The Manufacturing Footprint and the Importance of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs

The Manufacturing Footprint and the Importance of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs. Economic Policy Institute. Robert E. Scott. January 22, 2015.

While U.S. manufacturing has been hit hard by nearly two decades of policy failures that have damaged its international competitiveness, it remains a vital part of the U.S. economy. The manufacturing sector employed 12 million workers in 2013, or about 8.8 percent of total U.S. employment. Manufacturing employs a higher share of workers without a college degree than the economy overall. On average, non-college-educated workers in manufacturing made 10.9 percent more than similar workers in the rest of the economy in 2012–2013. The report examines the role manufacturing plays in employment at the national, state, and congressional district levels, including the number of jobs manufacturing supports, the wages those jobs pay, and manufacturing’s contribution to GDP. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 50 pages, 342.16 KB].

Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia: A Conceptual Framework. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Urban Green Growth in Dynamic Asia: A Conceptual Framework. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Tadashi Matsumoto and Loic Daudey. January 15, 2015.

The development of Asian cities is characterised by rapid and continuous urbanization on an unprecedented scale, with rapid economic growth led in most places by the manufacturing industry, and rapidly increasing motorization. The result has been escalating greenhouse gas emissions, sprawling urban development and local environmental impacts, as well as disparities in income, education levels and job opportunities in the urban population. The paper proposes an analytical framework for assessing policies for green growth in rapidly growing cities in the emerging world. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 80 pages, 1.71 MB].

European Union Tries Rebooting the Economy

European Union Tries Rebooting the Economy. YaleGlobal. Joergen Oerstroem Moeller. January 27, 2015.

The European Central Bank announced dramatic expansion of its monetary stimulus plan to purchase asset-backed securities and bonds through September 2016 for a total of at least €1 trillion. On the surface, the move has similarities to U.S. stimulus measures in play since late 2008, with the U.S. Federal Reserve purchasing billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities, bank debt and treasury notes. Europe’s plan will cover private-sector and public bonds, with about 20 percent of the additional asset purchases to be subjected to risk-sharing. Success could depend on how assets are targeted. Economist Joergen Oerstroem Moeller reviews the European Union’s ambitious 2020 strategy on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy, which emphasizes resource efficiency as a tool of competition. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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Improving Children’s Life Chances through Better Family Planning

Improving Children’s Life Chances through Better Family Planning. Brookings Institution. Isabel V. Sawhill and Joanna Venator. January 23, 2015.

Non-marital childbearing is associated with many adverse outcomes for both the mother and the child, according to the authors. Most of these births are unintended. If we could reduce these unintended births it might improve children’s prospects by enabling their mothers to get more education, earn more, and wait to have children within marriage. The brief traces the effects of reducing unintended childbearing on children’s success later in life by using the Social Genome Model (SGM) to simulate the effect on children’s life chances of aligning women’s fertility behavior with their intentions. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 9 pages, 2 MB].

Mentoring Practices in Europe and North America: Strategies for Improving Immigrants’ Employment Outcomes

Mentoring Practices in Europe and North America: Strategies for Improving Immigrants’ Employment Outcomes. Migration Policy Institute. Milica Petrovic. January 2015.

Employment-oriented mentoring is increasingly recognized in Europe as a tool for advancing the labor market integration of disadvantaged individuals, including immigrants. The report highlights a number of relevant one-on-one mentoring practices in Europe and North America, focusing on the role of different initiators and stakeholders, forms of collaboration, methods, and target groups. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[HTML format with a link to the PDF file, 74 pages, 1.27 MB].

Public’s Policy Priorities Reflect Changing Conditions at Home and Abroad

Public’s Policy Priorities Reflect Changing Conditions at Home and Abroad. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. January 15, 2015.

As views of the economy improve and terrorist threats persist, the public’s policy priorities have changed: For the first time in five years, as many Americans cite defending the U.S. against terrorism (76%) as a top policy priority as say that about strengthening the nation’s economy (75%). [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 25 pages, 623.58 KB].

Social Media and the Cost of Caring

Social Media and the Cost of Caring. Pew Research Internet Project. Keith Hampton et al. January 15, 2015.

For generations, commentators have worried about the impact of technology on people’s stress. Trains and industrial machinery were seen as noisy disruptors of pastoral village life that put people on edge. Telephones interrupted quiet times in homes. Watches and clocks added to the de-humanizing time pressures on factory workers to be productive. Radio and television were organized around the advertising that enabled modern consumer culture and heightened people’s status anxieties. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 44 pages, 1.03 MB].

The Global Risks Report 2015

The Global Risks Report 2015. World Economic Forum. January 2015.

The 2015 edition of the Global Risks report completes a decade of highlighting the most significant long-term risks worldwide, drawing on the perspectives of experts and global decision-makers. Over that time, analysis has moved from risk identification to thinking through risk interconnections and the potentially cascading effects that result. This year’s report underscores potential causes as well as solutions to global risks. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 69 pages, 3.6 MB].

Charlie Hebdo Attacks Stir Resolve and Contemplation

Charlie Hebdo Attacks Stir Resolve and Contemplation. YaleGlobal. Stathis N. Kalyvas. January 15, 2015.

Terrorists hope to incite fear, panic and capitulation, but so far Europe is resisting such response after surprise attacks on the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, and a Kosher grocery store. “And because they are so shocking, these attacks tempt those targeted into reacting in a kneejerk way, ultimately playing into the hands of the attackers and becoming self-fulfilling prophecies of sort,” argues political scientist Stathis N. Kalyvas. “In fact, this is the greatest threat they pose.” He anticipates a measured response: the French reconfirming the value of free expression; French political leaders doing more to integrate its Muslim population, the largest among EU nations; as well as research on radicalization and proposals for prison reform. He also anticipates calls to end the civil war in Syria that draws extremists and greater cooperation on security among EU members. So far, terrorists have exposed Europe’s steely resolve to preserve the values of freedom of expression and respect for human rights. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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Does Better Information Lead to Better Choices? Evidence from Energy-Efficiency Labels

Does Better Information Lead to Better Choices? Evidence from Energy-Efficiency Labels. National Bureau of Economic Research. Lucas W. Davis and Gilbert E. Metcalf. Web posted January 14, 2015.

The ubiquitous yellow “EnergyGuide” label, which is required by law on all major appliances sold in the United States, is less effective than state-specific labels in encouraging consumers to make energy-conserving choices, according to the research. They conclude that ratings based on average national usage and energy prices are too coarse to help consumers make choices that are suited to their local conditions. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 54 pages, 876 KB].