Research Library

In this brief, public finance fellow Jorge Barro explains some of the long-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that policymakers can prepare for the impending macroeconomic shortfalls by maintaining a commitment to improving education, prioritizing immigration and resolving fiscal imbalances.

Integrating a life-cycle dimension into future policies to assess the social, environmental and economic implications of various products across their life cycle and throughout their value chain is critical to achieving sustainability and a circular economy, writes Rachel A. Meidl, fellow in energy and environment.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl writes that it is imperative to consider and assess innovative recycling technologies that could have enormous economic value in transforming waste plastics into the building blocks for new, higher-value products.

U.S. backing of key gas infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe can foster deeper market liberalization, the authors write, and make European partners more resilient against Russian energy coercion.

The world is demanding cleaner fuels. The U.S. is uniquely positioned to take the lead in providing them. Author Steven R. Miles explains.

With the cost of virgin plastic directly affected by oil and natural gas prices, the global plastics economy is highly vulnerable to shocks. The authors argue that in order to advance sustainability and solve existential crises like resource depletion and the environmental and social impacts of climate change, high-income countries should take the lead on the development of transparent, closed loops for plastics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/JXVH-K250

This brief assesses the strategic and economic challenges of energy security amid a transition to a lower-carbon energy future.

While recent headlines announce that President Biden's proposed budget will drive the national debt past WWII levels, fellow Jorge Barro explained in November 2020 that a projected surge will be very different from the 1940s.

Public finance fellow Jorge Barro analyzes Federal Reserve survey data released in September 2020 that shows that U.S. wealth inequality has declined for the first time in 30 years.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the changing definition of employment, specifically looking at the current policy measures for providing benefits and protections to workers in the sharing economy. She also discusses concerns regarding workplace automation.