I had the pleasure of studying under Uwe Reinhardt at Princeton. He was by far the best teacher. He gave such entertaining presentations, full of jokes and anecdotes, that he … Continue reading “”

I had the pleasure of being invited to a dinner organized by the Princeton University Center for Economic Policy Studies (CEPS) where George Soros spoke on the current economic crisis. … Continue reading “”

The story of the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs should be a cautionary tale to present-day policymakers. The tariffs did not cause the Great Depression, but they deepened its severity and duration. All … Continue reading “”

As a society and as individuals we are loth to take responsibility for our actions. We much prefer finding scapegoats or blaming circumstances. I was recently asked who was to … Continue reading “”

During the past few years, I often felt I was the sole economic pessimist. I urged my friends and whoever would listen to rent and not buy their apartments (Rent … Continue reading “”

I am not usually a fan of his style, but in this case, his outburst was justified and eerily prescient!

By Steven E Worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Yes—but don’t be cowed by talk of calamity. Disasters call for prudence and circumspection, not frenzied action. Congress, in particular, … Continue reading “”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are privately owned and run government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Fannie Mae was founded as a government agency in 1938 to develop the secondary mortgage market. … Continue reading “”

In the past few years, I have been extremely pessimistic about the US economy. I explained that most pundits seemed to be underestimating the deflationary risks to the economy (A … Continue reading “”

By Stacie Rabinowitz I’ve been a bit perturbed lately reading about some of the responses to the global food crisis. I’ve seen a lot of reports that governments and NGOs … Continue reading “”

The first time I got an insight into Sarkozy’s character was reading The Economist review of his literary biography L’Aube le soir ou la nuit by Yasmina Reza. It showed … Continue reading “”

“Is China democratizing? The country’s leaders do not think of democracy as people in the West generally do, but they are increasingly backing local elections, judicial independence, and oversight of … Continue reading “”

On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar sponsored by McKinsey on China’s Business and Policy Evolution at the Asia Society (http://www.asiasociety.org/) in New York. The panelists … Continue reading “”

I am an economist by formation and at heart if not by trade and I am appalled by the terrible quality of the economic policy recommendations from essentially all candidates … Continue reading “”

The road to hell is paved with good intentions! In public policy above all else, I have often found that some of the best intentioned laws end up having the … Continue reading “”