This week's RFF on the Issues is written by Center Fellow Daniel Morris, who will take over the series from Nathan Richardson. Nathan will be managing editor of RFF's forthcoming blog, Common Resources, which will feature existing RFF research and news, including RFF on the Issues, along with new writing by RFF's roster of experts. Stay tuned!
Prizes Are Good Things, but So Are Patents
Upon learning that he had won the Mark Twain Prize, George Carlin wrote of his happiness about its official label as a prize. In his words, “a prize is something a kid wins.” The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is indirectly recognizing the kid in all of us with its recent report on the ability of prizes to spur innovation. RFF Senior Fellow Tim Brennan and Vice President for Research Molly Macauley have researched prizes for some time, and recently wrote with Kate Whitefoot on the similarities and differences between prizes and patents. They note that, in an economic sense, the two operate similarly. There are other factors, however, that make one more attractive in some situations to drive innovation amongst competitors. Prizes are excellent for achieving, for instance, a specific goal or product, where patents are better suited to when the end goal is less well defined.
Natural Gas in Your Tank?
Due to the shale gas boom of recent years, natural gas prices have fallen to their lowest levels seen in a decade. And yet, while there is hope that gasoline prices have peaked for the year, consistently high prices may already be weakening the fragile economy. Could there a happy marriage in the future between cheap and plentiful natural gas and our ever-present need to quench thirsty cars?
Probably not, according to research conducted by CEEP Director and Senior Fellow Alan Krupnick. He finds that there is likely some room for cost-effective growth using natural gas in heavy-duty vehicles, as the burdens to developing the necessary infrastructure are not as confining as originally thought. Light-duty vehicles, however, do not present the same opportunities because, without major subsidies, natural gas passenger cars and trucks are not cost-competitive with traditionally fueled cars.
Nuclear, Neither Coming Nor Going
The New York Times highlights the current conundrum of nuclear power: it’s not going away, but it’s certainly not expanding in a meaningful way. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently greenlighted construction of new reactors for the first time in 30 years, but the Georgia project has already run into trouble. The future role of nuclear power is one of many issues covered by “Toward a New National Energy Policy,” a major joint report from RFF and the National Energy Policy Institute. The report finds that electricity generation from nuclear power will likely remain roughly the same over the next 20 years without some kind of carbon pricing policy.
