What is Manufacturing?, and More from CRS

By Steven Aftergood • February 7, 2017

“What is Manufacturing?” is not the title of a lost work of Heidegger, but of a new report from the Congressional Research Service. The CRS report delves into the shifting meaning of “manufacturing” and the implications for economic analysis.

“Changes in the structure of manufacturing make it difficult to design government policies that support manufacturing-related value added and employment in the United States. Many federal laws adopted with the goal of supporting manufacturing do not take into account the increasingly blurred lines between manufacturing and other types of economic activity,” the report said.

See What Is Manufacturing? Why Does the Definition Matter?, February 6, 2017.

Other noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.

Gun Control, Mental Incompetency, and Social Security Administration Final Rule, February 2, 2017

Army Corps Easement Process and Dakota Access Pipeline Easement Status, CRS Insight, February 2, 2017

EPA’s and BLM’s Methane Rules, CRS Insight, February 3, 2017

Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee, updated February 6, 2017

The Islamic State and U.S. Policy, updated February 2, 2017

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, updated February 3, 2017

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, updated February 2, 2017

The United States Withdraws from the TPP, CRS Insight, February 3, 2017

“El Chapo” Guzmán’s Extradition: What’s Next for U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation?, CRS Insight, updated February 3, 2017

Cabo Verde: Background and U.S. Relations, February 6, 2017