The Slowdown in Medicare Spending Growth: What Does it Mean?
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Financial and Climate Regulation:  Macro or Micro?

For many years now, experts have addressed both financial and environmental regulation through a microeconomic lens.  Under this approach, regulation is viewed as an analogue to a market transaction and its efficiency evaluated primarily through a cost-benefit analysis predicated on standard neoclassical assumptions. (more…)

“FTC Protecting Competition and Consumers:  Economics of Loyalty Pricing and Debt Collection”

UPDATE: Slides from the talk may be downloaded here: SGE Farrell slides October 2011

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Housing Finance Reform: Moving Forward

A background paper is available at:
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/HousingFinanceReform.pdf
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Spending in the Tax Code
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Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Wendy Edelberg will talk about the final report of the Financial Inquiry Commission which released its report in January 2011.

UPDATE: Slides from the talk may be downloaded here: Edelberg_SGEpresentation.pdf

Programming for Growth:  The Economic Impact of Foreign Aid

Does foreign aid deliver value for money in promoting economic growth and improving well being for people in developing countries?

This question is a source of endless debate.  In this presentation, Dr. Bolnick will first discuss the importance of growth for poverty reduction and human welfare in low-income countries—itself a source of controversy—and quickly review the (indecisive) empirical literature on aid and growth. The talk will then focus on the impact and effectiveness of USAID’s economic growth (EG) programs, based on a recent review of the available evidence.

The presentation is adapted from a series of Briefing Notes on Programming for Growth, which Nathan Associates produced for the Economic Growth Office at USAID last year, led by Dr. Bolnick. The Briefing Notes were designed as a contribution to the recurrent discussions about aid effectiveness and development priorities for the foreign aid program.  The full series can be accessed at: http://www.countrycompass.com/policy_briefs.php

UPDATE: Slides from the talk may be downloaded here: Bolnick-SGE-NEC Presentation May 2011

The Impact of Recent Macroeconomic Forces on the Global Defense Industrial Base
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U.S. Airlines – A Global Perspective from Inside the Beltway

In 2011, airlines have been contending with rapidly climbing jet-fuel prices that have outpaced crude-oil prices to reach their highest level since September 2008. As of March 4, U.S. Gulf Coast jet fuel sold for $3.20 per gallon. Excluding hedge gains or losses, if U.S. airlines had to contend with $3 per gallon jet-fuel prices for all of 2011, their fuel bill would increase $15 billion, from $39 billion in 2010 to an estimated $54 billion in 2011. Mr. Heimlich will discuss how structural increases in the cost of energy over the past two decades are transforming the industry and what it means for revenue generation, domestic seating capacity, and the global competitive landscape. Mr. Heimlich will field questions on the airlines’ quest for sustained profitability and positive returns on invested capital.

UPDATE: Slides from the talk may be downloaded here: Heimlich slides (PDF).