestuk in De Tijd hier.
Lessons for the future: Ideas and rules for the world in the aftermath of the storm, Part II
What should we conclude about the implications of the global crisis for the future of the world economy? This column, the second of a two-part series, outlines the exit strategies required for fiscal and monetary policy. It says that the crisis ought to be seen as a temporary period of turmoil, rather than a paradigm-shifting event. Read the second part of the column here.
Lessons for the future: Ideas and rules for the world in the aftermath of the storm, Part I
It’s time to start drawing conclusions about the global crisis. This column, the first of a two-part series, assesses the causes and nature of the problems. Although the crisis originated in financial market failings, policymakers are much to blame. Regulatory failure amplified private sector errors, and poorly planned policy responses exacerbated the troubles. Read the first part of the column here.
Learning lessons from private schools
The right and wrong ways to get more poor youngsters into the world’s great universities. Read the complete article here.
donderdag 16 juli 2009
Top 25 Economics Blogs
The Wall Street Journal's economics bureau sifted through the sea of economics blogs and determined the top 25, with five honorable mentions. (Listed in alphabetical order.) Read the complete article here.
Why We Must Ration Health Care
You have advanced kidney cancer. It will kill you, probably in the next year or two. A drug called Sutent slows the spread of the cancer and may give you an extra six months, but at a cost of $54,000. Is a few more months worth that much? Read the complete article here.
NIMBY
Groot nieuws deze week. Een restauranthouder uit Antwerpen kan de Lange Wapper tegenhouden. Als de Raad van State het advies van de auditeur in de zaak volgt, dan zal het minstens drie jaar langer duren vooraleer de Sinjoren hun Lange Wapper in gebruik kunnen nemen. Lees de column van Van Parys hier.
The negative impact of the financial crisis on potential output necessitates an EU-led policy response
The crisis may reduce the EU’s potential output by 5% of GDP or more. This column warns that the crisis may permanently reduce the EU’s supply-side capacity unless policymakers respond with reforms. It outlines measures to address the crisis and address long-run concerns about demographic shifts, public finances, and climate change.
For the full article, click here.
Drawing conclusions about the crisis and its management
It’s time to start drawing conclusions about the global crisis. This column, the first of a two-part series, assesses the causes and nature of the problems. Although the crisis originated in financial market failings, policymakers are much to blame. Regulatory failure amplified private sector errors, and poorly planned policy responses exacerbated the troubles.
For the full article, click here.
woensdag 15 juli 2009
Crisisbarometer Vlaamse arbeidsmarkt
Om de impact van de crisis op de Vlaamse arbeidsmarkt zo goed mogelijk in kaart te krijgen, lanceert het Departement Werk en Sociale Economie (WSE) in samenwerking met de Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding (VDAB) en het Steunpunt WSE een crisisbarometer.
Voor meer informatie, klik hier.
L'industrie belge de l'environnement
En l’espace de dix ans, le nombre d’entreprises actives dans l’industrie de l’environnement en Belgique a augmenté de 44 %. Le chiffre d’affaires de ce secteur a connu une hausse de 22 %, tandis que l’emploi a progressé de 40 %. En 2005, l’industrie belge de l’environnement comptait au total 77 000 emplois.
Consultez l'étude du Bureau fédéral du Plan ici.
The Bernanke Market
We won't get real growth until Congress and Treasury get policy right. Read the complete article here.
« La politique migratoire est un bloc de granit »
Le 13 juin, le commissaire aux droits de l’homme du Conseil de l’Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, rendait son rapport sur la Belgique. Il y dénonçait le flou et l’arbitraire qui règnent dans les centres fermés pour demandeurs d’asile et appelait à mettre fin à la détention systématique de certains d’entre eux. Deux semaines plus tard, c’est le Collège des Médiateurs fédéraux qui remettait au président de la Chambre les résultats de leur enquête dans les centres fermés. Avec des constats similaires. Au même moment, la ministre de l’Asile, Annemie Turtelboom, a fait publier deux arrêtés royaux qui renforcent encore l’aspect sécuritaire des centres fermés. Cela fait des années que des instances internationales et nationales dénoncent les atteintes aux droits des demandeurs d’asile enfermés en centres fermés. Pour rien ? Nous avons posé la question à Edouard Delruelle, directeur adjoint du Centre pour l’égalité des chances, qui depuis des années également publie des recommandations, peu suivies.
Et si l’industrie chimique n’existait pas...
dinsdag 14 juli 2009
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)
