Mosbacher Institute Research

January 10:  Leveraging Private Sector Capabilities for Sustainable Economic Development

By Kurt Sernett
While public institutions represent the backbone of international development, their high visibility obscures the beneficial role occupied by private and non-profit entities. Private actors are leveraging their advanced logistics and supply chain management capabilities to deliver tangible results for international development, and several firms are making an impact by encouraging and fostering sustainable, safe, and humane supply chains.

Read The Takeaway, Leveraging Private Sector Capabilities for Sustainable Economic Development

December 9:  Medicaid & the Public Health Emergency: Implications for Texas

By Laura Dague and Benjamin Ukert
The COVID-19 related public health emergency (PHE) led to federal legislation that changed the current landscape of Medicaid coverage. Beginning in March 2020, states agreed to suspend Medicaid disenrollment in exchange for increased federal funds to help stabilize their budgets. Texas had the nation’s highest uninsurance rate at 18.4% in 2019, but as of June 2022, total Texas Medicaid caseload has increased by 41% or 1.6 million people,  substantially decreasing the number of uninsured. We used public data to estimate the gains in Medicaid coverage attributable to the PHE and losses in caseload when the policy expires, as well as the net fiscal impacts.

Read The Takeaway, Medicaid & the Public Health Emergency: Implications for Texas

• Tomlinson: GOP leaders demand spending cuts, but plans would slash Medicare and Medicaid, Houston Chronicle
• Some enrollees for Texas Medicaid health insurance will be ineligible for coverage under new rules, Houston Public Media
• New report: 700,000 Texans – mostly children – could lose Medicaid health insurance as federal pandemic public health emergency rule ends, Episcopal Health Foundation
• What Happens to Texans’ Insurance Coverage When Medicaid and Marketplace Pandemic-Era Policies End?, The full Episcopal Health Foundation report

August 15:  Democracy on the Battlefield? Why Armed Groups Hold Elections

By Reyko Huang
Armed rebel groups, by definition, use violence to fight against the state in efforts to take over the central government or achieve independent statehood. And yet, this simple view of rebel groups as belligerents belies the fact that they engage in a wide range of non-violent political projects as part of their militant campaigns. Among them, one phenomenon stands out as being particularly arresting given the wartime context: many rebel groups hold popular elections during war. What explains this behavior?

Read The Takeaway, Data-Driven Next-Gen Resilient and Sustainable U.S. Supply Chains: At the Front Lines of the Geopolitical New Normal

May 31:  Data-Driven Next-Gen Resilient and Sustainable U.S. Supply Chains: At the Front Lines of the Geopolitical New Normal

By Lefteris Iakovou
A rebalancing between cost efficiency and resilience is needed to boost sustainability and security in supply chains. The increasing exposure of global supply chains to severe disruptions, such as the ones created by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, requires novel data-driven risk management paradigms that monetize data from internal and external stakeholders to promote cost-competitive supply chain resilience and sustainability, while supporting employment, social cohesion, and national security for the United States.

Read The Takeaway, Data-Driven Next-Gen Resilient and Sustainable U.S. Supply Chains: At the Front Lines of the Geopolitical New Normal

May 16: Productivity and “War Vulnerability”

By Andres Jola-Sanchez
In many parts of the world, warfare continues to threaten supply chains, worldwide production, and global stability. Economic production is critical for a nation (and those who rely on its exports) in peacetime, but may be even more important during war. While some industries are vulnerable and witness production losses during war, others increase their output. This article discusses how firms’ processes affect vulnerability while exploring the effects of civil war on productivity.

Read The Takeaway, Productivity and “War Vulnerability”

April 29: When Is Government Spending More Effective in Stimulating the Economy?

By Yoon J. Jo
The recent periods of low interest rates have shown that fiscal policies are crucial for economic recovery. Understanding the effects of increased government spending on the economy is of great importance, particularly for policymakers. The $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was introduced in February, 2009, to resuscitate the economy. The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was launched in March, 2020, in response to the economic crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although similar, these two stimulus packages were not equally effective because their recessions were very different.

Read The Takeaway, When Is Government Spending More Effective in Stimulating the Economy?

January 31: Does Price Volatility Information Affect Consumer Choice?

By Anastasia Shcherbakova
Most electricity consumers in the United States purchase electricity through a fixed-rate plan. This leads to inefficiencies and overuse because there are no monetary incentives for consumers to limit usage during peak times when electricity generation is very expensive. The reliance on fixed-rate plans makes electricity generation inefficient and has negative environmental implications. Neither utilities nor policy makers have been able to figure out how to successfully introduce dynamic-rate pricing plans on a large scale. Our research suggests ways electric utilities can help consumers make more efficient choices.

Read The Takeaway, Does Price Volatility Information Affect Consumer Choice?