Economics & Global Affairs

21 Items

Policy Brief

Supporting a Public Purpose in Research & Development: The Role of Tax Credits

    Author:
  • Jake Taylor
| June 2021

In this policy brief, we consider the existing mechanism of tax credits. We see how they can encourage private sector risk-taking to enable research and development (R&D) outcomes. However, our goal is to go beyond economic growth benefits, and to include the less tangible considerations of public good and public purpose in the research and development domain. We then suggest an expansion of tax credits focused on supporting the researchers involved in the R&D and encouraging innovation in both large organizations and in startups and small businesses. This approach builds upon the existing framework of agency-led, mission-defined support of the private sector used by the U.S. government, as occurs in other programs such as America’s Seed Fund (sometimes known by its acronyms, SBIR and STTR). The integration of specific agency- and mission-focused elements to the credit system ensures that these additive credits support research and researchers whose R&D outcomes will improve the health, prosperity, and opportunity for the U.S. as a whole.

Airbus A350 planes on the assembly line in Toulouse, western France, Tuesday, March 6, 2018.

AP Photo/Fred Scheiber

Policy Brief - Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the German Council on Foreign Relations

Transatlantic Action Plan: Economics and Trade

    Author:
  • Anthony Gardner
| February 2021

Whereas the Trump administration worked effectively with Europe in some areas, including energy security and law enforcement, the U.S-EU relationship disintegrated in many other areas, above all in trade following U.S. tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel and threats to restrict car imports. While some members of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party have appreciated President Trump’s endorsement of Brexit, the core interests of the United Kingdom (including free trade, the fight against climate change and defense of multilateral institutions) diverge from those of the Trump administration.

The next U.S. administration will face the challenge of re-engaging with Europe on matters of joint concern, not only on climate and Iran but also on concluding a trade agreement, resolving outstanding economic disputes and leading efforts to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Kinnaur Kailash, Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh, India

Saurav Kundu/Unsplash

Policy Brief

Should Regulators Make Electric Utilities Pay Customers for Poor Reliability?

| June 09, 2020

This policy brief describes the persistent challenge of poor electricity reliability in India and how it interacts with key regulatory policies, analyzes Delhi’s experience with outage compensation since 2017, and highlights areas for additional economic and policy research on this topic.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, left, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, wear helmets at the Durusu metering station, near the northern Turkish city of Samsun, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005.

Reuters/AP

Policy Brief - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

The Russian Reality Check on Turkey's Gas Hub Hopes

| January 2016

On Nov 24, 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet after it veered into its airspace for 17 seconds. On December 13, a Russian ship fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea. Bilateral tensions, with overt military dimensions, have seemed to quickly replace the goodwill that characterized relations only a year ago.

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Testimony

The Political Economy of Banking Union and Finance in Europe

| Dec. 02, 2013

The Albert H. Gordon Lecture focuses on the fields of finance and public policy with special attention to the internationalization of finance. This year’s fall 2013 Gordon lecturer was Lucas Papademos. Lucas Papademos served as prime minister of Greece from 2011 to 2012, leading a government of national unity during the most difficult phase of the Greek debt and economic crisis. Previously, he was vice president of the European Central Bank (2002–2010) and governor of the Bank of Greece (1994–2002). The lecture titled, The Political Economy of Banking Union and Finance in Europe was presented on December 2, 2013.

The Euro sculpture sits in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Apr. 28, 2010. Three weeks away from potential default, Greece saw its borrowing costs spiral higher, a day after Standard & Poor's downgraded its bonds to junk status.

AP Photo

Policy Brief - Quarterly Journal: International Security

A Bleak Future for the European Project

| May 2011

"...[A]bsent an overwhelming threat, the Europeans have had little reason to maintain their economic union. This is not to argue that the demise of the Soviet Union has given them a reason to dismantle the EU—only that it has removed their incentive to preserve it. Consequently, the EU has started to fray as member states have put national interests ahead of those of the union."

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Policy Brief - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

How Do We Know This is Not Another Great Depression? Lessons for Policymakers from the 1930s

| July 2009

The current economic crisis is fundamentally different from those we have experienced in recent past. The proximate causes of previous recessions (1980-2 and 1990-91) were increases in interest rates in response to inflation. This time around, however, low interest rates and loose monetary policy during the period 2003-2005 had contributed to a bubble in asset prices, rather than to inflation. This – coupled with an underestimation of risk in our financial system, failures of corporate governance, and excessive debt by both households and government – caused the crisis of 2007-09.