Studies
Health Care
The Broken State of American Health Insurance Prior to the Affordable Care Act
Summary (download the full report) The health insurance system in America is plagued with problems, such as continually rising premiums and the difficulty of finding coverage. The Obama administrations diagnosis of the situation was clear: health insurance companies have too much freedom. The solution, therefore, is for the government to ...
Business & Economics
Going Broke One City at a Time: Municipal Bankruptcies in America
Municipalities have rarely defaulted on their debt. As a consequence, municipal debt is regarded as having an extremely low risk for investors. There are disconcerting trends developing that may change this historical view. The combination of the weak U.S. economy, high municipal debt levels, and large under-funded pension liabilities coupled ...
California
California’s Efficient Energy: Doing More Harm than Good?
When it comes to saving the planet, some of the most popular weapons are policies to promote energy efficiency. As Tim Greeff, deputy legislative director of the League of Conservation Voters recently quipped, Efficiency is always the cheapest, cleanest, safest, quickest way to cut down on both global warming and ...
California
Co-Sponsored Study Says Common Core National Education Standards are Expensive and Undermine State and Local Control
Pacific Research Institute Co-Sponsored Study Says Common Core National Education Standards are Expensive and Undermine State and Local Control San Francisco A just-published study by the Boston-based Pioneer Institute and co-sponsored by the California-based Pacific Research Institute, the American Principles Project and the Civitas Institute concludes that the Common ...
Commentary
India’s War On Intellectual Property Rights May Bring With It A Body Count
Last month, drug maker Roche withdrew its patents for the breast-cancer drug Herceptin in India and thus gave tacit approval to other companies to make low-cost generic versions of the drug. But the withdrawal of those patents was not completely voluntary. If the Swiss pharmaceutical firm had not relinquished ...
Business & Economics
New Pacific Research Institute Study Finds that “Plan Bay Area” Will Drive Housing Prices Higher, Intensify Traffic, and Increase Air Pollution
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on the proposed Plan Bay Area. The study describes the proposals regulatory overreach and its detrimental consequences for Bay Area residents and the metropolitan economy. In addition, the study shows that improved fuel efficiency by 2035 will more than meet the requirements ...
Health Care
The Cure for Obamacare
The battle to bring about meaningful health care reform in the U.S. is a long-term fight, and Obamacare is not the option. Under President Obama’s health care law, Americans will ultimately face long waiting lists, rationed care, and a lack of access to the latest technology and treatments. The changes ...
Business & Economics
Obama’s Green Team
The four leaders of Barack Obamas second-term Green Team are nearly all in place: John Kerry has been confirmed as Secretary of State, Sally Jewell has been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, Ernest Moniz has been confirmed as Secretary of Energy, and only the confirmation of Gina McCarthy remains ...
Business & Economics
New Study Finds Startup Business Increases Growth of Real SGP
A new study examining the effect of net employment creation by startup businesses on state gross product was released today. Startup Businesses and the Growth of Real State Gross Product is authored by PRI senior fellow Benjamin Zycher, Ph.D. Dr. Zycher uses a sample of 49 states for the period ...
Business & Economics
The U.S. Corporate Tax Code: Ripe for Bipartisan Reform
The U.S. corporate tax code is ripe for bipartisan reformthe U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate of any OECD country but collects some of the lowest federal corporate tax revenues as a share of GDP. A low-rate flat tax on the broad base of business value added, with minimal ...
The Broken State of American Health Insurance Prior to the Affordable Care Act
Summary (download the full report) The health insurance system in America is plagued with problems, such as continually rising premiums and the difficulty of finding coverage. The Obama administrations diagnosis of the situation was clear: health insurance companies have too much freedom. The solution, therefore, is for the government to ...
Going Broke One City at a Time: Municipal Bankruptcies in America
Municipalities have rarely defaulted on their debt. As a consequence, municipal debt is regarded as having an extremely low risk for investors. There are disconcerting trends developing that may change this historical view. The combination of the weak U.S. economy, high municipal debt levels, and large under-funded pension liabilities coupled ...
California’s Efficient Energy: Doing More Harm than Good?
When it comes to saving the planet, some of the most popular weapons are policies to promote energy efficiency. As Tim Greeff, deputy legislative director of the League of Conservation Voters recently quipped, Efficiency is always the cheapest, cleanest, safest, quickest way to cut down on both global warming and ...
Co-Sponsored Study Says Common Core National Education Standards are Expensive and Undermine State and Local Control
Pacific Research Institute Co-Sponsored Study Says Common Core National Education Standards are Expensive and Undermine State and Local Control San Francisco A just-published study by the Boston-based Pioneer Institute and co-sponsored by the California-based Pacific Research Institute, the American Principles Project and the Civitas Institute concludes that the Common ...
India’s War On Intellectual Property Rights May Bring With It A Body Count
Last month, drug maker Roche withdrew its patents for the breast-cancer drug Herceptin in India and thus gave tacit approval to other companies to make low-cost generic versions of the drug. But the withdrawal of those patents was not completely voluntary. If the Swiss pharmaceutical firm had not relinquished ...
New Pacific Research Institute Study Finds that “Plan Bay Area” Will Drive Housing Prices Higher, Intensify Traffic, and Increase Air Pollution
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on the proposed Plan Bay Area. The study describes the proposals regulatory overreach and its detrimental consequences for Bay Area residents and the metropolitan economy. In addition, the study shows that improved fuel efficiency by 2035 will more than meet the requirements ...
The Cure for Obamacare
The battle to bring about meaningful health care reform in the U.S. is a long-term fight, and Obamacare is not the option. Under President Obama’s health care law, Americans will ultimately face long waiting lists, rationed care, and a lack of access to the latest technology and treatments. The changes ...
Obama’s Green Team
The four leaders of Barack Obamas second-term Green Team are nearly all in place: John Kerry has been confirmed as Secretary of State, Sally Jewell has been confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, Ernest Moniz has been confirmed as Secretary of Energy, and only the confirmation of Gina McCarthy remains ...
New Study Finds Startup Business Increases Growth of Real SGP
A new study examining the effect of net employment creation by startup businesses on state gross product was released today. Startup Businesses and the Growth of Real State Gross Product is authored by PRI senior fellow Benjamin Zycher, Ph.D. Dr. Zycher uses a sample of 49 states for the period ...
The U.S. Corporate Tax Code: Ripe for Bipartisan Reform
The U.S. corporate tax code is ripe for bipartisan reformthe U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate of any OECD country but collects some of the lowest federal corporate tax revenues as a share of GDP. A low-rate flat tax on the broad base of business value added, with minimal ...
