Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

PUBLICATIONS BY Karen Campbell, Ph.D.

Research

• 2008

2008 Research

December 08, 2008
Bankruptcy of Detroit’s Big Three Automobile Companies: New Economic Impact Estimates
By Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D., and Paul L. Winfree
(WebMemo #2160)
Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler rely heavily on a study by the Center for Automotive Research in making their case for a financial bailout. This report claims that the simultaneous failure of these three companies would result in a loss of 3.3 million jobs nationally in the same year as the company shutdowns. However, this estimate is based on highly dubious assumptions.

November 18, 2008
Extended Unemployment Insurance--No Economic Stimulus
By James Sherk and Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-13)
Many Members of Congress support a second economic stimulus package, including extending the time period over which workers can collect unemployment insurance (UI). A comprehensive model shows the current 13-week extended benefits program increases GDP by only $0.25 per dollar spent. Increasing the duration of UI benefits to 46 weeks would hurt the economy, reducing the effect on GDP to $0.17

November 10, 2008
EPA-Mandated CO2 Reductions Will Lower U.S. Industries' Return on Equity
By Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-12)
The global warming policy debate is increasing the calls for reduction of carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions. The proposal to allow the EPA to broadly regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act will impose higher costs on U.S. industries, leading to slower economic growth and lower employment. This will cause decreased productivity of U.S. industries and lower returns on equity.

November 10, 2008
The Global Response to a Terror-Generated Energy Crisis
By William W. Beach, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D., Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D., and Hopper Smith
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-11)
In June 2008, The Heritage Foundation invited energy scholars and policy experts to participate in a computer simulation and gaming exercise assessing the economic effects of a global petroleum energy crisis. This exercise suggests reliance on market forces and coordinated security activities did much to help restore the confidence of markets and consumers.

October 29, 2008
CO2–Emission Cuts: The Economic Costs of the EPA's ANPR Regulations
By David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D., and Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-10)
The EPA's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) proposes an unprecedented expansion of federal ability to regulate CO2 emissions. Its limits on CO2 emissions would impose significant costs on virtually the entire American economy. Even under a fairly optimistic set of assumptions, the economic impact of the ANPR is likely to be serious for the job market, household budgets, and the economy overall.

October 15, 2008
The Obama and McCain Tax Plans: How Do They Compare?
By William Beach, Karen Campbell, Ph.D., Rea S. Hederman, Jr., and Guinevere Nell
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-09)
The results in this paper are based on the specific tax policy proposals of Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. The economy improves under each plan as compared to the CBO baseline that assumes that all of the Bush tax cuts disappear. While both candidates plan to reduce taxes compared to this scenario and each achieves his stated goal, their approaches are quite different.

July 14, 2008
How Rising Gas Prices Hurt American Households
By Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #2162)
Higher gas prices lower employment, income, and spending. To the extent that the high price of gasoline is not a clear signal because of excessive taxes and regulations that artificially make oil scarcer, the government can implement policies that would allow for more oil production. The government can also encourage innovations in energy supply by keeping regulatory burdens to a minimum.