Public Infrastructure

China’s surplus fell from 10.1% of GDP in 2007 to 5.2% in 2010.  Whether its current account will continue to decline or will return to higher levels seen in the mid-2000s is a subject of considerable disagreement.

Now that the rush toward implementation of BTOP-funded public computer centers and digital literacy programs around the country is turning into a rush to make long-term sustainability plans, partners are looking for effective program evaluation strategies. As it turns out, establishing community-driven metrics is proving to be a challenge.

Earlier this month, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) hosted a fascinating event featuring Ashok Singh, the Deputy Director General at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The focus was on how these unique ID numbers, or Aadhaar numbers, which are issued after iris and fingerprint scans are employed to ensure each individual is unique to the system, can provide a means for financial inclusion for the poor. Remarkably, Singh, said, UIDAI is issuing Aadhaar numbers at the rate of 1 million a day, with a goal of 600 million over the next four years.

Robert H. Frank spoke at New America last Thursday about the guiding principles of his book, The Darwin Economy, and the policy proposals that stem from his model of economic thought. Reid Cramer started the event off connecting Frank’s ideas to recent trends: tax policy is at the forefront of recent political debates and the Occupy Wall Street movement is focusing attention on rampant economic inequality.

(originally published at Fox & Hounds Daily)
Everyone in California knows that the state needs new, improved infrastructure. But there’s big narrative to explain our needs.

So let’s try one out here. When it comes to rebuilding the state, the overarching idea should be: East-West connection.

Most of California’s current infrastructure was built in an era when the main political divide in the state was between North and South. So that infrastructure naturally linked north and south – the 99 and the 5, water, our most traveled airplane routes, etc.

Notwithstanding repeated attempts at monetary and fiscal stimulus since 2009, the United States remains mired in what is by far its worst economic slump since that of the 1930s.¹  More than 25 million working-age Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, the employment-to-population ratio lingers at an historic low of 58.3 percent,² business investment continues at historically weak levels, and consumption expenditure remains weighed down by massive private sector debt overhang left by the bursting of the housing and credit bubble a bit over three years ago.

In putting forth his jobs program, President Obama faced a difficult dilemma: propose a program that could gain Republican support or a more ambitious program that would actually get the economy back on a path of recovery and job creation.

Today’s New York Times has a nicely-reported piece on India’s gigantic biometric ID project, detailing its potential to spur economic growth and cut down on corruption through enabling electronic delivery of payments via mobiles and smartcards. As Nandan Nilekani, who is directing the initiative, puts it, the project is like building “a road that in some sense connects every individual to the state.”

If you believe people should have a say about what gets built where in their communities, you should be weighing in on the Federal Communication Commission's recently announced intention to review management of public rights-of-way. Unfortunately, this issue gets bogged down in discussion of some of the driest and most technical topics in governance: land use, zoning, and fee regulation. Yet the implications are anything but esoteric, since right-of-way practices have a very real and lasting impact on local communities.

In today's Huffington Post, Bruce Jentleson, a policy wonk, and Jay Pelosky, a seasoned global investor, argue that the public and private sectors in the United States must cooperate if the country is to "revitalize domestically and compete globally."