Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Publication Year within 25 Years

211. Africa Malaria Day 2007 - Time for a Checkup

Author:
Roger Bate and Kathryn Boateng
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Funding for malaria control has increased significantly over the past decade, but it is still unclear whether that funding is actually saving lives. Setting targets has emerged in recent years as a key fundraising tool for disease-control programs. However, available evidence shows that most health targets are immeasurable or not measured. Unless performance is measured in a meaningful way and successful policies followed thereafter, current and future malaria funding may not help to save lives and may even be counterproductive. It is time to stop setting meaningless targets.
Topic:
Development, Health, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Africa

212. Foreign Direct Investment, Corruption, and Democracy

Author:
Aparna Mathur and Kartikeya Singh
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
This paper studies how factors such as corruption perception and the level of democracy influence foreign direct investment to developing economies. Our results suggest that less corrupt countries and less democratic countries receive more foreign direct investment. What could account for this pattern of investment?
Topic:
Corruption, Democratization, Foreign Exchange, and International Trade and Finance

213. The Taxation of Corporate Gains on Sales of Depreciable Property: An Economic Analysis

Author:
Kevin A. Hassett and Alan D. Viard
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The statutory rate on corporate capital gains currently is equal to the statutory tax rate on ordinary corporate income. Although individual capital gains taxes have received an enormous amount of attention, both in the popular media and in the academic literature, corporate capital gains have received very sparse attention. In principle, however, the distortions that arise from corporate capital gain taxation are analogous to those that might arrive from individual capital gains taxation. Corporations might face a higher user cost of capital and they could find that their previous purchases have been “locked in” in the sense that asset sales are avoided because of their tax consequences.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology

214. Fueling Educational Entrepreneurship Addressing the Human Capital Challenge

Author:
Frederick M. Hess and Bryan C. Hassel
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
In October 2006, the American Enterprise Institute convened a meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss what might be done to grow the human capital pipeline to support entrepreneurship in K–12 education. Participants included foundation officers, educational entrepreneurs, and policy analysts. While the gathering did not seek to formulate any grand consensus or blueprint, the authors hope that the following summary will spark further discussion and action on this critical issues in education reform.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Markets

215. An Empirical Analysis of Middle Class Welfare - Testing Alternative Approaches

Author:
Aparna Mathur and Kevin A. Hassett
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Every year the Census Bureau reports data on income inequality and poverty, based on income estimates derived from the Current Population Survey. Our analysis suggests that the data may not be presenting an accurate picture. By under-reporting incomes, leaving out certain sources of income, and not making equivalence adjustments that are now standard among researchers, the reports present an imperfect picture of overall welfare. We develop an alternative that relies on data from the National Income and Product Accounts. Our data reveal that real median incomes have been increasing in the recent period, albeit at a slower rate than the long-term average. Using the same methodology for consumption, we find that consumption for all income groups, including the middle, has been growing robustly in recent times. This is in contrast to statistics reported by the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the most often cited data for all consumption analysis, which show middle class consumption declining.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States

216. A New President, a New Paradigm

Author:
Roger F. Noriega
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean always seems to inspire criticism: Too much, too little, too late. Back off. Get in the game. Don't just stand there, do something. Don't do something, just stand there. Our geographic closeness has meant a rich, natural partnership, but this proximity easily stirs concerns over sovereignty. When the United States is preoccupied with events in other parts of the world, regional pundits accuse Washington of indifference. If we speak clearly on the issues in Latin America, we are excoriated for poking our nose “where it doesn't belong.” So where does this leave U.S. foreign policy in the region? It could be that what we do may not be as important as how we do it. The first step in developing a new paradigm for engaging the Americas is using the 2008 election cycle here at home to develop a serious domestic constituency for our policy. Then we should shape that policy through a conscientious dialogue with stakeholders in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Emerging Markets
Political Geography:
United States, South America, Latin America, and Central America

217. Was Liberty Really Bad for Russia? Part I

Author:
Leon Aron
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
It is very much in the Russian and, even more so, Soviet political tradition for rulers to deprecate their predecessors. As they climb up the power ladder, the would-be Kremlin occupants must profess complete loyalty to the current leader in order to succeed. Once in power, the country's new masters bolster their authority by dissociating themselves from previous leaders. Along with the weakness of the country's political institutions, which undermines the legitimacy of the transitions, such repudiations almost inevitably result in the personalization of power, as the new occupants mold the political, social, and economic systems to their liking. Hence, Russian and—again and especially—Soviet history have often looked like a succession of very distinct personal political regimes—indeed, sometimes different states under the same name.
Topic:
Civil Society, Cold War, Democratization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union

218. Was Liberty Really Bad for Russia?

Author:
Leon Aron
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Part I of this Russian Outlook dealt with what might be called the errors of commission, or false attribution, in the "chaos-of-the-1990s" stereotype, which became a major theme of the Putin Kremlin's propaganda. The economic crisis of that era, mostly inherited from the decaying Soviet economy, was laid at the revolutionary regime's door. Yet the "chaos" legend also contains errors of omission, for, on closer inspection, there was a great deal in the 1990s besides the alleged "chaos."
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, Politics, and Privatization
Political Geography:
Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union

219. A New Direction for Bush Administration Climate Policy

Author:
Samuel Thernstrom and Lee Lane
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
President George W. Bush was widely expected to propose ambitious new initiatives to control greenhouse gas emissions in the State of the Union address on January 23. The week before the speech, his top environmental advisor told a Washington Post columnist that a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system would be “the most elegant” solution to climate change, raising expectations that a proposal along those lines might be forthcoming. In the end, however, the president proposed a remarkably modest (and poorly conceived) initiative to cut gasoline consumption by 20 percent in the next ten years. This was an important lost opportunity for leadership at a crucial juncture.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Washington

220. Legacy Agenda: The Future of the Bush Doctrine, Part II: The Bush Doctrine and the Long War

Author:
Thomas Donnelly and Colin Monaghan
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The White House has recently taken important steps to ensure that the tenets of the Bush Doctrine endure beyond the end of President George W. Bush's administration, including a new strategy in Iraq and an increase in the size of U.S. land forces. But as time grows short, the president needs to attend closely to three matters. The first of these—a surge in U.S. efforts in Afghanistan—was discussed in the February 2007 edition of National Security Outlook, is a need as obvious and pressing as Iraq and an important factor in the urgency of rebuilding land forces, especially the Army. The second and third factors are less frequently discussed but essential for the long-term viability of the Bush Doctrine and the continuation of the Pax Americana: articulating a strategy for the “Long War” in the greater Middle East and devising a genuinely global response to the rise of China. This issue of National Security Outlook is devoted to the second factor, the strategy for winning the Long War in the Middle East.
Topic:
Government, National Security, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, China, Iraq, America, Middle East, and Asia