Studies

Business & Economics

The Seven Lean Years: The Economic and Fiscal Consequences from California’s Prop. 30

The Pacific Research Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank, today released a study on the effects of Prop. 30 on the state’s economy. “The Seven Lean Years: The Economic and Fiscal Consequences from California’s Proposition 30” was authored by Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. ...
Charter Schools

Short-Circuited: The Challenge Facing the Online Learning Revolution in California

San Francisco – One would expect that California, with its abundance of technology companies, would have a leading advantage in the online learning revolution. But in fact, when it comes to harnessing technology and applying it to public education, the state is lagging in many respects. Short-Circuited: The Challenges Facing ...
Business & Economics

Plan Bay Area: The Mayor’s Transportation Task Force Report

Pacific Research Institute Brief Reveals Flaws with San Francisco’s Transportation Task Force Report Today PRI released a brief reviewing San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Transportation Task Force Report: 2030. The brief is a supplement to PRI’s earlier study “Plan Bay Area Evaluation” (June 2013), which critiqued the plan developed by ...
Business & Economics

50 State Index Of Energy Regulation

The 50 State Index of Energy Regulation measures the regulatory climate for energy consumption, production, and distribution and which states are more economically efficient. Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, and Texas tied for the best (#1), while California (#49) and New York (#50) are at the bottom. The Energy Index was ...
Health Care

Why Pharmaceutical Prices Drop Once Drugs Are Off-Patent

Today PRI released the new report “The Economics of Pharmaceutical Pricing” by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D. The study examines the market forces influencing the often dramatic price differences in pharmaceutical drugs before and after their patents expire. “Some critics erroneously see the sharp declines in the prices of ...
Education

Not as Good as You Think

Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools — Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. That’s why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a “good” school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
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 administration’s 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 ...
Business & Economics

The Seven Lean Years: The Economic and Fiscal Consequences from California’s Prop. 30

The Pacific Research Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank, today released a study on the effects of Prop. 30 on the state’s economy. “The Seven Lean Years: The Economic and Fiscal Consequences from California’s Proposition 30” was authored by Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. ...
Charter Schools

Short-Circuited: The Challenge Facing the Online Learning Revolution in California

San Francisco – One would expect that California, with its abundance of technology companies, would have a leading advantage in the online learning revolution. But in fact, when it comes to harnessing technology and applying it to public education, the state is lagging in many respects. Short-Circuited: The Challenges Facing ...
Business & Economics

Plan Bay Area: The Mayor’s Transportation Task Force Report

Pacific Research Institute Brief Reveals Flaws with San Francisco’s Transportation Task Force Report Today PRI released a brief reviewing San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Transportation Task Force Report: 2030. The brief is a supplement to PRI’s earlier study “Plan Bay Area Evaluation” (June 2013), which critiqued the plan developed by ...
Business & Economics

50 State Index Of Energy Regulation

The 50 State Index of Energy Regulation measures the regulatory climate for energy consumption, production, and distribution and which states are more economically efficient. Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, and Texas tied for the best (#1), while California (#49) and New York (#50) are at the bottom. The Energy Index was ...
Health Care

Why Pharmaceutical Prices Drop Once Drugs Are Off-Patent

Today PRI released the new report “The Economics of Pharmaceutical Pricing” by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D. The study examines the market forces influencing the often dramatic price differences in pharmaceutical drugs before and after their patents expire. “Some critics erroneously see the sharp declines in the prices of ...
Education

Not as Good as You Think

Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools — Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. That’s why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a “good” school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
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 administration’s 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 ...
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