Fiscal policy

November 18, 2015

Why Shades of Gray Might Lead to Better Research

Through his Reproducibility Project, Brian Nosek shows that scientific accuracy can be assessed through replication of results and prediction markets.

November 5, 2015

Why It’s Tough to Place the Poverty Line

Whether calculating the poverty rate in Rwanda or in the U.S., the income and/or consumption variables you select determine your results.

October 27, 2015

Solving the Mystery of the Disappearing Workers

One reason we have a labor force participation rate of 62.4 percent is because retirees, students, the disabled and people who care for family do not work.

October 21, 2015

An Update: What We Need to Know About the Debt Ceiling

A debt ceiling controversy could erupt by November 3rd when Jack Lew says the U.S. Treasury will need to borrow to meet its spending obligations.

October 18, 2015

Deciding If We Should Be More Like Denmark

While Denmark has universal healthcare, family benefits and pays for college, its social welfare system requires high taxes and other sacrifices.

October 2, 2015

The Importance of Accurately Estimating When We Will Die

Retirement savings and income depend on the person's prior income, longevity, the macroeconomic environment, Social Security and other entitlement programs.

September 22, 2015

Next Week’s Budget Problems

Always contentious, the federal budget needs to be approved by October 1st or a continuing resolution needs to enable discretionary federal spending.

September 16, 2015

Bringing The Martian Down to Earth

For pure enjoyment The Martian is a good read but also it helps us recognize how travel to Mars has and will have positive externalities on earth.

September 15, 2015

Why Doing Good is Not Always Easy

By recognizing the tradeoffs of recycling, preserving endangered species and improving world health, doing good could become more productive.

August 25, 2015

Using a Fat Tail to Describe Stock Market Risk

When the unexpected occurs and changes our view of stock market risk, we call it a black swan or fat tail because it is far from the mean of a bell curve.

August 19, 2015

How to Find More of the American Dream

Recognizing that neighborhoods with better schools and other shared characteristics affect income mobility, anti-poverty policy can become more effective.

August 13, 2015

The Values That Make Us Spend More

For major OECD countries and the U.S., the source and destination for healthcare spending reflect national values about limited government.