CNE – Centro Para Una Nueva Economía – Center for a New Economy
Non-profit, economic research and policy development organization
On January 27, 2022, the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board (“FOMB”) for Puerto Rico certified a new Fiscal Plan for Fiscal Year 2022. In this report, we highlight for our readers some of the most important components of the Fiscal Plan.
In January of 2022, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy published a working paper carried out by CNE’s research unit on “Tracking Neighborhood Change in Geographies of Opportunity for Post-Disaster Legacy Cities”. Using the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA) as a case study, we measured how different indicators for neighborhood change are associated with storm impacts, specifically those stemming from Hurricane María, and the geographical distribution of opportunities.
Young people need hope for the future and opportunities to prosper, and they are not finding them in Puerto Rico. We need to reconstruct our island by rebuilding our middle class and creating opportunities.
The Housing Reconstruction Monitoring Dashboard is an interactive and dynamic tool that provides detailed data, at the municipal level, on housing damages and reconstruction investments related to Hurricanes Irma and María.
Recently, we have been hearing some unreasonably rosy statements about how well the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority used to work. That is why I looked up the Official Statements for PREPA’s last two bond offerings, dated April 12, 2012, and August 15, 2013. These documents contain a wealth of data and information about Puerto Rico’s electricity system.
The Puerto Rican economy is simultaneously recovering from three systemic shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic, the considerable damage inflicted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the upcoming creditor’s vote on the Plan of Adjustment negotiated by the FOMB.
On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Puerto Rico Oversight and Management Economic Stability Act. As we look back and take stock of the events that have taken place since 2016, the unavoidable conclusion is that the territorial bankruptcy regime set up by that law has failed to achieve most of the goals set forth by its authors.
It has been about three years and eight months since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. It is a good time as any, to take stock of the post-storm reconstruction and recovery process as we approach the beginning of yet another hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.
