Tag Archives: Government

Labs of Democracy & Today’s Fiscal Policy Debates

Here’s my latest Economix column on the labs of democracy & today’s fiscal policy debates on uncertainty, spending, and spending vs taxes: Many of the fiercest disagreements about fiscal policy today stem from disagreements about the causes of the slow … Continue reading

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The Medicare Eligibility Age: Demographics and Medical Care Spending

In contrast to Social Security Reform, we do not find a large effect of potential increases in the age of eligibility on the long-term ability to finance medical spending. This is partly because the oldest old spend much more on … Continue reading

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Output Spillovers from Fiscal Policy

From Alan Auerbach and Yuriy Gorodnichenko:  It’s tough out there for policymakers seeking to stabilize economies, and shocks from abroad aren’t helping. This column argues that for countries hit by recession, fiscal stimulus in another country might significantly stimulate demand … Continue reading

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Lessons from a Half Century of Federal Individual Income Tax Changes

This chart shows how income tax liabilities have changed each year for the five income quintiles over the past half century.  Here are a few things to notice: We love cutting income taxes. Almost all of the changes are tax … Continue reading

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Interesting Paragraph from Ed Glaeser

Economist Matthew Kahn of UCLA has studied the death tolls from natural disasters. He found that where governments are more capable, fewer people die. This makes me worry about the fate of cities in the developing world that are just as subject to natural … Continue reading

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Job Growth: Obama Recovery much better than Bush in Private Sector

To understand the competing claims about job growth under Obama and Bush, you really need to look at these two graphs (from Paul Krugman) that separate private and public employment. Key Points Private sector job growth is much more impressive … Continue reading

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Risk Premia

Brad Delong has an interesting article in which he blames today’s large risk premia on the failure of institutions. The government isn’t providing adequate fiscal and monetary support and financial institutions aren’t working in a way that “mobilizes risk bearing … Continue reading

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