C. Fred Bergsten
The Peterson Institute for International Economics
What are the key foreign economic policy issues facing the United States in the second half of this decade? How can the administration and Congress meet the economic challenges that lie ahead? This new book analyzes the dramatic importance of the world economy to both the domestic prosperity and overall foreign policy of the United States, describes the new global environment (e.g., the rise of China as a global economic superpower and the completion of European unification) in which US policy must operate, and proposes major US initiatives on a wide range of international economic issues, including correction of the huge current account deficit, new trade negotiations, and energy. Continue reading A New Foreign Economic Policy for the United States
Cato Policy Report, January/February 2010
by Jeffrey Friedman
Jeffrey Friedman is the editor of Critical Review and of Causes of the Financial Crisis, forthcoming from the University of Pennsylvania Press.
You are familiar by now with the role of the Federal Reserve in stimulating the housing boom; the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in encouraging lowequity mortgages; and the role of the Community Reinvestment Act in mandating loans to “subprime” borrowers, meaning those who were poor credit risks. So you may think that the government caused the financial crisis. But you don’t know the half of it. And neither does the government. Continue reading A Perfect Storm of Ignorance
The U.S. economy of the 21st century little resembles that of the 18th century, but acceptance of change and embrace of competition remain unchanged.
“The panic itself was felt in every part of the globe,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “It was as if a volcano had burst forth in New York, causing a tidal wave that swept with disastrous power over every nation on the globe.” One of the after-effects: “an accumulation of idle money in the banking centres.” The date of this item? January 17, 1908.
Given the sobering news that of late has arrived with distressing frequency, preparing this edition of Outline of the U.S. Economy has been a real challenge. We have tried to approach the task with a sense of historical consciousness. In addition to the 1908 events depicted above, the United States has endured a Great Depression (began 1929), a Long Depression (began 1873), a Panic of 1837 — “an American financial crisis, built on a speculative real estate market,” says Wikipedia — and assorted other recessions, panics, bubbles, and contractions, and emerged from each with its economic vigor restored and its republican institutions vibrant.
We hope that our readers will find this new entry in our Outline series frank, informative, and above all useful. We offer it in the spirit of optimism embedded deeply in American life.
—The Editors Continue reading Outline of the U.S. Economy
A.T. Kearney
The Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index is a regular survey of global executives conducted by A.T. Kearney. The Index provides a unique look at the present and future prospects for international investment flows. Companies participating in the survey account for more than $3.8 trillion in annual global revenue. Continue reading Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index
Using payment systems to combat the shadow economy
At almost $3 trillion, the shadow economy — that blurry area of commerce that includes legal activity hidden deliberately from public authorities — makes up a sizeable portion of economic activity in Europe. This study, performed for VISA Europe, examines the structure of the shadow economy and ways to reduce it. In many industries, the answer is the introduction of electronic payment systems. Continue reading The Shadow Economy in Europe
Critical Studies on the Possibilities of Socialism by N. G. PIERSON, LUDWIG VON MISES, GEORG HALM, and ENRICO BARONE (Edited) with an Introduction and a Concluding Essay by F. A.HAYEK
THERE is reason to believe that we are at last entering an era of reasoned discussion of what has long uncritically been assumed to [...]
Samir Amin
The expansion of capitalism is destroying the planet and placing the future of people in the South in jeopardy, writes Samir Amin in this week’s edition of Pambazuka News. Consumption levels in Europe, North America and Japan are four times higher than the per capita global average, a figure [...]
