ACCF Center for Policy Research

The ACCF Center for Policy Research brings together academics, policymakers, business executives, and the media to focus on important new research on economic and environmental policies and to explore the public policy implications of the research.

The ACCF Center for Policy Research focuses on those policies that affect U.S. economic growth, jobs, and competitiveness. Center publications are circulated widely in the U.S. policymaking community, at international policy conferences, and to the public.

Tax Policy Research

The Center, building on its well-received research on the economic impact of tax policy on saving and investment, hosts briefings and forums to examine key tax policy issues affecting corporations and individuals. Center studies include analyses of the economic impact of the corporate income tax, alternative minimum tax, estate tax, reforms to pension policies, and taxation of capital gains. This research is made available to policymakers, the media and the public.

Tax Burden and Economic Growth

The U.S. tax code treats saving and investment very harshly and thus hampers this country's ability to maintain the strong economic base needed for the future. The Center's research demonstrates that the U.S. tax code hits saving and investment harder than do those of many of our international competitors. These factors should be of increasing concern to U.S. policymakers.

Tax Reform

Center research shows that tax reform can be achieved through broad-based restructuring in which consumption, rather than income, becomes the tax base. Alternatively, reform can be accomplished through incremental changes in the tax base that reduce the tax burden on saving and investment. Center research has consistently shown that either type of tax restructuring would enhance U.S. productivity and economic growth.

Saving and Investment in the U.S. Economy

The Center articulates the long-term consequences for the U.S. economy if growth and retirement security continue to lag. Low levels of saving have raised concerns about the long-term competitive strength of the U.S. economy and its ability to finance domestic investment without excessive reliance on foreign funding. Center research demonstrates that improving incentives for saving will help improve overall saving levels. The Center made new research on the effectiveness of tax-preferred saving vehicles in promoting saving and retirement security available to policymakers, the media, and the public.

Estate Tax Analysis

Center-sponsored research by noted scholars concludes that the federal estate tax reduces the supply of labor and personal saving and increases the cost of capital for new investment. The federal estate tax also causes distortions in household decision making about work effort, saving, and investment, as do other taxes on capital. Among recent Center studies is an international comparison showing that the U.S. estate tax is among the harshest in the world. Taking note of the Center's study, a Wall Street Journal editorial suggested that "America is about the most expensive place to die."

Climate Policy Research

Center officers present research on the desirability of cost-benefit analysis for evaluating policies to policymakers in a variety of forums, including testimony before federal and state policymakers and at briefings in Washington, D.C. and in various states, as well as to private sector leaders. Center research suggests that policies to encourage the development and diffusion of new energy technologies and carbon capture and storage along with conservation should play a role in climate policy. Center research demonstrates the high cost and ineffectiveness of caps on carbon emissions.

Center officers also present research on the economic impact of the Kyoto Protocol on EU emissions and competitiveness in testimony before Congress. Recent Center analysis illustrated the ineffectiveness of a global emission trading system and mandatory carbon emission reductions. The Center's research supports initiatives such as the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Development, an agreement signed in July 2005 by China, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the United States to work together on new energy technologies and carbon sequestration through industry as well as government. A cooperative global approach to reducing emission growth is more likely to produce results than the current EU policy of trying to curb energy use in countries that are already quite energy efficient and can ill afford to sacrifice economic growth while having little impact on growth in global emissions.

Impact of Reduced Energy Use on State Economic Prospects

Using studies prepared by internationally recognized energy modeling firms, the ACCF Center for Policy Research made the case before state legislatures in Maine, Connecticut, Oregon, and Washington that caps on carbon emission would reduce economic growth, employment, and budget receipts in the individual states while having only a negligible impact on global CO2 emissions. It is likely that policies encouraging global economic freedom and economic growth in developing countries are more beneficial in addressing climate change than are targets and timetables for emission reduction in developed countries.

Energy/Climate Policy Research

For nearly two decades, Center research and policy forums have emphasized the impact of energy and climate policy on investment, economic growth, and environmental quality. Participants in Center programs include U.S. and international policymakers and energy and climate policy experts from academia and the private sector. Center studies of energy and climate policy issues are quoted in respected publications in the U.S. and around the world and can be found on the desks of policymakers and in university libraries.
The Center's Energy and Climate Policy Advisory Board works closely with Center officers to shape the organization's environmental policy research agenda. Members of the Energy and Climate Policy Advisory Board are drawn from corporate and association supporters of the Center's programs.