Friday August 12, 2011

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SPOTLIGHT: Budget Deficit


Reuters/Jason Reed - U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the lowering of the U.S. credit rating at the White House in Washington.

Save to My Portfolio Five Governance Problems that Contributed to the Credit Rating Downgrade

Darrell M. West, August 08, 2011

Darrell West argues that S&P's decision to downgrade U.S. government debt from AAA to AA+ resulted not from lack of money, but from poor performance by federal officials. West identifies five long-term trends that have paralyzed policymakers and make it difficult to address pressing problems, including the budget deficit. Read More

Budget Deficit, Federal Budget and National Debt, Governance, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics

SPOTLIGHT: Federal Budget and National Debt


Reuters/Ho New - President Barack Obama (2nd R) and Vice President Joe Biden (2nd L) meet with House Speaker John Boehner (L) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington.

Save to My Portfolio The Debt Deal: A Hopeful View

Alice M. Rivlin, August 09, 2011

Though polls show clearly that a majority of the public is angry with the way elected officials handled the debt deal, Alice Rivlin notes that the painful experience could finally place America on the road to a sensible, sustainable federal budget. Read More

Federal Budget and National Debt, Budget Deficit, Growth through Innovation, U.S. Politics, U.S. Economy

SPOTLIGHT: U.S. Economic Growth


Reuters / Jessica Rinaldi - Katie Busker, 30, clips coupons at the dinner table in Independence, Iowa July 5, 2011.

Save to My Portfolio How We’re Doing as the Economy Falters

Ted Gayer and Darrell M. West, August 07, 2011

As the dust settles from the debt ceiling fight, the public mood is increasingly pessimistic and doubts about the strength of the recovery loom large. In the ninth “How We’re Doing” Index, a team of Brookings experts examines the political mood and the latest economic indicators. Read More

U.S. Economic Growth, U.S. Economy, Unemployment, U.S. Politics, Housing

SPOTLIGHT: Syria


Reuters - A poster depicting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is seen on a giant Syrian flag carried by Syrian supporters living in Lebanon in front of the Syrian embassy in Beirut, July 24, 2011.

Save to My Portfolio Syria's Assad Should be an International Pariah

Salman Shaikh, August 04, 2011

In recent days, more than 150 people have been killed in Syria by President Bashar Al-Assad's regime. Salman Shaikh discusses how the international community can address two major challenges in Syria: stopping the regime from killing more people, and preventing the country’s collapse into chaos. Read More

Syria, The Arab Spring and Middle East Unrest, Middle East, Democracy Promotion

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Policy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

ExpertRobert Kagan

Robert Kagan is an expert and frequent commentator on Egypt, the Middle East, U.S. national security, and U.S.-European relations. He writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post and is a contributing editor at the Weekly Standard and the New Republic.

Policy CenterJohn L. Thornton China Center

The John L. Thornton China Center develops analysis and policy recommendations to help address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.

ExpertDonald Kohn

Donald Kohn is a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System and served as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2010. He was recently appointed by the government of the United Kingdom and the Bank of England to serve on its interim Financial Policy Committee. Kohn focuses on issues of monetary policy, financial regulation and macroeconomics.

ExpertShadi Hamid

Shadi Hamid focuses on Islamist political parties and democratic reform in the Middle East. Prior to joining Brookings, he was Director of Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and a Hewlett Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

ExpertWilliam G. Gale

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.

Research ProjectAfrica Growth Initiative

The Africa Growth Initiative conducts high-quality policy research and analysis focused on attaining sustainable economic development and prosperity in Africa, while amplifying the voice of African researchers in policy-making and planning.

Policy CenterCenter for Technology Innovation

The Center for Technology Innovation is at the forefront of shaping public debate on technology innovation and developing data-driven scholarship to enhance understanding of technology’s legal, economic, social, and governance ramifications.

Research ProjectBudgeting for National Priorities

The Budgeting for National Priorities project promotes greater fiscal responsibility by developing new ideas, educating the public and finding common ground among experts and policy-makers.

ExpertDaniel Kaufmann

Daniel Kaufmann was previously the director at the World Bank Institute, leading the work on governance and anti-corruption. His areas of expertise are public sector and regulatory reform, development, governance and anti-corruption.

ExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative. The founding executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (1999-2005), he focuses on Africa's development including institutions for economic growth, political economy, and private sector development.

ExpertDarrell M. West

Darrell M. West is vice president and director of Governance Studies and founding director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. His studies include technology policy, electronic government, and mass media.

NEW FEATUREBrookings Mobile Applications

Stay up-to-date with our independent, high-quality research, learn about Brookings events and search our directory of experts all from your BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone or Android device.

TopicEnergy and Climate

What will it take to mitigate severe climate disruption? What should our priorities be in the relationship between fresh water and climate change? What will it take to help vulnerable countries and regions adapt to change already taking place?

ExpertKatherine Sierra

Katherine Sierra is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program. A former vice president for sustainable development at the World Bank, she focuses on climate change and energy.

Metropolitan Policy ProgramState of Metropolitan America

Foreshadowing 2010 Census results, this new Brookings report and interactive map defines who Americans are—and who they are becoming—in the face of continued growth, population aging and diversification, uneven educational attainment and income polarization.

TopicGlobal Change

How do we develop more realistic approaches and more effective means of ending intractable old conflicts and preventing new ones? How do we enhance measures to thwart nonstate actors—especially terrorists and illicit traffickers—and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons?

ExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is the author of Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs (Brookings Institution Press, 2009).

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

TopicGrowth through Innovation

What new practices and mechanisms will help prevent another economic downturn from turning into a financial panic that could become a truly global meltdown? What changes in the public and private sectors will build the workforce and infrastructure required for a global information-based economy?

ExpertAlice M. Rivlin

In February 1975, the Congressional Budget Office was established with Alice Rivlin as its first director. Rivlin is an expert on urban issues as well as fiscal, monetary and social policy and directs the Greater Washington Research project at Brookings.

ExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings.

TopicOpportunity and Well-being

As they weather the current economic storm, will our governments and societies address the basic needs and aspirations of the least well-off? How can we better use education to raise individual aspirations? How should governments around the world accelerate preparations to provide social services for the billions moving from poverty into the middle class?