Ryan Avent

While many cautious economists are at pains to point out that the bulk of the funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- that is, the stimulus -- have not yet been spent, others are arguing that the economy is significantly weaker than was expected when the bill was passed and a larger fiscal boost should be considered.

Economist Tyler Cowen responds to my recent take on Ed Glaeser's recent HSR column:

Two things were clear at this morning's hearing of the Senate Banking Committee concerning green investments in public transportation. First, transportation experts and leading legislators are very much in agreement on how transportation spending should change. And second, Randal O'Toole's days as anything other than an anachronism are numbered.

Ed Glaeser is a fantastic economist. He has done magnificent work analyzing the economics of urban growth and written indispensable papers on the connection between housing regulations and migration.

To be effective, fiscal stimulus must be timely.

Building America's Future is a kind of DreamWorks for the infrastructure set.

We now have in our hands the 775-page Surface Transportation Authorization Act, which was released yesterday by James Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House transportation committee. It is, in many ways, a remarkable bill -- a blueprint for how transportation planning and infrastructure construction might undergo a significant shift away from the mindsets that have dominated for the past half-century. There is a lot to like in the bill.