CNE – Centro Para Una Nueva Economía – Center for a New Economy
Non-profit, economic research and policy development organization
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The summer of 2019 witnessed a masterful demonstration of civic engagement by the people of Puerto Rico. When accusations of corruption, misconduct, and deceit threatened to tarnish the island’s reputation, the people of Puerto Rico —both home and abroad— took to the streets peacefully to clean house and show the world that civility and honesty can prevail in the face of daunting political challenges.
Puerto Rico’s protracted economic depression — and the draconian measures implemented to combat the resulting fiscal imbalances — have eroded the island’s government capacity to perform at all levels and created fertile ground for unscrupulous actors to engage in fraudulent behavior.  Severe austerity programs implemented since 2006 have led to: drastic budget cuts in numerous key agencies, high employee turnover, low morale amongst public servants and limited resources across the board.
Recently, there has been a heated debate about whether Puerto Rico has been treated fairly by the federal government in the allocation of funds for disaster assistance in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The answer to this question is complicated because it depends in large measure in understanding (1) how the federal appropriations process works and (2) how the different kinds of assistance programs function.
Great books enlighten, empower, and energize us to seek new insights. This summer, CNE staff members share the top three books shaping their thinking.
Blueprint, the CNE Growth Commission housing and land initiative, continues to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and information through a series of public gatherings and events. There is a need to broaden the discussion about housing in Puerto Rico in the post-disaster period, including issues pertaining to safe and durable housing; Blueprint achieves this by bringing together various sectors in collaborative efforts.
El diccionario de la Real Academia Española provee cuatro definiciones para la palabra claroscuro. Dos de Ă©stas son particularmente relevantes para describir la realidad de la Autoridad de EnergĂa ElĂ©ctrica (la “AEE”), en general, y el Acuerdo de ReestructuraciĂłn de la Deuda de esa agencia con un grupo de bonistas (“RSA” por sus siglas en inglĂ©s), en especifico. De acuerdo con el diccionario, claroscuro puede referirse a: (1) una “distribuciĂłn muy acusada de la luz y de las sombras de un cuadro”; o (2) un “conjunto de rasgos contradictorios de una persona, de una situaciĂłn o de una cosa.”
For the sixth year in a row, Puerto Rico’s Center for a New Economy (CNE) has been included in the most recent edition of the 2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report published by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania’s renowned Lauder Institute. CNE was recognized in the Think Tanks to Watch in 2019 and Best Independent Think Tanks categories.
