Publications -- Study
NCPA studies generally break new ground on policy issues. A study seeks to cast new light on an issue and to stimulate policy-makers and others to think of new, innovative solutions to the problems associated with the issue. Studies may combine several elements of analysis, including original research, reviews of academic literature, creative approaches for solving public policy problems, and economic modeling.
Sep 30, 2009 |
ST #324 – Reasonable Responses to Climate ChangeMany people are concerned that an increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - due primarily to such human activities as burning fossil fuels for energy - is causing the Earth to warm, with potentially harmful results. In response, many developed countries agreed to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, committing them to limit and eventually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The United States chose not to participate, in part because the agreement exempts such developing countries as China and India, although they have the world's fastest-growing economies and emissions. |
Sep 24, 2009 |
ST #323 – Applying the Lessons of State Health ReformLack of health insurance is a significant, persistent problem in New Jersey. In 2007, more than 1.3 million residents were uninsured - three-fourths were working-age adults 19 to 64 years old. About 15.6 percent of New Jersey residents are uninsured, which is close to the national average, and the U.S. Census Bureau recently ranked New Jersey 34th among states in the percentage of residents with insurance coverage. |
Jun 30, 2009 |
ST #322 – Fiscal Policy and Economic RecoveryThe Obama administration is committed to using federal spending over the next few years in hopes of turning the economy around. It will be funded by continuous, massive budget deficits. Will deficit spending bring about economic recovery? Will a return to Keynesian economic policy bring us economic prosperity? |
Jun 03, 2009 |
ST #321 – 10 Cool Global Warming PoliciesGlobal warming is a reality. But whether it is a serious problem - and whether emis- sions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases from human fossil fuel use are the principal cause - are uncertain. The current debate over the U. S. response to climate change centers on greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies, which are likely to impose substantially higher costs to society than global warming might. |
Mar 26, 2009 |
ST #320 – Ten Ways to Wreck Your RetirementPersonal retirement accounts are a valuable tool in building a retirement nest egg. The recent fall in the stock market has caused some savers to cash out their savings. This is unfortunate because the stock market has rebounded after every fall, and those who are not in the market at the bottom will lose out as it rises. There are other practices that can derail even the best laid retirement plans. This study addresses 10 of them. |
Jan 15, 2009 |
ST #319 – Measuring the Unfunded Obligations of European CountriesEurope is undergoing two major transitions. On the demographic front, many European countries are undergoing rapid population aging as their Baby Boom generations enter retirement, senior citizens live longer and fertility rates remain well below the population replacement level. On the economic front, 15 European countries have adopted the euro as a common currency, eliminating the ability to use monetary policy to achieve country-specific economic goals. Both transitions will place tremendous, conflicting pressures on the domestic national budgets of European countries. |
Dec 03, 2008 |
ST #318 – Health Care Entrepreneurs: The Changing Nature of ProvidersThe market for medical care does not work like other markets. Providers typically do not disclose prices prior to treatment because they do not compete for patients based on price. Payments are usually not made by patients themselves but by third parties - employers, insurance companies or government. And the amounts paid are not really market-clearing prices; they are "reimbursement" rates negotiated with bureaucratic institutions and networks. Furthermore, when providers do not compete on price, they usually do not compete on quality either. In fact, in a very real sense, doctors and hospitals are not competing for patients at all - at least not in the way normal businesses compete in markets. |
Dec 03, 2008 |
ST #317 – Thinking About TomorrowHow large is the federal government's debt? The figure most likely to be reported in newspapers is the debt held by the public. This measure currently stands at $6.3 trillion and is rising. However, the debt held by the public tells only a small part of the story. How should the government account for the predicted shortfalls of Social Security and Medicare? Officially, they are considered government "obligations," but not "liabilities" or "debts." The reason: retirees and workers do not have a contractual right to the benefits they expect to receive. |
Sep 23, 2008 |
ST #316 – Optimal Taxation, Economic Growth and Income Inequality in the United StateUp to a point, government spending on public goods - such as national defense and protection of property - can raise the economic growth rate. However, as government spending rises, the tendency is to increase spending on nonproductive income transfers - such as subsidy and welfare programs. Research indicates that the high levels of taxation required to pay for such income transfers inhibit economic growth, whereas lower taxes can raise the rate of economic growth. |
Sep 12, 2008 |
ST #315 – A Framework for Medicare ReformThe most important domestic policy problem this country faces is health care. The most important component of that problem is Medicare. Forecasts by every federal agency that produces such simulations - the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Social Security/Medicare Trustees, the General Accounting Office (GAO) - show that we are on a dangerous and unsustainable path. Indeed, the question is not: Will reform take place? The question is: How painful will reform have to be? |