China’s epic push for cleaner energy
May 31, 2019
In its dominance of low-carbon industries that range from solar and wind power, to electric vehicles, to more-efficient coal combustion, China is emerging as a clean-energy juggernaut. That’s according to Jeffrey Ball, the author of a new paper from the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate titled “Grow...
Preparing for the next recession
May 24, 2019
When the next recession comes, and it certainly will, how will policymakers respond? In a new volume of policy proposals from the Hamilton Project at Brookings and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a group of experts propose new and updated antirecession solutions to boost the economy and save jobs. These...
The power of private investment for the developing world
May 17, 2019
Foreign aid money from governments is getting scarcer, and in the U.S., private philanthropy exceeds US government funds in the foreign assistance realm. But, what about the role of business and private capital in development, reducing poverty, and alleviating hunger?
So called "impact investing" is now one of the most...
How to avoid a great power war over small stakes
May 10, 2019
In the East China sea, in waters bounded by Japan, China, and Taiwan, lies a small archipelago of uninhabited islands known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, and in China as Diaoyu Islands. Both countries claim them, but they are covered by the US-Japan security treaty. What would be the U.S. response if China landed...
Congressional oversight in the Trump era
May 3, 2019
In our constitutional system, congressional oversight of the executive branch is an important tool. As a co-equal branch of government, and the one that passes legislation and appropriates funds to carry out public policy, Congress has an obligation to the Constitution, and to citizens, to hold the executive...