Apr 3, 2020

Robert Stavins: Cost Effectiveness Analysis and Finding the Best Policies to Fight COVID-19

Although the United States spends over $400 billion per year on infrastructure, there is a consensus that infrastructure investment has been on the decline and with it the quality of U.S. infrastructure. Politicians across the ideological spectrum have responded with calls for increased spending on infrastructure to repair this infrastructure deficit. The issue of infrastructure…

Introduction Around the world, the lives of women and girls have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. Life expectancy has increased, fertility rates have fallen, two-thirds of countries have reached gender parity in primary education, and women now make up over half of all university graduates (UNESCO 2019). Yet despite this progress, some elements…

Introduction Around the world, the lives of women and girls have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. Life expectancy has increased, fertility rates have fallen, two-thirds of countries have reached gender parity in primary education, and women now make up over half of all university graduates (UNESCO 2019). Yet despite this progress, some elements…

Although the United States spends over $400 billion per year on infrastructure, there is a consensus that infrastructure investment has been on the decline and with it the quality of U.S. infrastructure. Politicians across the ideological spectrum have responded with calls for increased spending on infrastructure to repair this infrastructure deficit. The issue of infrastructure…

Introduction Around the world, the lives of women and girls have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. Life expectancy has increased, fertility rates have fallen, two-thirds of countries have reached gender parity in primary education, and women now make up over half of all university graduates (UNESCO 2019). Yet despite this progress, some elements…

In 2007, China took the lead as the world’s largest CO2 emitter. Air pollution in China is estimated to contribute to about 1.6 million deaths per year, roughly 17 percent of all deaths in China.  Over the last decade, China has adopted measures to lower the energy and carbon intensity of its economy, partly in…

As technology becomes more sophisticated, artificial intelligence (AI) is permeating into new parts of society and being used in criminal justice to assess risks for those in pre-trial or on probation. Predictive analytics raise several questions concerning bias, accuracy, and fairness. Observers worry that these tools replicate injustice and lead to unfair outcomes in pre-trial…

World leaders are deliberating when and how to re-open business operations amidst considerable uncertainty as to the economic consequences of the coronavirus. One pressing question is whether or not countries that have remained relatively open have managed to escape at least some of the economic harm, and whether that harm is related to the spread…

Executive Summary Problems that arise in the implementation process make it less likely that policy objectives will be achieved in many government programs. Implementation problems may also damage the morale and external reputations of the agencies in charge of implementation. Although many implementation problems occur repeatedly across programs and can be predicted in advance, legislators…

Britain has already made great progress in decarbonizing the grid. It looks like there's more to come.

In “fishing” for plastic to create new things, Plastic Whale Circular Furniture tackles a number of problems at once.

Electric cars are the darlings of the green technology futurists. But wait, cries a receding voice, "what about the environmental impact of all those batteries?" Until recently, that lurking uncertainty shadowed the

The Google-funded research shows that there's 3 million megawatts of geothermal power, across the entire US, waiting to be tapped via enhanced geothermal techniques.

Reducing the benefits they can count will reduce the number of regulations that pass the cost-benefit analysis phase of regulation

Analysis bridges differences between various climate change models to predict North American climate change with high certainty. Will skeptics finally be convinced?

A new type of hydrokinetic turbine sits within irrigation canals and could power several homes from the flow of water.

The CO2 emissions from making stuff like concrete, plastic, aluminum and steel matter right now.

In honor of World Wetlands Day, we’re turning our gaze towards the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands—and one that’s seriously threatened.

Imagine a bucket of greenhouse gases that's almost full.

It turns out, there are a lot of chemicals that have to be dealt with before fabrics can be reused.

Lack of storage space for crude globally remains a massive problem, and will keep a ceiling on oil prices for the near future.

Stephens Inc. said its estimate is based on an analysis of online menus for every Wendy's location nationwide.

Angelo Zino of Equity Research tells CNBC's Squawk Box Asia that Uber and Lyft will not likely see significant recovery until a vaccine is found amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the strong demand for Nintendo's Switch console and the breakout success of its "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" title, Kazunori Ito of Morningstar Investment Management Asia says he does not see a strong game pipeline for the company this year.

As more and more S&P 500 companies cut or suspend their dividend payments, one issuer speaks to how his dividend-based exchange-traded fund is managing the shift.

Craig Moffett said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that AT&T will eventually separate its telecom business from its media business.

NBCUniversal's Peacock launches for Comcast subscribers on Wednesday. With more people staying at home streaming content, one analyst says the environment is primed for Peacock's rollout.

As airline stocks tumble, investors in the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) seem to betting on a further bailout for the group, says market researcher Dave Nadig.

David Trainer, CEO of Investment Research Firm New Constructs, sees three prime picks in some of the hardest-hit areas of Wall Street.

BMO Global Asset Management's David Moss believes in looking for businesses that are "great quality long-term winners," as Europe undergoes a Covid-19 lockdown period.

Volker Wieland, endowed chair of monetary economics at the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability, discusses the impending verdict on whether the ECB's public sector purchase program is legal under German law.

Jurgen Pieper, senior advisor for automobiles at Metzler, discusses the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the autos sector.

HSBC's first-quarter earnings were not surprising given the global economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, says Filippo Alloatti, senior credit analyst at Federated Hermes. He also discusses the bank's decision to suspend share buybacks and dividend payouts for now.

BNP Paribas Asset Management's Paul Sandhu discusses his 2020 equity strategy and finding opportunity amidst the current volatility in markets.

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent at The Economist says a haircut for banks in Lebanon seems inevitable despite their recent spat with the government.

Global demand on soft commodities has taken a huge hit with the pandemic shutting down food industries across countries, in addition to rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Oscar Tjakra from Rabobank gives his market outlook on the back of these issues.

The NYMEX oil price has pulled back sharply, but the chart suggests it's not a change of the overall uptrend, according to Daryl Guppy.

The pullback in oil prices takes place within the environment of a well-established uptrend, writes Daryl Guppy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is poised for a continuation of its downtrend — with a downside target near 25,200, Daryl Guppy writes.

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