Brookings: Experts - Pietro S. Nivola

The Potential Role of Entitlement or Budget Commissions in Addressing Long-term Budget Problems

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The United States faces a looming fiscal imbalance brought on by an aging population and rising health care costs. Yet, the current political environment discourages our leadership from making the tough choices required to fix our fiscal house. In this paper, a diverse group of budget experts reviews some of the recent history of appointed commissions, and discusses their potential role in long-term federal budgeting policy.

Know Thy Neighbor: What Canada Can Tell Us About Financial Regulation

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Obama administration and Congress are working rapidly to design a new regulatory architecture for the nation’s financial system. “They might consider taking a page or two from a model next door—Canada,” write Pietro Nivola and John C. Courtney, as they explore why the Canadian banking system remains solvent and solid amid the current global crisis.

In Defense of Partisan Politics

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The year 2009 was supposed to mark the dawn of a post-partisan era. However, America’s partisan politics have remained as stubbornly intense and polarized as ever. Yet, as Pietro Nivola writes, increased partisanship has an upside: party unity, accountability, civic engagement and voter turnout have all increased with partisan politics.

Center-Left America?

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Pietro Nivola examines public attitudes toward the economic crisis, health care, the environment, immigration and foreign affairs. He argues that Americans appear to have tilted toward the Democrats only on some matters and that much of the public remains divided or doubtful about the capacity of government to meet the nation’s greatest challenges.

The Long and Winding Road: Automotive Fuel Economy and American Politics

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The United States has been largely unsuccessful in reducing its petroleum consumption by regulating the fuel economy of motor vehicles. Pietro Nivola proposes a move towards a comprehensive carbon tax, which could reduce gasoline consumption more effectively and curtail carbon emissions from other, more damaging sources.

New Approaches to Addressing Long-Term Fiscal Responsibility

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A bipartisan group of budget experts from 7 different organizations view President Obama’s Fiscal Responsibility summit as a good first step to addressing the enormous long-term fiscal problem facing the United States, but urge him to lead a major public engagement effort – beyond a one-day summit – to inform Americans of the scale and nature of the long-term fiscal crisis, explain the consequences of inaction and discuss the options for solving the problem. The effort should include the creation of an independent and truly bipartisan commission or other mechanism capable of bringing about decisive action that has broad public support.

A Budget We Can Believe In

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A diverse group of experts urged President Obama, in his first budget submission, to strike a judicious balance between America’s short-term and long-term economic needs. While the need to boost spending to stimulate the economy is important, they say these short-term steps must not make it harder to achieve our long-term goals. They note that fundamental reforms of major entitlement programs and the tax system are needed to bring spending and revenues into better balance over the longer-term.

Rethinking “Energy Independence”

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Political leaders repeatedly point out that our current addiction to foreign oil is a matter of national security. In a Brookings paper, Pietro Nivola challenges the assumption that the less oil the U.S. buys from abroad, the more insulated our economy will be from vagaries of the international oil market.

A “Broken” Branch? Four Lessons from Congress’s Great Financial Bailout Saga

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When the House temporarily turned back the Bush Administration’s colossal financial rescue plan, many proclaimed the country’s political system gridlocked and dysfunctional. Cut them some slack, writes Brookings expert Pietro Nivola, who debunks the unwarranted ridicule that has deepened an already alarming degree of distrust of our venerable political institutions and public servants.

“Change” or Plus Ça Change…? Pondering Presidential Politics and Policy after Bush

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

President-elect Obama faces daunting challenges when he assumes office in January. Pietro Nivola and Charles O. Jones examine these and the probable policy outcomes, at home and abroad, of an Obama presidency.

Is 2008 a Post-Partisan Year?

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Pietro Nivola examines whether American politics are at a dawn of a “post-partisan” age. Many speculate that the divide between Democrats and Republicans is narrowing, and a new era of bipartisan comity is just around the corner. Nivola argues otherwise.

Vote Like Thy Neighbor

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The ideological differences between the political parties are growing, write Pietro Nivola and William Galston, and political polarization has become akin to political segregation. You are less likely to live near someone whose politics differ from your own. While many Americans want less polarization, they argue, "the underlying structure of our politics remains so deeply divided, the 2008 election may not requite their wish."

Taking Back our Fiscal Future

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Unsustainable deficits in the federal budget threaten the health and vigor of the American economy. When the next president and Congress take office in January 2009, they will face one crucial question that has been almost absent from the current election campaign: how to close the enormous gap between projected federal spending and revenues.

Red and Blue Nation? Volume II : Consequences and Correction of America's Polarized Politics

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

This new volume of Red and Blue Nation delves into the consequences of the gulf between "red states" and "blue states." The authors examine the impact of these political divisions on voter behavior, Congressional law-making, judicial selection, and foreign policy formation.

Rediscovering Federalism

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The central government in the United States has grown inordinately preoccupied with concerns better left to local authorities. Pietro Nivola examines an overextended government too often distracted from higher priorities, and offers several suggestions for how particular policy pursuits might be devolved.

Red and Blue Nation? Volume I : Characteristics and Causes of America's Polarized Politics

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Analysts and pundits increasingly perceive a widening gulf between red states and blue states. Yet the research to support that perception is scattered and sometimes difficult to parse. Americas polarized politics, it is said, poses fundamental

The Great Divide: Polarization in American Politics

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

It has become conventional wisdom that contemporary American politics is deeply and debilitatingly polarized. But is this supposition true? William Galston and Pietro Nivola examine the extent of polarization in American ideology, culture and politics.

Why Federalism Matters

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes nations face a stark choice: allow regions to federate and govern themselves, or risk national dissolution. Clear examples where federalism is the answer exist. Belgium would probably be a partitioned state now if Flanders had not been granted extensive self-government. If under Italy's constitution, Sardinia, a large and relatively remote Italian island, had not been granted significant autonomy, it might well have harbored a violent separatist movement—like the one plaguing a neighboring island, Corsica, a rebellious province of unitary France.

Thinking About Political Polarization

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Policy Brief #139, by Pietro S. Nivola (January 2005)

The Political Economy of Nuclear Energy in the United States

Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Policy Brief by Pietro S. Nivola. (September 2004)

Waive of the Future? Federalism and the Next Phase of Welfare Reform

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Determining the appropriate balance of power between the national government and the states is the “cardinal question of our constitutional system,” wrote Woodrow Wilson in 1908. The question, he said, would resurface at “every successive stage of our political and economic development.” A current manifestation of the time-honored debate focuses on whether to grant state governments additional discretion in managing and integrating a wide range of federally supported services that, in principle, can help the nation’s poor earn a living rather than depend on public assistance.

Can the Government Be Serious? September 11 Challenges Washington to Return to Its Core Responsibilities

Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro Nivola (Winter 2003)

Toward an Agenda: An Overview

Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Introduction to an edition of the Brookings Review (Winter 2003)

Fiscal Millstones on the Cities: Revisiting the Problem of Federal Mandates

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Policy Brief #122 by Pietro S. Nivola (August 2003).

Agenda for the Nation

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 00:00:00 GMT

In this visionary book, leading scholars from the Brookings Institution and other prominent research organizations and universities analyze the major domestic and foreign policy problems facing the nation over the next five to ten years.

Cut the Cities Some Slack

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Pietro S. Nivola, The San Diego Union-Tribune (6/20/03)

Tense Commandments : Federal Prescriptions and City Problems

Tue, 20 Aug 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Despite widespread urban revitalization and renewal, Americans still prefer the suburbs to the cities. While many of the underlying causes of the urban predicament are familiar, there is also the less recognized possibility that regulatory policies o

Reflections on Homeland Security and American Federalism

Mon, 13 May 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Working Paper by Pietro Nivola, Senior Fellow, Governmental Studies, the Brookings Institution, for the Brookings Website, May 13, 2002

Energy Independence or Interdependence? Integrating the North American Energy Market

Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro Nivola (Spring 2002)

Does Federalism Have a Future?

Sat, 01 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMT

article by Pietro S. Nivola, Senior Fellowk, Governmental Studies, the Brookings Institution, in The Public Interest, Winter 2001

Managing Green Mandates : Local Rigors of U.S. Environmental Regulation

Mon, 29 Oct 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Tense Commandments: Federal Prescriptions and City Problems

Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Pietro S. Nivola, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Prepared for the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, August 29-September 2, 2001

Last Rites for States Rights?

Fri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Reform Watch Brief #1, by Pietro S. Nivola (June 2000)

Energy Independence is Not Desirable or Doable

Sun, 11 Feb 2001 00:00:00 GMT

opinion by Pietro Nivola, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, in the Angeles Times, February 11, 2001

U.S. Gas-Pump Policy Is Full of Hot Air

Tue, 26 Sep 2000 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion Pietro S. Nivola, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, in Newsday, September 26, 2000

Pumps and Pocketbooks

Mon, 24 Apr 2000 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Pietro Nivola, Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution, in The Washington Post, April 24, 2000

Are Europe's Cities Better?

Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 GMT

article by Pietro Nivola, Senior Feloow, the Brookings Institution, The Public Interest, Vol. 137 (Fall 1999)

Make Way for Sprawl

Tue, 01 Jun 1999 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Pietro S. Nivola, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, in The Washington Post, June 1, 1999

Laws of the Landscape : How Policies Shape Cities in Europe and America

Mon, 12 Apr 1999 00:00:00 GMT

In this book, Pietro S. Nivola raises important questions about the continued suburbanization of America, comparing sprawling U.S. metropolitan areas to compact development patterns in Europe, and taking a hard look at the traditional solutions of U.

Fit for Fat City: A "Lite" Menu of European Policies to Improve Our Urban Form

Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:00:00 GMT

Policy Brief #44, by Pietro Nivola (January 1999)

Lifting the Heavy Hand: The Challenge of Reforming America's Regulatory State

Tue, 01 Dec 1998 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro S. Nivola (Winter 1998)

The New Pork Barrel: What's Wrong with Regulation Today and what reformers need to do to get it right

Tue, 01 Dec 1998 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro S. Nivola (Winter 1998)

Fat City: Understanding American Urban Form from a Transatlantic Perspective

Tue, 01 Sep 1998 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro S. Nivola (Fall 1998)

Treaties Are Taxed By Too Much Zeal

Wed, 05 Nov 1997 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Pietro Nivola, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, in the Los Angeles Times, November 5, 1997

Comparative Disadvantages? : Social Regulations and the Global Economy

Mon, 21 Jul 1997 00:00:00 GMT

The book concludes that in a global economy the burdensome regulations of foreign countries deserve attention, but increasingly so do the burdens that American &adversarial legalism& imposes on itself and sometimes on others. Ideas and prospects for

Commercializing Foreign Policy?: American trade policy, then and now

Sat, 01 Mar 1997 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Pietro S. Nivola (Spring 1997)

Inside Outsourcing: More Bad News from Business Regulation?

Fri, 01 Nov 1996 00:00:00 GMT

Businesses that outsource in the global economy can boost productivity and wages?if the outsourcing is driven by market forces, not by a need to game costly laws and lawsuits. But legal and regulatory considerations, not just a quest for cheap labor,

The Extra Mile : Rethinking Energy Policy for Automotive Transportation

Wed, 08 Mar 1995 00:00:00 GMT

In this volume, Pietro S. Nivola and Robert W. Crandall argue that a higher levy on gasoline would be a more efficient way of reducing the consumption and importation of oil in the U.S. than existing automotive fuel economy standards.

Regulating Unfair Trade

Tue, 09 Feb 1993 00:00:00 GMT

In this book, Pietro Nivola examines the strenuous effort to combat the objectionable trading practices of other countries and contends that foreign protectionism lower East-West tensions, and alleged American decline in the face of international com