Our Work

 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TPP: Yesterday, Ed  Gerwin, senior fellow for trade and global opportunity  at PPI, released a statement after the United States International Trade Commission released a new  report concerning the likely impact of the Trans-  Pacific Partnership agreement on the U.S. economy.

 “We are pleased that the Commission’s detailed  economic analysis concludes that a U.S. economy with TPP would, overall, see higher growth, employment,         and exports as compared to a U.S. economy  without TPP, and we look forward to reviewing the report in detail,” Gerwin says.

INFRASTRUCTURE PERMITTING REFORM: As part of our contribution to Infrastructure Week in Washington, PPI and Common Good cohosted a policy forum on Thursday morning at Covington and  Burling, LLP on expediting and improving regulatory reviews of infrastructure projects. The forum, “How Faster Infrastructure Can Get America Moving,” was highlighted by keynote addresses from  Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Jason Miller of the White House National Economic Council, and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-CT). The forum included panel discussions with experts from industry,  labor, government, and environmental protection—as well as a panelist from Germany, who provided examples of their permitting process. Germany puts a two-year deadline on regulatory review, without  compromising the country’s strict environmental standards.

In February, PPI President Will Marshall wrote an op-ed, “A New Kind of Public Works,” outlining four ways to bring national infrastructure policy into the twenty-first century. “The challenge goes well beyond pouring more money into repair and maintenance of existing public facilities,” Marshall says. “These are chiefly state and local responsibilities, and have traditionally been funded by municipal debt. Washington should focus instead on innovative ways to provide and pay for the new, technologically sophisticated infrastructure Americans need to compete in a global, knowledge economy…”

ARGENTINA APP ECONOMY: Last week, PPI released a new policy report, Argentina: The Road to the App Economy, at a public event in Buenos Aires. Authored by PPI economist Michelle Di Ionno and chief economic strategist Michael Mandel, the report examines the rise and future potential of the country’s App Economy—jobs, companies, and economic growth created by the production, distribution, and maintenance of mobile applications that run on smart devices. They find that Argentina had roughly 33,250 App Economy jobs as of March 2016.

NEXT-GEN NUCLEAR ENERGY: PPI recently released a policy report, Next-Gen Reactors: How Nuclear Innovation Can Support Growth and a Healthy Climate, authored by Derrick Freeman, director of PPI’s Energy Innovation Project and Will Marshall. They reason that nuclear energy should play a larger role in America’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Without more nuclear power, the U.S. won’t be able to reconcile the twin imperatives of economic growth and climate protection. What’s more, innovations in next-gen technology create a striking opportunity to revive U.S. leadership in civilian nuclear energy. This will be an economic boon for America, generating good jobs and tremendous export opportunities, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

For this to happen, the authors argue, the U.S. needs to boost nuclear reactor research and revamp its regulatory structure to support the creation of new types of nuclear reactors. The industry needs the federal government to streamline the regulatory process before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it needs to create a national testing facility for private companies to test prototypes.

#FBF TO VIETNAM: With President Obama traveling to Vietnam this weekend, we #FlashbackFriday to PPI’s visit to the country last fall. In Hanoi, we released two policy reports: Vietnam and the App Economy and TPP and the Benefits of Freer Trade for Vietnam: Some Lessons from U.S. Free Trade Agreements.

FOLLOW FRIDAY: PPI welcomes David Osborne, senior fellow and director of the Reinventing America’s Schools Project at PPI, to the Twitterverse. His handle is @OsborneDavid. Give him a follow!