Kholodilin, Konstantin A. and Kolmer, Christian and Thomas, Tobias and Ulbricht, Dirk, Asymmetric Perceptions of the Economy: Media, Firms, Consumers, and Experts (June 1, 2015). DIW Berlin Discussion Paper No. 1490. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2619571 “This article sheds light on the interaction of media, economic actors, and economic experts. Based on a unique… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: June 2015
Project to move Wikipedia from computer to many books
NYT – “The Wikipedia entry for “quixoticism” runs only about 255 words. But if anyone could argue for a personal mention, it might be Michael Mandiberg. For the past three years, he has been fully engaged in a project that might make even the most intrepid digital adventurer blush: transforming the English-language Wikipedia into an… Continue Reading
IRS – Reduced Budgets, Collection Resources Have Resulted in Declines in Taxpayer Service
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration – Reduced Budgets and Collection Resources Have Resulted in Declines in Taxpayer Service, Case Closures, and Dollars Collected. May 8, 2015. Reference Number: 2015-30-035. “In FY 2014, revenue officers collected $222 million (7 percent) less than in FY 2011. In addition, they closed 34 percent fewer cases. This was… Continue Reading
CRS – Invasive Species: Issues in Brief
Invasive Species: Issues in Brief – M. Lynne Corn, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy; Renée Johnson, Specialist in Agricultural Policy. May 22, 2015. “For the first few centuries after the arrival of Europeans in North America, plants and animals of many species were sent between the two continents. The transfer of non-natives consisted not only… Continue Reading
China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for US
CRS – China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States, updated June 14, 2015. Wayne M. Morrison, Specialist in Asian Trade and Finance. June 14, 2015. “Prior to the initiation of economic reforms and trade liberalization 35 years ago, China maintained policies that kept the economy very poor, stagnant, centrally-controlled, vastly… Continue Reading
HathiTrust Research Center adds 5 billion pages
News release: “…Partnering with close to 100 research libraries from around the world, HathiTrust holds about 595 terabytes of digitized textual data — that’s about 157 miles, or 10,000 tons of text. In 2010, HathiTrust launched the HTRC to help researchers around the world accomplish tera-scale data mining and textual analysis. The HTRC is a… Continue Reading
Safety Report – Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Safety Report and Subway Tunnel Safety – “In response to concerns regarding the safety performance of WMATA, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) conducted an organization-wide Safety Management Inspection (SMI) of the Metrorail and Metrobus systems to assess WMATA’s safety programs and compliance with its own procedures and rules, existing… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Capitol Preservation Fund, Energy Savings Performance Contracts, Immigration Benefits System, Military Training, Nonproliferation, Senate Preservation Fund
Capitol Preservation Fund: Audit of Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014 Transactions, GAO-15-586R: Published: Jun 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 17, 2015. Energy Savings Performance Contracts: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Federal Oversight, GAO-15-432: Published: Jun 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 17, 2015. Immigration Benefits System: Better Informed Decision Making Needed on Transformation Program, GAO-15-415: Published:… Continue Reading
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
Release Date: June 17, 2015: “Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April suggests that economic activity has been expanding moderately after having changed little during the first quarter. The pace of job gains picked up while the unemployment rate remained steady. On balance, a range of labor market indicators suggests that… Continue Reading
Index of Philanthropic Freedom 2015
Carol Adelman, Jesse Barnett & Kimberly Russell – Hudson Institute – “The Index of Philanthropic Freedom 2015 is the first analysis of philanthropic freedom across the world. By examining barriers and incentives for individuals and organizations to donate money and time to social causes, CGP has measured, ranked, and compared countries on their ease of… Continue Reading
Feds leveraging data from egov site
Via Government Executive: “It’s surprising how many agencies now use USASpending.gov to “access their own data,” said David Lebryk, the fiscal assistant Treasury secretary who on Monday delivered an upbeat assessment of governmentwide progress in implementing the 2014 Digital Accountability and Transparency Act. “We’re off to a great start on tough challenges, but outsiders don’t… Continue Reading
FTC – The not-so-big news about Big Data
“Everywhere these days, folks are talking about big data. (Apparently, even machines are talking amongst themselves using big data in an ecosystem called the Internet of Things.) Last week, Chairwoman Ramirez spoke about the privacy implications of the big data revolution, and specifically, about the FTC’s law enforcement efforts to protect consumer privacy from the… Continue Reading
