“UNHCR contributes to coordination and informed decision-making in refugee operations by providing accurate, relevant and timely data and statistics. This key resource is used by all partners to respond to the needs of refugee populations. This section provides data, reports, maps and other information essential for field operations. It also carries statistical reports on the… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: December 2015
Pew – Home Broadband 2015
The share of Americans with broadband at home has plateaued, and more rely only on their smartphones for online access: “Three notable changes relating to digital access and digital divides are occurring in the realm of personal connectivity, according to new findings from Pew Research Center surveys. First, home broadband adoption seems to have plateaued.… Continue Reading
FAS posts 3 new CRS documents on Sale and Use of Firearms
Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process, Paul K. Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation, December 17, 2015: “This report reviews the process and procedures that currently apply to congressional consideration of foreign arms sales proposed by the President. This includes consideration of proposals to sell major defense equipment, defense articles and services, or the re-transfer to third party… Continue Reading
What Is “Building Partner Capacity?” Issues for Congress
What Is “Building Partner Capacity?” Issues for Congress. Kathleen J. McInnis, Coordinator, Analyst in International Security; Nathan J. Lucas, Section Research Manager. December 18, 2015. “Since 2001, successive U.S. administrations have increasingly prioritized efforts to build foreign security forces—particularly in weak and failing states—arguing that doing so advances U.S. national security objectives. In turn, the… Continue Reading
State of the Commons Report Highlights Milestone of Over 1 Billion Creative Commons Works Shared Online
Ryan Merkley, December 8, 2015 – Annual State of the Commons Report highlights global cultural and policy impact of free and open content – “Creative Commons, the global nonprofit that makes it easier for creators to share their work under simple copyright terms, announced a major milestone in the release of its 2015 State of… Continue Reading
Update your link to EUR-lex
Via EU Publications and Lyonette Louis-Jacques: “All: update your links. The old EUR-lex will be taken offline on 31/12/2015.” Please refer now to EUR-Lex provides direct free access to European Union law. Continue Reading
Social Security Policy Options, 2015
CBO – Social Security Policy Options 2015 – “Social Security, which marked its 80th anniversary in 2015, is the largest single program in the federal government’s budget. The program has two parts: Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), which pays benefits to retired workers, to their dependents and survivors, and to some survivors of deceased workers;… Continue Reading
Census Bureau – 2014 Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll Data
“The U.S. Census Bureau today released statistics from the 2014 Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll, which provides a comprehensive look at the number of state and local government civilian employees and their gross payrolls. The survey is the only data source that specifies employment by government function for state and local governments; some… Continue Reading
An Easy Checkoff for Global Competitiveness: The Case for a U.S. Innovation Box
An Easy Checkoff for Global Competitiveness: The Case for a U.S. Innovation Box – Robert D. Atkinson – November 30, 2015. “Taxing corporate revenues from innovation-based activities less will not only boost U.S. global competitiveness it will help bring back IP-based corporate profits now overseas. “Within the last decade a growing number of countries have… Continue Reading
IMF releases e-library of global economic data
“The IMF has released results of the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS) on December 9, 2015, the worldwide survey of bilateral direct investment positions, with 100 economies reporting 2014 data, compared to 90 economies last year. 66 percent of the total inward direct investment position is concentrated in 10 economies.” IMF eLibrary Data Continue Reading
Kaiser – Medicare Penalizes 758 Hospitals For Safety Incidents
Kaiser Health News – “The federal government is penalizing 758 hospitals with higher rates of patient safety incidents, and more than half of those places had also been fined last year, Medicare records released late Wednesday show. Among the hospitals getting punished for the first time are some well-known institutions, including Stanford Health Care in… Continue Reading
Electricity Markets: Designing Auctions Where Suppliers Have Uncertain Costs
Holmberg, Par and Wolak, Frank, Electricity Markets: Designing Auctions Where Suppliers Have Uncertain Costs (December 17, 2015). IFN Working Paper No. 1099. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2705568 “We analyse how the market design influences the bidding behaviour in multi-unit auctions, such as wholesale electricity markets. It is shown that competition improves for increased market… Continue Reading
