This issue brief compares projected savings from drilling in presently restricted offshore zones, savings under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the projected savings from the fuel efficiency schedule proposed by Senator Obama. The issue brief projects savings through 2027,...

This report examines the current U.S. poverty measure and finds that it has failed to keep up with public consensus on the minimum amount of income needed to “get along” in the United States in the 21st Century. The author then examines a potential approach to revising the measure, based on...

Since the end of the 1970s, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in economic inequality. While the United States has long been among the most unequal of the world’s rich economies, the economic and social upheaval that began in the 1970s was a striking departure from the movement...

This paper looks at Venezuela’s export revenue, imports, and trade and current account balances under a range of oil price outcomes for the next two years. It finds that Venezuela would run large current account surpluses for prices between $60-90 per barrel, and would even run a small surplus...

The IMF’s most recent World Economic Outlook (WEO), published last week, projects world economic growth will slow, from 4.8 percent in 2010 to 4.2 percent next year. Throughout the report, there are numerous concerns expressed about the “fragility” of the global economic recovery. The...

There is a growing chorus of policy analysts and pundits telling the country that we could have millions more jobs in manufacturing, if only we had qualified workers. This claim has the interesting feature that it places responsibility for the lack of jobs on workers, not on the people who get...

This paper shows that the Eastern lowland states of Bolivia that have recently held “autonomy” referenda also have the highest concentrations of land ownership, and receive disproportionate shares of natural gas revenues. These states also have a much smaller indigenous population than the...

This report examines the problem of access to credit for low- and moderate- income households. It notes that this problem has two dimensions. On the one hand, there are millions of consumers without access to mainstream sources of consumer credit. On the other hand, many of these same consumers...

This paper is an update of CEPR’s July 2007 overview of the Venezuelan economy, and includes the latest available data (at the time of publication) for growth, employment, poverty, budget information, and other data. The paper notes continued progress in economic growth, poverty reduction,...

This paper looks at some of the most important economic and social indicators during the 10 years of the Chávez administration in Venezuela, as well as the current economic expansion. It also looks at the current situation and challenges.