Click here for the full report.
Jobs for America: Investments and Policies for Economic Growth and Competitiveness tackles the central question of the day: How can the United States jumpstart and sustain job growth?
Utilizing detailed simulations, the report finds that changes to U.S. economic and tax policies can add 2.9 million jobs by 2019, while more than 3.5 million jobs can be created in each of the next three years by supporting investment in 10 key infrastructure project categories.
The policy changes analyzed – decreasing U.S. corporate tax rates to match the OECD average, increasing and making permanent the R&D tax credit and modernizing export controls on certain products – would spur significant economic growth in the medium- to long-term.
For more immediate job growth, Jobs for America looks at infrastructure investments in 10 project categories, totaling $425.6 billion: highway and transit projects; broadband; offshore drilling and onshore exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources; drinking water and wastewater infrastructure; the smart grid; nuclear energy; renewable energy; the NextGen air traffic control system; inland waterways; and clean coal. These investment proposals utilize a mix of public funding, public-private partnerships and other types of incentives such as loan guarantees.
The study finds that for every $1 billion invested in these projects, slightly more than 25,000 jobs are created. Looking at impacts over a three-year period, all the projects combined will create 3.4 million construction- and R&D-related jobs, with an estimated $147 billion in direct earnings. Accounting for ripple effects across other sectors, the total impact will add up to 10.7 million jobs, $420.6 billion in earnings and $1.4 trillion in output.
The Milken Institute analyzed the economic impacts of infrastructure investments on an individual project basis so that policymakers can make informed decisions about where to allocate resources. The research was supported by funding from the National Association of Manufacturers.
Click here to view the outcomes of the policy simulations and various infrastructure investments. An interactive tool allows you to input an investment amount in each infrastructure category and calculate the projected jobs, wages and output produced.
