Policy Archives

Economics

Will Rising Mortgage Rates Put an End to the Housing Recovery?

Rising rates will obviously send monthly payments higher, but they'll also affect the market in a more unusual way: They're going to hurt all-cash investor purchases of housing, which have been a boon to the most distressed markets.

David Dayen

News in Brief

10 Fascinating Things About State Politics You Probably Didn’t Know

States place industrial plants near downwind borders to pass on environmental costs, state legislatures have stopped growing to keep up with population growth, and other lessons from the 13th annual State Politics and Policy Conference.

Seth Masket

News in Brief

Who Owns Government-Funded Research Papers?

The Research Works Act would prevent publicly funded research from automatically being available to the public for free. Private publishers back the bill, while open-access partisans are appalled.

Emily Badger

News in Brief

Crafting Policy to Bridge the Red-Blue Divide

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank founded four years ago by four former U.S Senate majority leaders, works to overcome political polarization.

Tom Price

Social Justice

Don’t Tax Soda, Tax Sweeteners

Efforts to slow obesity by taxing sodas hit the wrong target, argue three economists who propose a better-aimed tax on sugar and syrup that even they admit still sidesteps the real problem.

Emily Badger

Social Justice

Consistency Key to Renewable Energy Policy

A new report on funding renewable energy projects offers a primer on how policy decisions are best engineered to boost the industry.

Dan Watson

News in Brief

Third Parties: The Avant-Garde of Change

While they may not have what it takes to win the White House, third parties have been responsible for putting up many of the road signs to future policy directions.

Emily Badger

News in Brief

Plain English Urged to Limit Federal Bureaucracy

Could you say that in English, please? The Plain Writing Act of 2010 asks the U.S. government to better talk the talk of its constituents.

Emily Badger

Education

Texas Children: Canaries in the Coal Mine

A report by the nonpartisan Texans Care for Children finds that glaring social problems borne by Texas' children have resulted from its state government's policies.

Pamela Oldham