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Monthly Archives: March 2016

Map Shows How Apple-FBI Fight Was About Much More Than One Phone

Via ACLU – “The government insisted that its effort to force Apple to help break into an iPhone as part of the investigation into the 2015 San Bernardino shootings was just about that one case. Even though the FBI no longer needs Apple’s help in that case, the FBI’s request was part of a sustained… Continue Reading

Following OPM Personnel Data Hack New Agency To Process Federal Security Clearances

Federal News Radio – “The Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management are standing up a new agency to assume responsibility of the federal security clearance process. The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) will have a specific, presidentially appointed director and member of the Performance Accountability Council, who will report to OPM. The… Continue Reading

GAO Reports – DOD Major Automated Information Systems, NASA, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

DOD Major Automated Information Systems: Improvements Can Be Made in Reporting Critical Changes and Clarifying Leadership Responsibility, GAO-16-336: Published: Mar 30, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 30, 2016. NASA: Assessments of Major Projects, GAO-16-309SP: Published: Mar 30, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 30, 2016. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for… Continue Reading

The causal effect of house prices on mortgage demand and mortgage supply: evidence from Switzerland

The causal effect of house prices on mortgage demand and mortgage supply: evidence from Switzerland by Christoph Basten and Catherine Koch. Working Papers No 555, March 2016. “We identify the causal effect of house prices on mortgage demand and supply in Switzerland by exploiting exogenous shocks to immigration and thereby to house prices. Detailed micro… Continue Reading

What drives the short-run costs of fiscal consolidation? Evidence from OECD countries

What drives the short-run costs of fiscal consolidation? Evidence from OECD countries by Ryan Niladri Banerjee and Fabrizio Zampolli. Working Papers No 553, March 2016 “In a panel of OECD countries, we investigate the short-term effects of fiscal consolidation on output and employment, and how these vary with the state of the business cycle, monetary… Continue Reading

National Archives Opens Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Records

[March 11, 2016] “the National Archives announced its first opening of Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) records, along with a detailed 1,400-page online finding aid. The records are available via DropBox. These records complement the material previously released by the FCIC online. Newly available FCIC records include: Minutes and notes of commissioner meetings, including internal… Continue Reading

Harvard Library’s Environmental Scan of Web Archiving

Harvard Library’s Environmental Scan of Web Archiving By Andrea Goethals, Manager of Digital Preservation and Repository Services; Preservation Services: “Managing born-digital material, including content that originated on the web, has been one of Harvard Library’s strategic priorities for FY15 and 16. As a result, the Web Archive Working Group has been gathering information to inform… Continue Reading

Changes in Neighborhood Inequality, 2000-2010

Weinberg, Daniel H., Changes in Neighborhood Inequality, 2000-2010 (March 1, 2016). US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP- 16-18. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2754332 “Recent work has suggested that higher income inequality may be a desirable attribute of a neighborhood in that it represents diversity, even though high (and rising) inequality… Continue Reading

Trends in Employer-Sponsored Insurance Offer and Coverage Rates, 1999-2014

Kaiser Family Foundation – “The majority of nonelderly people get their health coverage through an employer-based plan. This issue brief uses data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine trends in employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) for different types of people and households.While ESI remains the leading source of coverage for nonelderly people (those… Continue Reading

Documenting the Business Register and Related Economic Business Data

DeSalvo, Bethany and Limehouse, Frank and Klimek, Shawn D., Documenting the Business Register and Related Economic Business Data (March 01, 2016). US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP- 16-17. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2755723 “The Business Register (BR) is a comprehensive database of business establishments in the United States and provides resources for… Continue Reading

An Analysis of the President’s 2017 Budget

“This report by CBO presents an analysis of the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2017. The analysis is based on CBO’s economic projections and estimating models, rather than on the Administration’s, and the estimates of the effects of the President’s tax proposals were prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).… Continue Reading

Census Bureau – Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015

“The percentage of Asians in the U.S. with a bachelor’s degree or higher rose to 54 percent in 2015, up from 38 percent in 1995, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, Asians and non-Hispanic whites were more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared with blacks… Continue Reading