Green growth? Evidence from energy taxes in Europe

Dublin (AFP) - Apple chief executive Tim Cook said he was feeling "pretty good" ahead of the European Union's judgement on its Irish tax arrangements, as the company announced 1,000 new jobs in Ireland on Wednesday. 

Guest blog post by Matt Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic DevelopmentOver the next two days, I will join several colleagues for a rural swing in North Carolina and Louisiana to promote jobs and innovation. Along with Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development Doug O’Brien, Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl, and Delta Regional Authority Federal Co-Chairman Christopher Masingill, I will attend events in rural America and tour two projects that were among the 13 winners of this year’s Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The Rural Jobs Accelerator—designed by the Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and the White House Rural Council—is a joint effort of 13 federal agencies, working together to help accelerate economic and job growth across rural regions. It is a great example of collaboration across federal agencies to pool resources and identify new, innovative ways to create an economy built to last. Since taking office three and one-half years ago, President Obama has been deeply committed to strengthening rural economies all across America—helping to create jobs, support business growth, and expand opportunity for rural Americans. The administration has advanced new policies and initiatives and made significant investments in rural communities. The Rural Jobs Accelerator builds on those goals, seeking to foster job creation and business innovation in these communities.

Hot on the heels of the news that Apple will create some 20,000 jobs in the US over the next 5 years, came the latest Beige Book report from the Federal Reserve, according to which it's not jobs that are missing in the US, it's qualified employees.

I just finished reading Richard Florida’s new book, The New Urban Crisis.  Florida writes that part of this “crisis” is the exploding cost of housing in some prosperous cities.  Does that make him a market urbanist?  Yes, and no.