Governance Challenges and the Financial Crisis: Seven Key Questions

In the midst of a global economic crisis, the federal government responded on an unprecedented scale and scope, with injections of trillions of dollars into financial markets, infusions of cash to troubled industries, state and local governments, and people in need. Government is employing tools in ways never before considered and inventing new tools, in the hope of stabilizing the economy and spurring economic recovery.Under the leadership of National Academy Fellow Don Kettl and National Academy President Jennifer Dorn, the National Academy of Public Administration convened a roundtable of government leaders, business leaders, researchers and other experts to discuss governance issues related to the government's response to the financial crisis. Seven strategic questions related to governance emerged from the discussion, held earlier this year, which was moderated by Don Kettl. The National Academy and the IBM Center for the Business of Government are pleased to offer this summary of the roundtable in an effort to stimulate a national discussion of these questions.Key Findings Government investments have the potential to transform the role the federal government plays in the private economy. While largely intended to be temporary, many fear that these investments will create long-term, almost "permanent" expectations -- particularly with regard to education, unemployment insurance, infrastructure and tax breaks.One challenge confronting the government is to devise exit strategies that balance policy objectives, such as minimizing economic disruption and securing a return on taxpayer dollars, while not undermining the viability of companies or their market competitors, as well as governments and other groups. Another challenge is to determine the appropriate scope of ongoing federal regulatory authority in light of both practical demands and the appropriate role of the federal government in managing the economy

Foreign aid and the failure of state building in Haiti under the Duvaliers, Aristide, Préval, and Martelly

After receiving at least US$20 billion in aid for reconstruction and development over the past 60 years, Haiti has been and remains a fragile state, one of the worse globally. The reasons for aid failure are legion but mostly relate to highly dysfunctional Haitian regimes, sometimes destructive US foreign policy and aid policy, and ongoing issues about how to deliver aid, all in the context of devastating natural disasters. The over-riding cause of aid failure has been the social, cultural and historical context which has led to domination by economic and political elites who have little interest in advancing Haiti, and who are totally self-interested - Haiti's fatal flaw. Donors can go far to improve aid effectiveness, but Haiti will languish until its leaders and people find common ground and compromise in managing their country

Exo70-Mediated Recruitment of Nucleoporin Nup62 at the Leading Edge of Migrating Cells is Required for Cell Migration

Nucleoporin Nup62 localizes at the central channel of the nuclear pore complex and is essential for nucleocytoplasmic transport. Through its FG-repeat domain, Nup62 regulates nuclear pore permeability and binds nuclear transport receptors. Here, we report that Nup62 interacts directly with Exo70 and colocalizes with Exo70 at the leading edge of migrating cells. Nup62 binds the N-terminal domain of Exo70 through its coiled-coil domain but not through its FG-repeat domain. Selective inhibition of leading edge Nup62 using RNA interference significantly reduces cell migration. Furthermore, Exo70 recruits Nup62 at the plasma membrane and at filopodia. Removal of the Exo70-binding domain of Nup62 prevents leading edge localization of Nup62. Analogous to Exo70, Nup62 cycles between the plasma membrane and the perinuclear recycling compartment. Altogether, we propose that Nup62 not solely regulates access to the cell nucleus, but additionally functions in conjunction with Exo70, a key regulator of exocytosis and actin dynamics, at the leading edge of migrating cells

The development and validation of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale with a large national sample

The view that problematic excessive sexual behavior (“sex addiction”) is a form of behavioral addiction has gained more credence in recent years, but there is still considerable controversy regarding operationalization of the concept. Furthermore, most previous studies have relied on small clinical samples. The present study presents a new method for assessing sex addiction—the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS)—based on established addiction components (i.e., salience/craving, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict/problems, and relapse/loss of control). Using a cross-sectional survey, the BYSAS was administered to a broad national sample of 23,533 Norwegian adults [aged 16–88 years; mean (± SD) age = 35.8 ± 13.3 years], together with validated measures of the Big Five personality traits, narcissism, self-esteem, and a measure of sexual addictive behavior. Both an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA = 0.046, CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.996) supported a one-factor solution, although a local dependence between two items (Items 1 and 2) was detected. Furthermore, the scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.83). The BYSAS correlated significantly with the reference scale (r = 0.52), and demonstrated similar patterns of convergent and discriminant validity. The BYSAS was positively related to extroversion, neuroticism, intellect/imagination, and narcissism, and negatively related to conscientiousness, agreeableness, and self-esteem. High scores on the BYSAS were more prevalent among those who were men, single, of younger age, and with higher education. The BYSAS is a brief, and psychometrically reliable and valid measure for assessing sex addiction. However, further validation of the BYSAS is needed in other countries and contexts

An Analysis of the Employment Effects of the Washington High Technology Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax Credit: Technical Report

This paper estimates the effects of an R&D tax credit in the state of Washington on job creation. The research uses micro-data on the job creation and tax credits received by individual firms in the state of Washington from 2004 to 2009. We correct for the endogeneity of R&D tax credits received by individual firms by using instrumental variables based in part on national industry factor shares for R&D. We estimate that this tax credit created jobs, but at a high cost. The cost per job-year created is estimated to be between $40,000 and$50,000. The credit was so high cost in part because the credit was non-refundable. As a result, about one-quarter of the firms receiving credits were maxed out on credit eligibility, so that the credit provided no marginal incentive for additional R&D spending or job creation