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Published	Headline	Keywords
01/14/10	The Central Bank does not exist to make a profit	Ben Bernanke, central bank, Federal Reserve
01/10/10	Financial crises reflect political woes	Ben Bernanke, China, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, history
01/07/10	China will face some bumps on road to economic dominance	China, economic growth
01/03/10	2010 bound to be significant to economy	history, real economy
12/31/09	It's the GOP's turn to flip-flop on health care	health policy, Medicare, Obama Administration, politics
12/27/09	Past decade could belong to old era or new	Alan Greenspan, history
12/24/09	Cost-benefit analysis can apply to justice, too	Supreme Court
12/20/09	Economists can nudge the ship of history	history, John Maynard Keynes
12/17/09	Bankers' reluctance to make loans is understandable:  Defaults	banking, John Maynard Keynes, Obama Administration
12/13/09	Don't expect too much from climate talks	environment, politics
12/10/09	State revenue crunch makes Vikings stadium subsidy seem less of a priority	budget deficit, sports
12/06/09	In trade dispute, China more wrong than U.S.	China, farm subsidies, international trade, Obama Administration, tariffs
12/03/09	Shades of gray dominate Black Friday forecasts	retail markets
11/29/09	Bailouts imperfect, but beat the alternative	bailout, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan
11/26/09	It's a day for giving thanks--and taking stock	Thanksgiving
11/22/09	Even when it's personal, someone decides the cost	health policy, insurance industry, opportunity cost
11/19/09	AIG bailout critics need to consider the panic factor	bailout, Federal Reserve
11/15/09	Price discrimination:  Free market at work	elasticity of demand, insurance industry, price discrimination
11/12/09	A true supply-side candidate is a rare commodity	John Maynard Keynes, Pawlenty Administration, politics, recession, supply-side economics
11/08/09	Much-needed middlemen must be managed	banking
11/05/09	Low interest hurting retirement accounts	Federal Reserve, retirement, stock markets
11/01/09	Costs of "going green" are subject to diminishing returns	diminishing marginal returns, environment, trade-offs
10/29/09	What, us worry?  Financial folly tales	bailout, Carmen Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff
10/25/09	Jobless and not looking?  They're not counting you	economic data, unemployment
10/22/09	One-size-fits-all subsidies ultimately harm an industry	dairy policy, farm subsidies
10/18/09	Effects of stimulus aren't in hard numbers	Obama administration, recession, stimulus, unemployment
10/15/09	Ostrom a solid choice for economics Nobel	common property, environment, Nobel Prize, Elinor Ostrom, Oliver Williamson
10/11/09	GDP a fine indicator, if you know what it measures	GDP, Nobel Prize, Amartya Sen, James Tobin
10/08/09	Less than the truth is sometimes the lesser evil	bailout, banking, Bush administration
10/04/09	Politicizing the health care debate serves no one	health policy, Obama administration, politics, World War I
10/01/09	In the end, customers will pay revved FDIC premiums	banking
09/27/09	Searching for consensus on bailout aftermath	bailout, banking
09/24/09	Team of solid economic advisors would boost Pawlenty	Campaign 2012, Pawlenty Administration, politics
09/20/09	Lehman--or somebody else--had to fail	bailout, Federal Reserve
09/17/09	Voters--and politicians--need to forget pledges	Bush Administration, Pawlenty Administration, politics, taxes
09/13/09	Social Security's "payback" better than many think	health care reform, Medicare, Social Security
09/10/09	The "paradox of thrift" will hut now--but help later	Federal Reserve, John Maynard Keynes, paradox of thrift
09/06/09	Bogged down by a sense of entitlement	entitlement, health care reform, Social Security
09/03/09	Federal Reserve profits on bailout funds no mystery	bailout, central bank, Federal Reserve
08/30/09	(no column)
08/27/09	Even when cash isn't involved, "opportunity cost" crucial	Afghanistan, Bush Administration, opportunity cost, World War I
08/23/09	Economics can put consumers in a real pickle	efficiency, elasticity of demand, marginal cost pricing
08/20/09	Varied views of work, fun are an economic benefit	productivity
08/16/09	Lighter justice for the rich is damaging	crime, Enron, Bernard Madoff
08/13/09	Dropping birth rate has economic consequences	Baby Boom, economic data, Great Depression, population change
08/09/09	Political parties don't define Keynesians	inflation, John Maynard Keynes, politics, recession
08/06/09	Bernanke should pack baggage, let Yellen run Fed	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Great Depression, Obama Administration, Janet Yellen
08/02/09	Unregulated, lots of good ideas go off the rails	banking, globalization, military spending
07/30/09	In health care debate, EU statistic is dead on arrival	economic data, European Union, health care reform, Obama Administration
07/26/09	Don't trust Bernanke's soothing words	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve
07/23/09	Something for nothing?  It's highly unlikely	health care reform, Obama Administration, Pareto optimality
07/19/09	Changing structure of dairying only prolongs sector's agony	dairy policy
07/16/09	Limit bank size and you limit financial blowups	banking, economies of scale
07/12/09	Credit McNamara for the way we operate	Robert McNamara
07/09/09	Oil speculators fill niche, but controls sound	Commodity Trading Futures Commission (CTFC), oil industry, oil prices
07/05/09	Afghan development a tough task	Afghanistan, military spending, Obama Administration, World Bank
07/02/09	Rumor of Great Lakes raiding doesn't hold water	environment
06/28/09	Kicking the tires on "cash for clunkers"	auto industry, environment, incentives, John Maynard Keynes, Obama Administration
06/25/09	Flawed logic led to flawed banking regulation	banking, fallacy of composition, Federal Reserve, Obama Administration
06/21/09	Overlapping financial regulators are out of date	banking, Federal Reserve, Alexander Hamilton, Obama Administration, SEC
06/18/09	Those on the left and right need to keep it real	Great Depression, Obama Administration, stimulus
06/14/09	Mayo wants its way, and for you to pay	Ronald Coase, railroad, transportation
06/11/09	Problems like Opus' show we have a long way to go	recession
06/07/09	Investors should flex muscle on exec pay	compensation
06/04/09	Bubbling over with optimism	transportation
05/31/09	New credit card rules come with a cost	banking
05/28/09	Economists, like jurists, are swayed by more than facts	Milton Friedman, Obama Administration, Supreme Court
05/24/09	For good policy, Fed execs needs to 'fess up	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, FOMC, Alan Greenspan
05/21/09	Not all sin taxes are equal in benefits to society	efficiency, Arthur Pigou, taxation
05/17/09	Leaders need incentives to do good	budget deficit, Leo Hurwicz, Pawlenty Administration, politics, principal-agent problem
05/14/09	Economic downturn affects savings at all levels	Japan, recession, retirement, Social Security
05/10/09	Kazakh crisis should chill credit swaps	credit default swap
05/07/09	Over time, parties have made u-turns on trade tariffs	Sen. Michele Bachmann, politics, Smoot-Hawley Act, tariffs
05/03/09	Is big the new bad?  We can't seem to decide	airline industry, auto industry, bailout, banking
04/30/09	Industry leaders prove mediocre in government	Obama administration
04/26/09	The GOP should consider cap and trade	Sen. Michele Bachmann, environment, global warming, politics
04/23/09	Both Obama administration and tax protesters are dangerously cynical and delusional	budget deficit, Obama administration, taxation, Tea Party
04/19/09	Government needs to catch up to the times	budget deficit, Pawlenty administration, public employees
04/16/09	Several factors drive drop in consumer spending	recession, unemployment
04/12/09	Recent rally is good news, but not proof of a recovery	Great Depression, economic data, recession, stock markets, unemployment
04/09/09	Colleges, defense contractors face high fixed costs	cost of business
04/05/09	Defining recessions, crises and bubbles	data, GDP, recession
04/02/09	Plenty of smaller, healthy banks avoided giants' missteps	banking
03/29/09	World currency flap hides deeper troubles	China, exchange rates, Federal Reserve, Obama Administration
03/26/09	It's a century later, but the financial crisis is the same	banking, Federal Reserve, globalization, IMF
03/22/09	Plan could help local housing prices stabilize	housing
03/19/09	Give Fed powers to stop bonus blowup	bailout, Federal Reserve
03/15/09	Mining's "external costs" hard to calculate	Ronald Coase, environment, external costs
03/12/09	In breeding, as in investment, select carefully	incentives
03/08/09	State is ducking long-term look at budget	budget deficit, Pawlenty Administration
03/05/09	More focus on Fed governors can only be good think	Bush Administration, Federal Reserve, Obama Administration
03/01/09	State's diverse economy will ride out storm	Federal Reserve, recession
02/26/09	Good information crucial to competition	insurance industry, market economy
02/22/09	City's red tape ties up blighted homes	housing, public good
02/19/09	GOP late to the party in condemning deficit spending	Bush Administration, deficit spending, national debt, Obama Administration
02/15/09	Greenspan's poor excuses are laughable	Federal Reserve, Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, SEC, taxes, unemployment
02/12/09	Stimulus tweaks:  We're laughing to keep from crying	fungible, stimulus
02/08/09	A strategic dilemma for organic farmers	inelastic demand
02/05/09	View of market losses affect saving, spending	retirement
02/01/09	Stimulus needed, however it's spent	John Maynard Keynes, Obama Administration, stimulus
01/29/09	Murky property rights led to Newport levee mess	Ronald Coase, property rights
01/25/09	China, U.S. need to change bad habits	China
01/22/09	U.S. not entirely at fault for global bubble hangover	globalization, recession
01/18/09	Bigger financial firm?  Often it's not better	economies of scale
01/15/09	Swindles go hand-in-hand with bubbles	Bernard Madoff, Ponzi scheme
01/11/09	Armed forces need a better pay structure	military pay
01/08/09	Stimulus could "crowd in" private sector spending	Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, Obama Administration, stimulus
01/04/09	Will crisis spur leap in economics theory?	Federal Reserve, Great Depression, Nobel Prize
01/01/09	Rebalancing economy takes time	balance of payments, Nobel Prize, recession
12/28/08	Be realistic about tracking bailout money	bailout, fungible
12/25/08	Price swings bounce "inelastic" commodities	elasticity of demand
12/21/08	Emotion clouds tax policy debates	retirement, taxation
12/18/08	Only winner in Madoff's scheme:  Behavioral economics	bailout, efficiency, irrational exuberance, Bernard Madoff, Ponzi scheme
12/14/08	Balanced budgets can be counterproductive	budget deficit
12/11/08	Erratic Fed funds rate has either been abandoned by policymakers or is an impotent tool	Federal Reserve, FOMC
12/07/08	Big, bold change unlikely for Detroit's Big 3	auto industry, bailout
12/04/08	When in doubt, dump	retail markets, sunk costs
11/30/08	Stronger dollar is welcome news...for some	exchange rates
11/27/08	In hard times, less is more	Thanksgiving, unemployment
11/23/08	This one unlikely to be an "average" recession	Great Depression, recession
11/20/08	Media miss interest rate-money supply link	money supply, Federal Reserve
11/16/08	Revisit those rosy memories of presidential finances	budget deficit, budget surplus, Clinton Administration, economic data, Social Security
11/13/08	Companies line up to board Uncle Sam's bailout train	auto industry, bailout
11/09/08	Crisis would be Minsky's moment	Great Depression, irrational exuberance, Hyman Minsky
11/06/08	U.S. hypocrisy shouldn't tar sound economic policies	IMF, Washington Consensus, World Bank
11/02/08	Taxes higher or lower?  No easy answer	Obama Administration, taxes
10/30/08	Clinton, Bush policies fueled foreclosure crisis	bailout, Bush Administration, Clinton Administration
10/26/08	Let's hope President McCain addresses that FICA inequity	Campaign 2008, Social Security
10/23/08	Bachman spins myths about CRA	Sen. Michele Bachmann, Campaign 2008, Community Reinvestment Act
10/19/08	"Columbian exchange still benefits us	Columbian exchange
10/16/08	"Money economy" obscures underlying values	real economy
10/12/08	Your turn, healthy regional investment banks	banking, investments
10/09/08	In desperate times, Fed takes desperate measures	commercial paper, Federal Reserve
10/05/08	How bad loans translated to big problems	hedge fund, Henry Paulson
10/02/08	Bailout no cure for bad debt, but it will help economy	bailout
09/28/08	Recession risk isn't "if," it's when--maybe now	recession
09/25/08	Good questions, and some answers, on bailout	bailout, Ben Bernanke, Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve
09/21/08	Plenty to blame for ignored warnings	Federal Reserve
09/18/08	Snap judgments decide who's "too big to fail"	bailout, Federal Reserve
09/14/08	When to hold, when to fold on house	housing
09/11/08	Do OPEC pricing claims defy Econ 101?  Maybe not	oil prices, OPEC, supply and demand
09/07/08	Who's retired?  Definition makes a difference	Baby Boom, retirement, Social Security
09/04/08	Intraparty squabbles can bring positive results	Campaign 2008, politics, World War II
08/31/08	"Time release" initiatives a shell game	Bush Administration, Campaign 2008, taxes
08/28/08	Internet's true impact is a long way off	Alan Greenspan, information, Internet, productivity, Solow's paradox, Robert Solow
08/24/08	Fannie, Freddie should be sold off	bailout, banking, Bush Administration, Federal Reserve
08/21/08	Tough to learn right lessons from mistake	Great Depression, Iraq war, recession, Paul Volcker
08/19/08	Ruttan's work was a product of Midwestern roots	Leo Hurwicz, Latin America, poverty, Vern Ruttan, World War II
08/17/08	Copper production is no goldmine	environment, supply and demand
08/14/08	More oversight?  Really?  Let the Fed be the Fed	bailout, banking, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan
08/10/08	Deposit insurance good compromise	banking industry, moral hazard
08/07/08	Bank closures can be seamless	banking industry
08/03/08	Taxes have a place in economic policy	Campaign 2008, deficit spending, Medicare, Social Security, taxes
07/31/08	Data vital to health care reform	health policy, information, Pawlenty Administration
07/27/08	Personal accounts, social insecurity	Campaign 2008, retirement, Social Security, stock markets
07/24/08	Why don't we auction off public assets? Politics	Canada, politics, public utilities
07/20/08	Transit fare hike may be the best in the short run	oil prices, public transit, trade-offs, transportation
07/17/08	Mortgage giants need some home improvements	Federal Reserve, housing
07/13/08	After abuses or laxness, regulation returns	bailout, SEC, stock markets
07/10/08	Reaction to Fed's lending reins a matter of politics	housing, politics
07/06/08	Favors are subtle forms of "rent seeking"	politics, rent seeking
07/03/08	At the Fed, President appoints, Senate disappoints	bailout, Federal Reserve, FOMC, politics
06/29/08	Expecting price swings?  They'll come	housing, oil prices
06/26/08	Global market reality trumps gas price fantasy	globalization, oil industry, oil prices
06/22/08	Brush up on math to grasp economy	economic data
06/19/08	Weighing the tradeoffs of off-shore drilling	Bush Administration, environment, oil industry, oil prices, politics, supply and demand, tradeoffs
06/15/08	Fair is fair in unemployment benefits	Bush Administration, Campaign 2008, equity, horizontal equity, politics, unemployment, vertical equity
06/12/08	Understanding the futures markets	futures markets
06/08/08	Social Security needs new incentives	incentives, labor markets, retirement, Social Security
06/05/08	High commodity prices revive argument over what's best for poor nations	Africa, international trade, Latin America,
06/01/08	In price cycles, some bound to feel squeezed	housing, inflation, oil prices, Leon Walrus
05/29/08	U.S. gave the world model for agricultural research	Brazil, farm policy, globalization
05/25/08	Sometimes, our money illusions are shocking	inflation
05/22/08	Only time will tell if commodities riding a bubble	derivatives, futures markets
05/18/08	Equity spending couldn't last forever	Alan Greenspan, housing
05/15/08	Default swaps carry uncertain risks	bonds, credit default swap
05/11/08	Loan supply won't create demand	Federal Reserve, supply and demand
05/08/08	Politicians see letters from economists as junk mail	Bush Administration, Campaign 2008, Great Depression, oil prices, politics, Smoot-Hawley Act
05/04/08	Rate cuts help borrowers, hurt savers	Federal Reserve, inflation
05/01/08	Investor distaste for prepaid mortgages led to crisis	bonds, Great Depression, housing
04/27/08	Surging food, fuel prices cloud inflation picture	Consumer Price Index, economic data, inflation, oil prices
04/24/08	Those who fail to read fine print shouldn't cry foul	bonds
04/20/08	Some losses are truly immeasurable	Africa, productivity, Thanksgiving
04/17/08	Wastes of taxpayer moneys shows our values are off-kilter	disaster relief, farm policy, public financing, reverse RoHo, tax increment financing
04/13/08	Recession's pain isn't evenly spread	economic data, elasticity of demand, recession, unemployment
04/10/08	When Greenspan opens his mouth, critics chew him up	Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, housing, recession
04/06/08	For a lesson in economics, talk to a farmer	supply and demand, USDA
04/03/08	Financial reforms include good, bad and ugly	Bush Administration, Federal Reserve, politics, recession
03/30/08	How to decide who is paid for victimization	crime, economies of scale
03/27/08	Tax reform always under pressure from special interests	politics, taxes
03/23/08	Bush' cheerleading silly but understandable	Bush Administration, Federal Reserve, politics, recession
03/20/08	History shows wide-ranging reasons for recessions	Federal Reserve, history, housing, Japan, recession, stock markets, Paul Volcker
03/16/08	Politics always a factor in defense industry	defense spending, politics
03/13/08	Is Fed throwing good T-bills after bad mortgage debt?	Federal Reserve, housing
03/09/08	Wall Street's herds moving on to new troughs	stock markets
03/06/08	Lenders hold key to mortgage trap	Ben Bernanke, fallacy of composition, game theory, housing
03/02/08	Gas tax is our best option--for now	oil industry, oil prices, Pawlenty administration, taxation, taxes, transportation
02/28/08	Saving key to real recovery	budget deficit, recession
02/24/08	Merger talks should raise antitrust flags	airline industry, antitrust, Bush Administration, monopoly
02/21/08	Placing bets on commodities boom	ethanol, sunk costs, supply and demand
02/17/08	Subprime may be the least of it	housing
02/14/08	Muni-bond insurers latest to feel sting of risk	bonds, monoline insurer, risk,
02/10/08	Lessons of the great inflation	Federal Reserve, Great Depression, inflation, Allan Metzler
02/07/08	Farm, mine sectors pack less punch	land prices
02/03/08	Boosting local tax deductible a bad idea	housing, real estate taxes, taxation, taxes
01/31/08	To spree, or not to spree	Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, Franco Modigliani, David Ricardo, taxes
01/27/08	Cents and sensibility in marriage	Jane Austen
01/24/08	Cure the disease, not just the symptoms	Bush Administration, economic growth, Japan
01/20/08	Recession is an "unknown unknown"	recession
01/17/08	(no column)
01/13/08	Data show rich indeed get richer	China, exchange rates, purchasing power parity, World Bank
01/10/08	On this monopoly board, railroads are winning	monopoly, railroad
01/06/08	Exchange seats go for big money	David Ricardo, wind power
01/03/08	Home values linked to commuting costs	housing, transportation
12/30/07	Signs of the real economy are everywhere	real economy, recession
12/27/07	Only few economists get a voice	Federal Reserve
12/23/07	Helicopter Ben had it right	Ben Bernanke, central bank, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, money supply
12/20/07	Price hike blame game hard to play	ethanol
12/16/07	China manipulates itself into a corner	China, exchange rates
12/13/07	Higher prices spur oil, copper producers into action	Brazil, oil industry, oil prices
12/09/07	Push for liquidity neglects history	Federal Reserve, FOMC
12/06/07	Mortgage play may be least bad option	housing, sub-prime lending
12/02/07	"Greater criminal" gets loose	crime, housing, sub-prime lending
11/29/07	China trumps U.S. in economic woes	China
11/25/07	At some point no one wants our dollars	exchange rates
11/22/07	Perspective leads to thanks	poverty, Thanksgiving
11/18/07	Export tax can help or hurt	ag imports & exports, Argentina, taxes
11/15/07	Shocks hit small banks harder	banking
11/11/07	Books put crisis in perspective	Miton Friedman, John Kenneth Galbraith, Great Depression
11/08/07	Cure for $100 crude?  Raise taxes on big rigs	oil prices, taxes, transportation
11/04/07	Greenspan hits pitfall in memoir	Alan Greenspan, sub-prime lending
11/01/07	Leverage becomes enemy when prices fall	housing, stock markets
10/28/07	Know what Fed's job is, then let's do it	central bank, Federal Reserve, FOMC, money supply
10/25/07	Decision to disclose information can enter gray area	data, information
10/22/07	Bailouts sometimes backfire	bailout, banking, Michael Spence
10/18/07	Consumers' bold stand may become fast retreat	economic data
10/15/07	Hurwicz's Nobel shows nice guys can finish last	Leonid Hurwicz, Nobel Prize
10/14/07	Changing conditions breed invention	transportation
10/11/07	"Nanny" government should simplify savings	Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, retirement, taxation
10/07/07	Traffic and property intertwined	Ronald Coase, property rights, transportation
10/04/07	"Fair" climate policies are foul to poor countries	Bush Administration, China, environment, globalization
09/30/07	Inflation does not create itself	Argentina, central bank, inflation
09/27/07	How a tractor helped win WWII	productivity, World War II
09/23/07	Bush can't be Keynesian supply-sider	Bush Administration, John Maynard Keynes, supply-side economics
09/20/07	Beauty should be built into new I-35W bridge	trade-offs, transportation
09/16/07	Few seem to know, care that inflation is a tax	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Milton Friedman, inflation, taxation
09/13/07	Reaping econ lesson from wheat prices	elasticity of demand, exogenous shock
09/09/07	Public good is also good for business	public good
09/06/07	Flood insurance can be muddy issue	disaster relief, insurance industry, moral hazard
09/02/07	Housing price expectations as strong on the way down	demand shift, housing
08/30/07	Over time data can prove unreliable	data, economic data
08/26/07	Carelessness can hurt any industry	risk
08/23/07	Fed's actions are solely up to Bernanke	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, FOMC
08/19/07	Creating money with a few keystrokes	money supply, Federal Reserve
08/16/07	Public spending suffers for poor accounting	taxation, transportation
08/12/07	Tight credit not a cause for worry	Federal Reserve
08/09/07	Safety first...but check the budget	Pawlenty administration, risk, transportation
08/05/07	Higher mileage standards aren't enough	auto industry, environment, oil industry, politics
08/02/07	Disaster aid, and where it ends, is never simple	disaster relief, Hurricane Katrina, moral hazard, politics
07/29/07	Loan bailouts would be bad public policy	bailout, banking, housing
07/26/07	What is government's role in public safety?	lawsuits
07/22/07	Dollar's slide affects more than tourists	euro, exchange rates
07/19/07	Poverty trumps safe travel in poor nations	Brazil, Bush administration, environment, poverty, transportation
07/15/07	"Death taxes" debate needs some clarity	estate taxes, taxes
07/12/07	Thievery rises along with metal prices	supply and demand
07/08/07	Food-stamp stunt obscures broader issues	politics, poverty
07/05/07	Decentralized Fed is best	Federal Reserve
07/01/07	Monopoly status isn't everything	William Baumol, contestable market, monopoly
06/28/07	GDP data easily misunderstood	economic data, GDP, international trade
06/24/07	Human quirks throw wrenches into theories	rational expectations
06/21/07	Be careful what you wish for	China, inflation, Paul Volcker
06/17/07	Ignore inane trade-balance rhetoric	auto industry, Campaign 2008, international trade, trade deficit
06/14/07	Farm subsidy database is only part of the story	farm policy, farm subsidies
06/10/07	Be judicious in applying housing data	Consumer Price Index, economic data, housing
06/07/07	Bush has missed lessons of history	Bush Administration, history, Robert Hormats, Iraq war
06/03/07	Markets outdo social engineers	market economy
05/31/07	Pope's "third way" is elusive	mercantilism, politics, poverty, South America
05/27/07	Port bond fund shows limits of government	bonds
05/24/07	Don't expect too much from immigration legislation	immigration, politics
05/20/07	Klobuchar carbon bill is a sound step	environment, global warming, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, politics
05/17/07	Consumers don't need a nanny	politics
05/13/07	Consumer prices aren't whole story	Consumer Price Index, economic data
05/10/07	Gas prices defy easy explanation	elasticity of demand, oil industry, oil prices, supply and demand
05/06/07	CEO pay votes could correct market failure	CEO compensation
05/03/07	Both private sector, government "create wealth"	public good, real estate taxes, taxation
04/29/07	The "not so great" often make history	history
04/26/07	We can't ignore taxes...or dirty bathrooms	politics, taxation
04/22/07	Easy trade-offs are hard to come by	opportunity cost,  risk, trade-offs
04/19/07	Principal-agent problem plagues U.S. in Iraq	Iraq war, politics, principal-agent problem
04/15/07	Absolute or relative numbers?  It depends	economic data, information
04/12/07	Tax fairness is in the eye of the beholder	efficiency, equity, taxation
04/08/07	Colleges should unplug effort to limit electricians	Adam Smith, unions
04/05/07	States can't alter slowdowns	John Maynard Keynes, politics, supply-side economics
04/01/07	Want to help environment?  Shut up and do something	Bush Administration, environment, European Union, Kyoto Protocol, Pawlenty Administration
03/29/07	Fantasies won't clean up the junk	environment, external costs, transaction cost, taxation
03/25/07	Don't repeat mistakes on Gulf Coast	environment, Hurricane Katrina, insurance industry
03/22/07	Let's stop and think before regulating	external costs, Milton Friedman
03/18/07	Market drives excess cows and cubicles	supply and demand
03/15/07	Underlying ills intensify subprime peril	housing, pension funds
03/11/07	"Carry trade" carries risk for investors	carry trade, exchange rates
03/08/07	Taxing groceries overtaxes the poor	poverty, taxes
03/04/07	Want to cut government?  OK, where?	federal budget, politics
03/01/07	Occasional market storms inevitable	China, stock markets
02/25/07	Petrodollar recycling is still a challenge	oil industry, oil prices
02/22/07	Should we pay for roads now or hand bill to our kids?	bonds, Pawlenty administration, transportation
02/18/07	Drug policies prop up the profits in dope	Afghanistan, South America, supply and demand
02/15/07	Ignoring past costs often leads to a brighter future	Iraq war, sunk costs
02/11/07	Human nature can make a mess of trash policy	public utility
02/08/07	Mounting debt defies theories	Bush administration, Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, national debt, rational expectations
02/04/07	Bush health plan deserves consideration	Bush administration, health policy, taxation
02/01/07	A "tax exemption" is just a bribe	Milton Friedman, Pawlenty administration, taxation
01/28/07	Don't blame ethanol for costly tortillas	economic data, ethanol
01/25/07	Bush misses chance to be true conservative	Bush administration, environment
01/21/07	Western ideas don't always translate well	Bush administration, globalization, Ferdinand Tonnies
01/18/07	Comprehensive forecasts impossible	ethanol,  wind power
01/14/07	How should nation rule on judges' pay?	compensation, judiciary
01/11/07	Aid military members who need it most	military spending, Pawlenty Administration, pension funds
01/07/07	Society willing to tolerate highway risks	transportation
01/04/07	Deficit spending is seductive	deficit spending, federal budget, Milton Friedman, politics, David Ricardo, taxation
12/31/06	Will new year bring same old Congress?	politics
12/28/06	Weighing the costs of justice	crime, immigration
12/24/06	Word choice can illuminate or befuddle	balance of payments, foreign trade, GATT
12/21/06	Food scares revive economic debate	Ronald Coase, Milton Frieman
12/17/06	Fed shouldn't rush to cut rate in 2007	Federal Reserve, FOMC
12/14/06	Immigration reform complex	immigration
12/10/06	Politics can scuttle Fed's mission	Burton Abrams, Federal Reserve, Milton Friedman, money supply, politics
12/07/06	Price laws are useless relics of New Deal	Milton Friedman, pharmaceuticals, price fixing
12/03/06	Money only buys so much happiness	Daniel Kahneman, poverty
11/30/06	How cost-efficient is NATO?	defense spending, NATO
11/26/06	Treasury cashes in on collected coins	Federal Reserve, seignorage
11/23/06	Time to give thanks for immigrants	Milton Friedman, immigration, Thanksgiving
11/19/06	Policy stymied by politics in U.S., China	China, national debt
11/16/06	Is drug-cost bargaining sound policy?	Medicare, pharmaceuticals, rent-seeking, Social Security
11/12/06	It's hard to put a lid on buyers' expectations	housing, inflation
11/09/06	Can divided power yield coherent power?	Campaign 2006, politics
11/05/06	"Demand shifters" hurt newspapers	demand shift, information
11/02/06	Neither Senate hopeful has grasp of economics	Campaign 2006, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, politics, Social Security
10/29/06	How much are we entitled to?	Social Security
10/26/06	It's time for truth in property taxation	fallacy of composition, politics, real estate taxes, taxation
10/22/06	UnitedHealth board typical in its inaction	principal-agent problem
10/19/06	Corruption affects economy in big, little ways	Brazil, corruption, politics
10/15/06	Lumber-aid ideas revive old debate	natural resources management, unemployment
10/12/06	Nobel laureate revitalized Keynesian theory	John Maynard Keynes, Nobel Prize, Edmund Phelps, rational expectations, Adam Smith
10/08/06	Government's net worth hard to figure	national debt
10/05/06	Fed policy sent stocks, real estate soaring	Federal Reserve, Irving Fisher, housing, stock markets
10/01/06	Voters just don't care about the budget	federal budget
09/28/06	Savvy investors know hedge funds don't	hedge funds, investments
09/24/06	Alcohol tax makes sense, up to a point	elasticity of demand, taxation
09/21/06	Disability insurance strains budgets	Disability and survivors' benefits, Social Security
09/17/06	U.S. economy isn't mobilized for terror war	Afghanistan, defense spending, terrorist attacks
09/14/06	Blue Cross proposal spurs healthy debate	health policy, insurance industry, politics
09/10/06	Look beyond profits-wages comparison	economic data
09/07/06	Let's put "fixed lump" to rest	labor markets, Iraq war
09/03/06	Voters need to keep eye on farm bill	farm policy, farm subsidies, politics
08/31/06	Don't blame interest rates for housing slowdown	Federal Reserve, housing
08/27/06	Ethanol, river plans work at cross-purposes	Army Corps of Engineers, ethanol, Mississippi River
08/24/06	Politicians overstate their effect on economy	economic data, Pawlenty Administration, politics, unemployment
08/20/06	Health care taxes are bad economics	Bush Administration, health policy, Medicaid, taxation
08/17/06	ABCs of the PPI and CPI	Consumer Price Index, economic data
08/13/06	How to reduce use of energy?  Tax it	energy policy, environment, Mike Hatch, oil industry, Pawlenty Administration, politics, taxation
08/10/06	Tempering news about short pause	China, Federal Reserve, FOMC, oil prices
08/06/06	There is no universal fix to global pollution	environment
08/03/06	Market jitters underscore a stormy horizon	economic data, Henry Paulson, stock markets
07/30/06	Beware of flawed logic in tax debate	Bush Administration, post-hoc fallacy, taxes
07/27/06	Can there be too much information?	Mike Hatch, information, Pawlenty Administration, pharmaceuticals, politics
07/23/06	Mother Nature has final word on crop profits	inelastic demand
07/20/06	Fed is shielded from politicking	Ben Bernanke, central bank, Federal Reserve, inflation, stock markets
07/16/06	Hard work alone won't yield wealth	education, poverty, productivity
07/13/06	Drug-plan confusion wastes resources	information, Medicare, pharmaceuticals, price discrimination
07/09/06	Demand for product has domino effect	ethanol, foreign trade, supply and demand
07/06/06	Taxi limits hurt poor	poverty, David Ricardo, transportation
07/02/06	Sometimes, good law is bad economics	lawsuits
06/29/06	Fed needs steady hand on helm	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, FOMC
06/25/06	Economics, morals both factor into regulations	housing
06/18/06	Governors can't do much to economy	Mike Hatch, Pawlenty Administration, politics
06/15/06	Supply-demand effects vary by market	housing, market economy, supply and demand
06/11/06	Give the CEO a raise?  All in favor say "aye"	labor markets
06/08/06	U.S. college are envy of the world	education
06/04/06	Technology changes what is "tradeable"	technology
06/01/06	A Treasury secretary's lot	Bush Administration, Henry Paulson, John Snow,
05/28/06	Mixed signals makes Fed's job harder	economic data, Federal Reserve, FOMC, inflation, money supply, recession,
05/25/06	Capital gains put the "fun" in fungible	fungible, stock options
05/21/06	Creative highway financing doesn't add up	transportation
05/18/06	As information flows, do does immigration	immigration, information
05/14/06	Faulty logic often clouds economic policy debates	fallacy of composition
05/11/06	Pension bills will come due	baby boom, pension funds
05/07/06	A billion here, a billion there...what does it all mean?	Bush Administration, defense spending
05/04/06	Stadium ploy nothing new	Thomas Schelling, sports
04/30/06	Big projects like light rail can enhance property value	David Ricardo, transportation
04/27/06	U.S. can't control oil prices	Bush administration, ethanol, oil industry, oil prices
04/23/06	Average rates tell true story about taxes	Medicare, Social Security, taxes
04/20/06	Zoning decisions can never please all property owners	zoning
04/16/06	Do signs point to inflation?  Time will tell	China, Milton Friedman, inflation
04/13/06	Globally immigrants go where the work is	immigration, incentives
04/09/06	Dedicating sales tax is bad public policy	sales tax
04/06/06	Immigration a fact of our democracy	immigration, Pawlenty Administration
04/02/06	Strike balance with eminent domain laws	incentives
03/30/06	It's time for MAC to stop coddling Northwest	airline industry, captive regulator
03/26/06	Fed chiefs aren't there to serve presidents	Federal Reserve, G. William Miller
03/23/06	Pension controversies nothing new	pension funds
03/19/06	Don't judge tax-refund loans too quickly	taxes
03/16/06	Liquor-law report sobering	externals costs, monopoly, Pawlenty administration, Arthur Pigou, taxation
03/12/06	Jury is out on telecom consolidation	William Baumol, monopoly, Qwest, telecommunications
03/09/06	U.S. aid has strings attached	Supreme Court, tradeoffs
03/05/06	R&D can't live on free-market funding alone	military spending, public good, Vern Ruttan, technology
03/02/06	Fed rookie's financial resume is short	Bush administration, Federal Reserve, politics, Kevin Warsh
02/26/06	Federal power on trial in pollution case	environment, Supreme Court
02/23/06	Willing to pay more for day care?  Then you will	Alfred Marshall, supply and demand
02/19/06	Biofuels are no cure-all for energy needs	energy policy, ethanol, oil industry
02/16/06	Forget about trade "deficit"	budget deficit, Bush administration, China, trade deficit
02/12/06	Housing's slow cool-down eases pain	housing
02/09/06	Budget debate degenerates into political game	Bush administration, farm subsidies, politics, Social Security
02/05/06	Wherever you go, introspection is valuable	Brazil, civil service, health policy, labor markets
02/02/06	Bush dodged true energy-policy fix	Brazil, Bush administration, energy policy, Arthur Pigou, oil industry
01/29/06	Does success spring from effort or luck?	Brazil, economic success
01/26/06	Look beyond Fed's chairman	Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan
01/22/06	Let's lose phone-tax hang-up	taxation, telecommunications
01/19/06	Tone down ecosystem debate	Brazil, environment, resource management
01/15/06	Most charity tax breaks don't aid poor	charities, Hurricane Katrina, taxes
01/12/06	IT empowers regular folks	Brazil, information, Internet, technology
01/08/06	Some myths about the boomer effect	baby boom, productivity
01/05/06	Railroad loan challenges Republican identity	railroad, transportation
01/01/06	Inverted yield curve:  Threat or just a blip?	yield curve
12/29/05	Immigration debate to simplistic	immigration, labor markets
12/25/05	How feedback can affect retail sales	retail markets
12/22/05	Beyond "Freakonomics"	Steve Levitt
12/18/05	Housing boom bound to run out of steam	housing
12/15/05	Medical advances involve trade-offs	medical industry, pharmaceuticals, trade-offs
12/11/05	Pork-barrel politics hurt war on terror	Bush administration, politics, terrorist attacks
12/08/05	Short-term fear derails long-term gain	ag imports and exports, Argentina, Brazil, WTO
12/04/05	Sometimes, a parliament holds appeal	Canada, politics
12/03/05	Use state money to retrain, not retain	auto industry
12/01/05	Tax surplus stems from business cycle	budget surplus
11/27/05	Bumper crop storage an enviable problem	resource management
11/24/05	Fair pay, and gratitude	Iraq war, public employees, Thanksgiving
11/20/05	Wal-Mart just wants everyone in same boat	minimum wage, unions
11/17/05	Do trade missions matter?	mercantilism, trade mission
11/13/05	Credibility is crucial in trade talks	NAFTA, Nobel Prize, Thomas Schelling
11/10/05	Why subsidize mortgages?	taxes
11/06/05	High court's impact felt in economy	Supreme Court
11/03/05	Tax panel spurs needed debate	taxes
10/30/05	Fed chiefs often anger presidents	Ben Bernanke, Bush administration, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker
10/27/05	Government "waste" is complex	politics, resource management, trade-offs
10/23/05	No consumer inflation yet, but pressure is building	Consumer Price Index, Milton Friedman, Hurricane Katrina, inflation
10/20/05	Demand "elasticity" key to profits	elasticity of demand, oil prices
10/16/05	U.S. stance on farm subsidies appears dubious at best	farm policy, game theory, Nobel Prize, Thomas Schelling
10/13/05	Health insurance is different, but why?	insurance industry
10/09/05	U.S. holds Nobel Prize dominance--for now	Nobel Prize
10/06/05	Prices indexes help little in capping city spending	Consumer Price Index, real estate taxes
10/02/05	Fuel tax the fairest way to motivate conservation	Bush Administration, energy policy
09/29/05	Anti-gouging actions are bad policy	Hurricane Katrina, oil prices, price gouging
09/25/05	Choices not as simple as good vs. bad	Bush Administration, environment, Kyoto Protocol
09/22/05	To survive, airlines must play the game	airline industry, game theory
09/18/05	Conflicts of interest hurt whole economy	principal-agent problem
09/15/05	Next Fed chair:  Academic, practitioner or both?	Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve
09/11/05	New Orleans culture has always been different	Hurricane Katrina
09/08/05	How much can we really do to minimize disaster costs?	disaster relief, Hurricane Katrina
09/04/05	When labor grows faster than capital	globalization, labor markets
09/01/05	In wake of natural disaster, economic engine will restart	disaster relief, Hurricane Katrina
08/28/05	What's a hike in the woods worth to you?	Bush administration, forest management, resource management
08/25/05	Safety is a legitimate issue	airline industry
08/21/05	Gasoline demand won't fall overnight	elasticity of demand, oil industry, supply and demand
08/18/05	A strike is a rarity these days	airline industry, Qwest, strike, unions
08/14/05	History teaches gas prices will fall	oil industry
08/11/05	Greenspan shouldn't coast	FOMC, Alan Greenspan
08/07/05	Technology transitions carry costs	telecommunications, wind power
08/04/05	Even economists driven to consume	conspicuous consumption, Thorstein Veblen
07/31/05	Who decides the value of preservation?	resource management, wildlife
07/28/05	Corruption has micro-, macro-effects	Brazil, corruption, politics
07/24/05	Appointed panel takes heat for politicians	military spending
07/21/05	Hatch-Medica rift teaches economics lesson	Mike Hatch, HMOs
07/17/05	Raise pay for troops in combat	incentives, military draft, military spending
07/14/05	Terror is "economy of force"	economy of force, terrorist attacks
07/10/05	China's exports are not its only source of dollars	China, exchange rates
07/07/05	Africa ills rooted in history	debt relief
07/03/05	We owe a lot to Alexander Hamilton	Alexander Hamilton
06/30/06	Fed "balance" too subjective	FOMC, Alan Greenspan
06/26/05	In rare cases, crime pays for society	crime, insurance industry
06/23/05	High prices good news to some	oil prices
06/19/05	Don't restrict debt aid to the delinquent	debt relief
06/16/05	Gravel dispute raises concrete economics issues	Ronald Coase, resource management
06/12/05	Concern over Social Security is nothing new	baby boom, Medicare, Social Security
06/09/05	Productivity should be focus	Edward Prescott, productivity, Social Security
06/05/05	Rift over EU constitution affects politics, not economics	European Union, politics
06/02/05	GOP finds governing is hard	politics
05/29/05	Cigarette tax has its roots in pragmatism	cigarettes, Arthur Pigou, taxation
05/26/05	Assumptions dangerous in war and economics	rational expectations
05/22/05	State's tax rate is just one factor in migration	income taxes
05/19/05	Tax rate lower than many think	income taxes
05/15/05	GM, Ford ills boost theory of "creative destruction"	auto industry, creative destruction, John Kenneth Galbraith, Joseph Schumpeter
05/12/05	Airbus-Boeing "duopoly" challenges airlines	airline industry, transportation
05/08/05	Budget terms cut both ways	Bush Administration, Social Security
05/06/05	Tiers may unintended side effects	health policy, HMOs
05/05/05	Fed right to reject "Keynesianism," raise key rate	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes
05/01/05	Greenspan drank the Kool-Aid	FOMC, Alan Greenspan
04/28/05	Nobel laureate lecturer marks a turn in the discipline	Nobel Prize, Amartya Sen, social-choice theory
04/24/05	Growth projections are tricky at best	Social Security
04/21/05	Which argument holds water?	Ronald Coase, resource management
04/17/05	Let's rethink accounting regulations	Sarbanes-Oxley Bill
04/14/05	Energy taxes better than standards	energy policy, taxes
04/10/05	U.S. needs to learn to trust the markets	market economy, oil prices
04/07/05	What became of "full faith and credit?"	Bush Administration, Social Security
04/03/05	Numbers, nuance both guide FOMC	Federal Reserve, FOMC
03/31/05	Don't be the farm on rising inflation	inflation, land prices
03/27/05	Tax breaks can obscure health costs	health savings accounts, taxes
03/24/05	Greenspan tarnishes his own image	budget surplus, Alan Greenspan
03/20/05	"Great man theory" can be applied to Fed	Federal Reserve, World War II
03/17/05	MTC crossroads	transportation
03/13/05	Overzealous rules smack of mercantilism	mercantilism
03/10/05	Economists back toll lanes	toll lanes, transportation
03/06/05	Simple ideas are sometimes simply wrong	taxes
03/03/05	Minimum wage has minimal economic effect	Fair Labor Standards Act, minimum wage
02/27/05	Leave Marx's economic labels in past	Karl Marx
02/24/05	The human costs of war outweigh all others	Iraq war
02/20/05	Ag subsidies hurt more than help	Bush Administration, farm subsidies
02/17/05	Soaring home values not necessarily good	fallacy of composition, housing
02/13/05	Gas tax good, automobile tax not so good	taxes, transportation
02/10/05	Writing off debts of poorest nations a good idea	Africa, debt relief
02/06/05	Some work just can't be outsourced	law of one price
02/03/05	Wartime is a good time for central planning	central planning, Iraq war,
01/30/05	State weighs how to ration health care	health policy, Pawlenty Administration
01/27/05	Monopolies popping up all over	gambling, monopoly, sports
01/23/05	Self-sufficiency in oil wouldn't come cheaply	oil prices, USDA
01/20/05	Nation of checks and un-balances	Bush Administration, deficit spending, Pawlenty Administration
01/16/05	Central bank loses money?  Don't worry	central bank, Federal Reserve, monetary policy
01/13/05	Are broadband Internet connections a "public good?"	Internet, public good, public utilities
01/09/05	Re-examining our bad ideas is a good idea	Alan Greenspan, Ponzi scheme, Social Security
01/06/05	Government does mad cow kow-tow	ag imports and exports, Bush administration, Japan, USDA
01/02/05	Perceived risks can skew common sense	risk
12/30/04	Tax or borrow?  Both approaches have limits	bonds, Pawlenty Administration, taxation
12/26/04	"The king has no clothes!"  Now what?	Bush Administration, Social Security
12/23/04	Pollution cleanup is good; proposed tax is bad	environment, taxation
12/19/04	China textile tax illustrates flaws in trade	China, international trade, WTO
12/16/04	Media should brush up on monetary policy	Federal Reserve, FOMC
12/12/04	How many Fed branches do we need?	Federal Reserve
12/09/04	Economists, politicians differ over tax breaks	Pawlenty Administration, taxation
12/05/04	Rules are rules, even in trade fights	international trade, WTO
12/02/04	Comparing U.S., Canada can be instructive	Canada, exchange rates
11/28/04	Don't believe the hype about dollar's swings	euro, exchange rates
11/25/04	Reflect on wants versus needs	Thanksgiving
11/21/04	Cutting waste is easier said than done	Sen. Norm Coleman
11/18/04	"Full" employment is hard to quantify	unemployment
11/14/04	"Free trade" not that free under treaties	NAFTA
11/11/04	Iraqi economy a huge challenge	Iraq war
11/07/04	Arab nations pose riddles for economists	Arab nations, poverty
11/04/04	Fiscal policy will stay the course	Bush Administration, Nobel Prize, Edward Prescott
10/31/04	Opportunity costs surface in election	Campaign 2004, opportunity cost
10/28/04	The price of money	budget deficit, Campaign 2004
10/24/04	Government's interest in your flu shot	health policy, risk
10/21/04	Without draft, military needs more pay	Campaign 2004, military draft
10/17/04	Worldviews split lawyers, economists	environment, Pawlenty Administration
10/14/04	Bush's deficits worse than Kerry's (part two in a two-part series)	budget deficit, Campaign 2004, national debt
10/11/04	How does economic theory handle effects of irrationality and ignorance?	rational expectations, David Ricardo
10/10/04	Debt relief for poor nations is just a first step	Argentina, Brazil, IMF, World Bank
10/07/04	Candidates failing Econ 101 (part one in a two-part series)	Campaign 2004, health policy, Social Security
10/03/04	What's true for one isn't true for all	fallacy of composition, health policy, stock markets
09/30/04	Costly oil tightens budget	oil prices
09/26/04	Bankruptcy fairness is balancing act	airline industry, bankruptcy, steel industry
09/23/04	It's hard to improve on a classic	technology
09/19/04	Money supply is root of all inflation	inflation, money supply
09/15/04	Media muddle U.S. balance of payments accounts	balance of payments, media
09/12/04	Economists would likely scoff at deficit	budget deficit, David Ricardo
09/09/04	Can "social capital" improve the community?	Robert Putnam, social capital
09/05/04	Candidates must deal with dual deficits	Campaign 2004, dual deficits, federal budget
09/02/04	Bush can't have it both ways on economy	Bush Administration, John Maynard Keynes, supply-side economics
08/29/04	Making a move is more difficult with the euro	euro, Robert Mundell, optimal currency area
08/26/04	Which insurance fees are fair?	insurance industry
08/22/04	Republicans divided by fiscal policies	Campaign 2004, Pawlenty Administration, taxes
08/19/04	The indirect costs of U.S. security	terrorist attacks
08/15/04	Obesity plan sparks debate over rationing	health policy
08/12/04	Would an airport landing auction fly?	airline industry, externalities
08/08/04	Who's to blame when the economy struggles?	Campaign 2004
08/05/04	Short-term numbers have shortcomings	economic data
08/01/04	High gasoline prices, 'bye gas guzzlers	airline industry, auto industry
07/29/04	Econ 101 doesn't explain office glut, pricey steak	supply and demand
07/25/04	Here's how not to run a country	Bolivia
07/22/04	Fed action and reaction	Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, money supply
07/18/04	AIDS deaths are economic, human tragedy	Africa, AIDS, productivity
07/15/04	The economy's performance and potential	Campaign 2004, output gap, unemployment
07/11/04	Like scissors, issues have two sides	immigration, Alfred Marshall, prescription drugs
07/08/04	Reserves, recruits, returns	incentives, Iraq war
07/04/04	Our diversity has developed into economic asset	discrimination
07/01/04	Nowhere to go but up	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Taylor Rule
06/27/04	Digital divide talk hides the real problem	international trade, technology
06/24/04	It's difficult to withdraw from financial addiction	airline industry, David Ricardo
06/20/04	Lessons for confronting monopolies	defense spending, monopoly
06/17/04	Presidential pressure on the Fed	Bush Administration, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Ronald Reagan, Paul Volcker
06/13/04	Take the long view of leader and economy	budget deficit, Federal Reserve, Ronald Reagan, Paul Volcker
06/10/04	Price of war not equal for all nations	World War II
06/06/04	Much to learn on a walk in the Woods	Bretton Woods
06/03/04	Need, greed defeat good sense	budget deficit
05/30/04	A quick primer on the Federal Reserve	Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan
05/27/04	Compensation has complications	compensation, principal-agent problem
05/23/04	Remittance is no mere pittance	remittance
05/20/04	Pulling apart job data	Bush Administration, economic data, Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, unemployment
05/16/04	Moral hazard gets personal after storm	incentives, moral hazard, risk
05/13/04	Was the boom just an echo?	Federal Reserve, money supply, stock markets
05/09/04	Don't blame OPEC, cows for price hikes	Consumer Price Index, Federal Reserve, FOMC, market economy, OPEC
05/06/04	Funding fundamentals don't apply to state	bonds
05/02/04	Nothing magic about infrastructure	Army Corps of Engineers, environment, Mississippi River, transportation
04/29/04	Import teaching tool	international trade
04/25/04	You can trade steel, but not haircuts	international trade, steel industry
04/22/04	Army Corps seems ready to barge in with costly overhaul of locks	Army Corps of Engineers, environment, Mississippi River
04/18/04	Taxes aren't fair; what else is new?	taxes
04/15/04	Bungalow bubble buildup	housing
04/11/04	Fair, calculated looks at the next election	Campaign 2004, politics
04/08/04	Crash course in trade disparities	transportation
04/04/04	French moves bound to spell stagnation	France, politics
04/01/04	No need to fret over OPEC	elasticity of demand, oil prices, OPEC
03/28/04	Look for China to hit a wall	China, recession
03/25/04	About that Medicare deficit	Medicare, Social Security
03/21/04	Oil price rise may be timed to hurt Bush	Bush Administration, Campaign 2004, oil prices, OPEC, politics
03/18/04	My tiff with TIF:  It's misleading	fallacy of composition, public good, sports, tax increment financing
03/14/04	Seemed like a good idea at the time	path dependency, value-added tax
03/11/04	Benefits drive buses	economies of scale, public good, public transit, strike
03/07/04	Be it resolved:  Pfizer move only symbolic	Pawlenty Administration, pharmaceuticals
03/04/04	Getting a lock on Social Security	fallacy of composition, Social Security
02/29/04	Everyday risks are hard to pin down	risk
02/26/04	Greenspan avoided this road before	Alan Greenspan, Social Security
02/22/04	Drive the drug firms away to lower prices	pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs
02/19/04	Mercury policy is a heavy topic	environment
02/15/04	Beware curse of winners in politics	Campaign 2004, politics
02/12/04	Liability in limbo wastes resources	Ronald Coase, incentives
02/08/04	It's difficult to feed truth in a sound bite	Campaign 2004, federal budget, politics,
02/05/04	Free trade trade-offs always pay off	international trade, labor markets, trade-offs
02/01/04	Adding up the stadium debate	public financing, sports
01/29/04	The politics of debt and diplomacy	Bush Administration, IMF, John Maynard Keynes, Latin American
01/25/04	"Normal" price notions are rarely rational	inflation
01/22/04	The work behind jobless figures	economic data, labor markets, unemployment
01/18/04	How can we use more oil, have more oil?	oil prices, technology
01/15/04	Immigration argument needs work	Bush Administration, immigration, labor markets
01/11/04	Dollar declines and other weighty issues	euro, exchange rates
01/08/04	Mad cows and irrational humans	risk
01/04/04	Incentives often bring demand shifts	demand shift, incentives
01/01/04	One simple life saw so many changes	technology
12/28/03	It's time for the truth in mutual funds	efficiency, investments, mutual funds
12/25/03	You're a mean one
12/21/03	No credit if they don't make grade	bankruptcy
12/18/03	Economist view of booya hoo-ha	litigation, public good, risk, transaction cost
12/14/03	Leaders need background in trade realities	China, international trade, Japan
12/11/03	Constitutions matter to growth	Afghanistan, Isaiah Berlin, Brazil, education
12/07/03	Political shifts, maybe, but in right direction	Bush Administration, Pawlenty Administration, politics, steel industry, tariffs
12/04/03	Delivering details can be difficult	economic data, media
11/30/03	Picture stents in place of pills	health policy, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs, price discrimination
11/27/03	Placing value on thanks and giving	Thanksgiving
11/23/03	Make penalty match profit	Gary Becker, Senator Norm Coleman, KPMG, tax fraud
11/20/03	Using common funds for the common good	energy policy, ethanol, FICA, health policy, Medicare, pharmaceuticals, wind power
11/16/03	The nation's well-being supersedes political antics	Bush Administration, European Union, GATT, steel industry, tariffs, WTO
11/13/03	Internet tax issues tangles	Internet, taxation
11/09/03	New lesson in budget balancing during doldrums	European Union
11/06/03	Fund news eclipses GDP	Bush Administration, economic data, GDP
11/02/03	Health care needs change, but what's feasible?	health policy
10/30/03	Funding formula paved with intentions	taxation, transportation
10/26/03	Common property systems have uncommon results	common property, Garrett Hardin
10/23/03	Unlikely answer for GOP	Canada, Representative Gil Gutknecht, health policy, Pawlenty Administration, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs
10/19/03	Economics tries to explain levels of wealth	Bolivia, rent-seeking
10/16/03	Beefy, bulky price swoops	supply and demand
10/12/03	Talk about trade talks obscures important issues	international trade, tariffs
10/09/03	Nobel choices leaner and lean to U.S.	Robert Engle, Clive Granger, Nobel Prize
10/05/03	Turnover of goods is sometimes good enough	Bush Administration, energy policy, environment
10/02/03	Poverty index is confusing--and stuck	Consumer Price Index, Mollie Orshansky, poverty
09/28/03	The deficit:  "Fiscal discipline" isn't going to cut it	budget deficit, Bush Administration, Dick Cheney
09/25/03	Currency support comes with twists	China, exchange rates, IMF
09/21/03	Pay alternatives often involve harsh choices	labor markets, trade-offs
09/18/03	Global integration hits snags	European Union, globalization, WTO
09/14/03	Rules or discretion?  Monetary policy debate persists	Federal Reserve Bank, Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, John Maynard Keynes, monetary policy
09/11/03	China's current currency condition needs an update	China, exchange rates, John Snow
09/07/03	Raising reservations about reserve	elasticity of demand, oil prices, Strategic Petroleum Reserve
09/04/03	Over time, economic rules will trump overtime rules	Bush Administration, Fair Labor Standards Act
08/31/03	Population counts when analyzing economic issues	labor markets, population change, productivity
08/28/03	Gas prices spark call for action	tradeoffs, transportation
08/24/03	Despite abundance, humans look for more	income distribution
08/21/03	Incentives aren't only motivators	incentives, Medicare
08/17/03	Cost opportunity applies beyond economics	Bush administration, Iraq war, opportunity cost, resource allocation
08/14/03	Fed's interest in rates is all about bonds	bonds, Federal Reserve, FOMC, money supply
08/10/03	Think of the bonds you invest in as IOUs	bonds
08/07/03	Shielding drugs, rock 'n' roll	patents, pharmaceuticals
08/03/03	Like farmers, small businesses need assistance	Pawlenty administration
07/31/03	Plumbing depths of user optimality	efficiency, Pareto optimality
07/27/03	U.S. bonds in foreign hands don't pose big threats	bonds, foreign investment
07/24/03	Debts differ from deficits	bonds, budget deficit, national debt
07/20/03	Drug benefit is close to "bilateral monopoly"	Medicare, monopolistic competition, monopoly, monopsony, oligopoly, perfect competition
07/17/03	A lesson in "rent seeking"	Pawlenty administration, rent seeking
07/13/03	Declining dollar not enough to create catastrophe	exchange rates, foreign investment
07/10/03	Preferential rates do have economic basis	economies of scale, HMOs, insurance industry, monopoly, monopsony, perfect competition
07/06/03	Government actions take from poor, give to rich	income distribution, marriage penalty, Medicare,
07/03/03	Heck yes, pricing hits buyers	Sen. Norm Coleman, market economy
06/29/03	Paid use of car-pool lane economically sound	transportation
06/26/03	Rate cut ignores money supply	FOMC, money supply
06/22/03	External pressure holds grip on fiscal honesty (part two in a two-part series)	economic data, market economy
06/19/03	It's the economy	Bush Administration, Campaign 2004, economic data, inflation, unemployment
06/15/03	Markets and citizens need reliable information (part one in a two-part series)	economic data, principal-agent problem
06/12/03	Politics fuel proposals for ethanol reserve  (includes Sen. Coleman's response editorial published 6/16/03)	ADM, Campaign 2000, Sen. Norm Coleman, ethanol, rent-seeking
06/08/03	Economic knowledge helpful but no guarantee	economic education
06/05/03	Be skeptical of long-term forecasts	budget deficit, Social Security
06/01/03	Read economic headlines with a dose of skepticism	euro, exchange rates, media
05/29/03	Trade deficit lures foreign investment	foreign investment, trade deficit
05/25/03	Zoning can bring economic efficiency--and bigotry	efficiency, market economy, zoning
05/22/03	Revealing "refund loans"	taxes, Truth in Lending Act, usury laws
05/18/03	Ups and downs of the dollar can be good and bad news	monetary policy
05/15/03	Age is a factor in valuing life	trade-offs
05/11/03	What factors allow CEOs to earn above-market pay?	CEO compensation, market economy, principal-agent problem, supply and demand
05/08/03	Fed facing election pressure	Campaign 2004, Federal Reserve, FOMC, monetary policy, political culture
05/04/03	Airline restructuring reveals pecking order	airline industry, opportunity cost, unions
05/01/03	Impact of SARS nothing to sneeze at	airline industry, SARS
04/27/03	Short-term losses accompany benefits of trade	China, foreign trade
04/24/03	Cult of personalities can hurt economy	Bush administration, Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan
04/20/03	Speaking freely can come at a cost to income	discrimination, Iraq war
04/13/03	Should the Fed try to achieve inflation?	Federal Reserve Bank, IMF, inflation
04/10/03	Tax policy relies on a vice precedent	gambling, Arthur Pigou, taxation, tobacco
04/06/03	Humped flatbeds signal doom for Fidel's regime	incentives, market economy, transportation
04/03/03	Should protestors pay?	Pawlenty administration, public good
03/30/03	It's time for a little fun understanding "fungible"	fungible
03/27/03	Is the president's war budget realistic?	Bush administration, Iraq war
03/23/03	Minnesota's economic picture not all that grim	budget deficits, unemployment
03/20/03	Uncertainty is certain	Federal Reserve Bank, FOMC, Iraq war, oil prices
03/16/03	What would war with Iraq do to the U.S. economy?	Iraq war
03/13/03	Setting salaries in unsettling times	unemployment, wages
03/09/03	Acknowledge the tradeoffs, then tackle the negatives	incentives, tradeoffs
03/06/03	Party's principles lost for GOP leaders	gambling, mercantilism, Pawlenty administration, retirement
03/02/03	Strong dollar not always beneficial	Bush administration, j-curve effect, John Snow, trade deficit
02/27/03	Intentions and consequences	Bush administration, Pawlenty administration, tax-free zone, workers' compensation
02/23/03	Zombie airlines are operating among us!	airline industry
02/20/03	Plowing into storm's lessons	resource management
02/16/03	Alan Greenspan doesn't owe the president anything	Bush administration, Alan Greenspan
02/13/03	Ask the economists	Bush administration, Alan Greenspan, taxation
02/09/03	Sure, we'll help the poor, if they follow our rules	consumer sovereignty, Pawlenty administration, poverty
02/06/03	So many ag TV ads and so few farmers	monopolistic competition
02/02/03	Taking a shot at the question of compulsory vaccination	health policy
01/30/03	Plan shows Medicare's original flaws	Bush administration, Medicare, prescription drugs
01/26/03	Truth for ethanol co-ops:  Incentives have consequences	ethanol, incentives, Pawlenty administration
01/23/03	Assessing risk down the road	risk
01/19/03	Ethanol subsidies burn many to benefit a few	ethanol, Pawlenty administration
01/16/03	Economics of life-or-death questions	health policy
01/12/03	Separating silliness from sense in economic plans	Bush administration, John Maynard Keynes, supply-side economics, taxation
01/09/03	Dissecting the dividend tax	Bush administration, dividends, taxation,
01/05/03	Rethink the requirement to balance the state budget	bailout, budget deficit
12/29/02	Deciding at what level to tax and spend means tradeoffs	education, local government, taxation, transportation
12/22/02	Not in the spotlight, Social Security needs repair	Gary Becker, Peter G. Peterson, Social Security
12/19/02	Playing the risk vs. the payoff	Bush Administration, defense spending, risk
12/15/02	Forget the Friedman fight, just abolish the position	Bush Administration, Stephen Friedman
12/12/02	Snow has tough policy to sell, swallow	Bush Administration, Lawrence Lindsey, Paul O'Neill, John Snow
12/08/02	State's lopsided benefits plan needs attention	public employees, retirement
12/05/02	Fiscal "boatload" now needs bailing out	budget deficit, John Maynard Keynes, taxes
12/01/02	Gripped by the economics of repair	Baumol effect, opportunity cost, profit maximizing
11/28/02	Giving thanks for those who help out	Thanksgiving
11/24/02	It's dangerous and foolish to believe you have the last word	truth
11/21/02	PUC needs to get tough	public utilities, Qwest
11/17/02	We spend plenty on trials but little for victims	crime, lawsuits, litigation, terrorist attacks
11/14/02	A tax cut both parties can love	regressivity, tariffs, taxation
11/10/02	Investor trust in economy is in serious need of repair	Bush Administration, Harvey Pitt, SEC, William Webster
11/07/02	Economic test for Republicans	Bush Administration, Harvey Pitt, SEC, William Webster
11/03/02	Deflation is not a threat as long as Fed is competent	deflation, FOMC, Japan, Paul Volcker
10/31/02	Let's consider bringing back the draft	Milton Friedman, military draft
10/27/02	Taxes are a necessary evil; tax evaders really are evil	efficiency, tax fraud
10/24/02	Monopoly power brings on abuses	Bush Administration, monopoly
10/20/02	"Caveat emptor" has always applied to the stock market	Great Depression, retirement, stock markets
10/17/02	Creative books can hide costs	transfer pricing
10/13/02	Bush didn't build the bubble and he didn't burst it, either	Bush Administration, Federal Reserve Bank, John Maynard Keynes
10/10/02	Labor lessons of port lockout	labor markets, monopoly, strike
10/06/02	Changes in society affect the unemployment count (part two in a two-part series)	unemployment
10/03/02	Numb to jobless numbers (part one in a two-part series)	unemployment
09/29/02	Free trade is good for business, good for people	Roger Cobden, international trade, David Ricardo, Smooth-Hawley Act, tariffs
09/26/02	Trade with Cuba could speed reform	Cuba, international trade, Latin America
09/22/02	Hog prices and office rents show irrationality in action	Robert Lucas, rational expectations, David Ricardo
09/19/02	When ownership means leadership	principle-agent problem
09/15/02	U.S. should propose alternative to Kyoto Protocol	Bush Administration, Clinton Administration, Kyoto Protocol, natural resource management, Thomas Schelling
09/08/02	Life lessons color economists' views	Gary Becker, Milton Friedman, logical positivism
09/05/02	Fishing for common economic ground	common property, resource management, wildlife
09/01/02	Successful economies need cooperation and competition	efficiency
08/29/02	Meeting society's needs can be a messy process	public good
08/25/02	Health news brings classic "demand shift"	demand shift, market economy
08/18/02	Bailouts are nice, but they don't solve problems	bailout, Bush Administration, IMF, Latin America
08/15/02	Roseau deserves better	efficiency, horizontal equity, moral hazard, vertical equity
08/11/02	Be content with average market performance	investments, retirement, stock markets
08/08/02	Don't make too much out of numbers	economic data, GDP, recession
08/04/02	Understanding price shifts	consumer price index
08/01/02	O'Neill doesn't deserve bad rap	Bush Administration, Paul O'Neill
07/28/02	Changing laws on drug imports may result in surprises	fallacy of composition, pharmaceuticals, price discrimination
07/25/02	California law fogs the issue	environment, global warming
07/21/02	History may take different view of market downturn	corporate accounting, Alan Greenspan, stock markets
07/20/02	Declines, rebounds happen	Dow Jones, retirement, stock markets
07/18/02	Bush inaction hurts in long run	Bush Administration, stock options
07/14/02	Doing the right thing doesn't cost more	investments, retirement
07/11/02	Nuclear waste issue lives on	energy policy, nuclear energy
07/07/02	Law of supply and demand also applies to the job market	labor markets, supply and demand
07/04/02	Surviving roar of the crowd	Charles Mackay, retirement, David Ricardo, stock markets
06/30/02	Insurance firms struggle to avoid moral hazard (part two in a two-part series)	Mike Hatch, insurance industry, Medicare, moral hazard, pharmaceuticals
06/27/02	"Average" drug prices need real fix   (part one in a two-part series)	Mike Hatch, Medicare, pharmaceuticals
06/20/02	Service snafu creates Marxian moment	Enron, Karl Marx, principal-agent problems, Qwest
06/16/02	The jig is up:  Americans learn cars cost less in Canada	auto industry, price discrimination
06/13/02	Risk vs. recklessness:  Who should bear costs?	moral hazard
06/09/02	So who's counting?  What median income really means	median income, productivity
06/06/02	Cost of the commute	census, transportation
06/02/02	If you value sound reasoning, watch out for these words	monopoly, national debt, steel industry
05/30/02	What's behind shopping for a bargain?  It isn't just being thrifty	price discrimination
05/26/02	Media needs to know the value of dollar vs. trade deficit	media, trade deficit
05/23/02	Sports spending smart?	education, sports
05/19/02	Telecom boom's bust has basis in economic history	technology
05/16/02	Dayton plan will hurt serious trade talks	fast track authority, international trade
05/12/02	Squeezed and sweating or simply back to work?	productivity
05/09/02	Pork and PACs vs. priorities, principles	Bush Administration, military spending
05/05/02	U.S. account deficit will shrink one way or the other	budget deficit, Federal Reserve, international trade
05/02/02	The economics of exotic locales	efficiency
04/29/02	Truthful disclosure critical to U.S. market economy	corporate accounting, Enron, public auditing
04/25/02	Bad rules breed corruption	corruption, rent-seeking
04/21/02	Oil exports don't guarantee high standard of living	Venezuela
04/18/02	Oligopolists lose at "follow the leader"	game theory, oligopoly, signaling
04/14/02	University athletics does follow economic incentives	incentives
04/11/02	One oligopolist can only do so much	international trade, monopoly, oil prices, oligopoly
04/07/02	California ban on pulling weeds tugs at larger issues	labor markets, tradeoffs
04/03/02	Bad economic policy is in the wind	energy policy, windpower
03/31/02	Similar industries--different views of imports	foreign trade, labor markets, paper industry, steel industry
03/28/02	Stadium financing won't fly	bonds, public financing
03/21/02	Change hurts some as it helps many	Internet, labor markets
03/17/02	Economist Tobin had rare Keynesian policy success	John Maynard Keynes, Nobel Prize, James Tobin
03/14/02	Any benefit to soybean growers would be global	globalization, international trade
03/10/02	Steel tariffs cave to politics, but are bad economic policy	Bush administration, steel industry, tariffs
03/07/02	Qwest actions raise old issues	monopoly, price fixing, Qwest, Ida Tarbell,
03/03/02	Economic policies usually are two-edged swords	Federal Reserve
02/28/02	Don't blame it on forecasts	budget deficit, income taxes, recession, sales taxes
02/24/02	Global pressure to change policies only goes so far	Bretton Woods, Bush Administration, Japan
02/21/02	Hungry inherit the work	labor markets
02/17/02	World's poor are poor, but calculations add to confusion	poverty
02/14/02	Farm subsidies a regressive reality	farm policy, regressivity
02/10/02	Real costs of programs must be weighed against benefits	energy policy, environment
02/07/02	End of recession hard to pin down	recession
02/03/02	Calculate "opportunity cost" when figuring true loss	Argentina, Enron, opportunity cost
01/31/02	Sorting out government aid to business	incentives, taxes
01/27/02	Time for the Fed to ease up on the money accelerator	Federal Reserve, FOMC
01/24/02	Political rhetoric needs balance	Argentina, Federal Reserve, politics
01/20/02	Look to Washington for macroeconomics lesson	John Maynard Keynes, macroeconomics, politics, recession
01/17/02	State's 4% jobless rate isn't that bad	recession, unemployment
01/13/02	Argentina needs to face deeply embedded problems (part two in a two-part series)	Argentina, IMF
01/10/02	Survivor funds are tough call	terrorist attacks
01/06/02	Argentines aren't learning right lessons from debacle (part one in a two-part series)	Argentina, currency board, IMF
01/03/02	No room for rent seeking	rent-seeking
12/30/01	Nonpartisan group could monitor state coffers (part two in a two-part series)	recession, taxation
12/27/01	Finding a fair tax system (part one in a two-part series)	recession, taxation
12/23/01	Instead of 401(k) limits, overall review is needed	Enron, investments, retirement
12/20/01	Melding steel giants isn't bad	monopoly
12/16/01	Enron episode teaches investors to act like parents	bankruptcy, bonds, Enron, investments, public utilities
12/13/01	Fed faces a battle in shifting policy	Federal Reserve, FOMC
12/09/01	Situations bear watching beyond terrorism hotspots	Argentina, international trade, Japan
12/06/01	Deficits can teach lessons	automatic stabilizers, budget deficit, recession
12/02/01	Long-run projections are often misleading, even silly	data, labor markets
11/29/01	Danger:   data drama	data, recession
11/22/01	How theory applies to Selig	game theory, signaling, Michael Spence
11/18/01	Uncertainty is casting pall on businesses, consumers	Frank Knight, risk, terrorist attacks, uncertainty
11/15/01	Family spending is likely to change	recession, unemployment
11/11/01	Other nations notice U.S. shift on drug patent rights	anthrax, patents, pharmaceuticals
11/08/01	Business cycle is natural	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Alan Greenspan, recession
11/04/01	In name of war, Congress touts questionable plans	Alternate Minimum Tax, bonds, taxes,
11/01/01	Security spending can slow productivity growth	productivity, terrorist attacks
10/28/01	Cipro popularity becomes disadvantage for Bayer	anthrax, patents, pharmaceuticals
10/25/01	Minnesota can weather the storm	labor market, recession
10/21/01	Good judgment can reduce damage to our way of life	anthrax, productivity, terrorist attacks
10/18/01	Economies must let companies fail	bankruptcy, innovation
10/14/01	In public sphere, setting wages is a tricky business	labor market, strike, wages
10/11/01	Let's know pros, cons of stimulus package	monetary policy, money supply, taxation, unemployment
10/07/01	Stockwalk situation shows how quickly failure can spread	Herstatt risk, money supply, Stockwalk, terrorist attacks
10/04/01	Avoiding rate traps	Federal Reserve, FOMC, inflation, money supply, terrorist attacks
09/30/01	Right now, theories are solid, but limited in capabilities	inflation, John Maynard Keynes, recession, terrorist attacks
09/27/01	Focus on the economy of real goods, services	real economy, terrorist attacks
09/23/01	Wise choices can keep U.S. out of another Depression	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Great Depression, Smoot-Hawley Act, terrorist attacks
09/20/01	Bailout must weigh benefits to society, airlines	airline industry, bailout, terrorist attacks
09/16/01	Extreme times call for measured response; Fed's role:  ensure calm, prevent panic	Federal Reserve, money supply, terrorist attacks
09/13/01	Economy will survive the shock of the attack	exogenous shock, terrorist attacks
09/09/01	This might be a recession, but there's no need to panic	Bush Administration, recession
09/06/01	Strikes up but still relatively rare	labor market, strike, unions, wages
09/02/01	Rhetoric over federal budget muddies Social Security issue	Bush Administration, national debt, Social Security
08/30/01	Sub-prime lending bears watching	Alan Greenspan, junk bonds, sub-prime lending
08/26/01	Rankings provide information, but not all information is equal	information
08/23/01	Foreign sales break isn't worth a fight	foreign trade, WTO
08/19/01	Putting a cap on salaries, fees doesn't work in tight labor market	labor markets, nursing homes
08/16/01	Bonsignore's exit deal strains economic theory	Michael Bonsignore, Honeywell, principal-agent problems
08/12/01	Population changes give birth to widespread economic changes	census, population change
08/09/01	Limiting ag imports is foolish	ag imports & exports, mercantilism, Smoot-Hawley Act
08/05/01	Events bring changes that are certain to involve trade-offs	trade-offs
08/02/01	Bond ratings matter	bonds
07/29/01	Health care is too important to be left in the hands of a single official	Allina Health System, Mike Hatch, health policy, HMOs, principal-agent problems,
07/22/01	People respond to incentives--sometimes a little too well	incentives
07/15/01	Did the Canadian dollar fall, or did the U.S. dollar rise?	Canada, exchange rates
07/08/01	Society's need for services, property-use regulations requires an ever-more-complicated balancing act	property rights
07/01/01	Health, auto insurance both involve tradeoffs	health policy, HMOs
06/24/01	Struggles in Argentine economy may hurt U.S. exports and plans for a free trade area	Argentina, currency board, free trade area, monetary policy
06/17/01	Unfair international policies go far beyond the price of pharmaceuticals	AIDS, health policy, price gouging
06/10/01	Protection for U.S. steel industry just doesn't make economic sense	Bush Administration, free trade area, steel industry
06/03/01	Lost labor's impact	inflation, unemployment
05/27/01	This energy plan could've done Bush--and us--a lot more good	Bush administration, energy policy, externalities
05/20/01	The Fed funds rate is not the prime, T-bill or mortgage rate	Federal Reserve, FOMC, inflation
05/13/01	Now the serious talk starts weighing Social Security vs. individual accounts	Bush Administration, Social Security
05/06/01	Economic indicators are just that--indicators and not precise science	economic data, economic growth
04/29/01	"Big box" retailers demonstrating capitalism's creative destruction	creative destruction, Joseph Schumpeter
04/22/01	Foreign trade sanctions, embargoes bring minimal change to U.S. economy	China, foreign trade, international trade
04/15/01	Law of supply and demand is harsh reality	market economy, supply and demand
04/08/01	Weigh costs of environmental, health measures against benefits	benefit cost analysis, Bush Administration, environment, health policy
04/01/01	Economist's uncommon sense is key to solving energy problems	energy policy, Allen Kneese
03/25/01	Reports of world events provide valuable instruction in economics	Federal Reserve, Latin America, macroeconomics, monetary policy
03/21/01	Fed's moderate rate cut is no real surprise	Dow Jones, Federal Reserve, FOMC, stock markets
03/18/01	Bush's agriculture rhetoric obscures harsh trade outlook for U.S. farmers	ag imports & exports, Bush Administration, farm policy, free trade area, GATT, Latin America, NAFTA, WTO
03/15/01	The Fed can't save the market	Dow Jones, Federal Reserve, FOMC, Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, John Maynard Keynes, stock markets
03/11/01	Spread of disease, storm disasters kept under control by government	public good, taxes
03/04/01	Plow through estate tax rhetoric regarding farms, small businesses	estate taxes
02/25/01	Americans want a strong dollar, but few can offer any reasons why	euro, exchange rates, monetary policy
02/18/01	You can tune a piano, but not an economy	John Maynard Keynes
02/11/01	Look at a country's political culture to get a grip on economic changes	political culture
02/04/01	During his term, Bush in position to put 5 on Federal Reserve Board	Bush Administration, Clinton Administration, Federal Reserve, Roger Ferguson, FOMC
02/01/01	Economics:   California holds pricing lesson	public utilities, supply and demand
01/28/01	Tough to measure new economy that's flush with service industries	economic data, Alan Greenspan
01/21/01	Deeply held values, intense fears clog the education voucher debate	public good, school vouchers
01/14/01	Before ripping into voucher debate, look at government role as provider	public good, school vouchers
01/07/01	Bush appointee Lindsey is best described as supply-side economist	Bush administration, Federal Reserve, Lawrence Lindsey, supply-side economics
01/04/01	Last-minute holiday rush didn't happen, so Fed went with rate cut	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Alan Greenspan, money supply
12/31/00	There will be howls and yowls, but Republicans have to talk taxes	environment, externalities, Paul O'Neill, Albert Pigou, taxation, taxes
12/24/00	Pondering plenty--or the lack of it, as this season of spending winds down	poverty, South America
12/20/00	Fed's decision-marking isn't solely Greenspan	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Greenspan, money supply
12/17/00	A primer on taxes, just in time for the next legislative session	income taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, taxation, taxes
12/10/00	Continued irrational exuberance delays the soft landing at hand	Federal Reserve, FOMC, Greenspan, money supply
12/03/00	Troubles that grew with StarLink corn provide lesson in economics	Adventis, ag imports & exports, external costs, farm policy, GMOs,
11/26/00	Fed is performing well right now, but remember:  It's only human	Federal Reserve
11/19/00	Consumers ultimately pay a price for product recalls, safety measures	consumer protection, product recall
11/12/00	Next president needs to take steps to ward off possible banking crisis	bailout, banking, Alan Greenspan
11/05/00	Secret of United States' success:  We don't depend on strong leaders	Campaign 2000, Fidel Castro, founding fathers, Latin America, Adam Smith
10/29/00	Daily life delivers its share of risks, but any response involves trade-offs	auto industry, lawsuits
10/22/00	Policy alternatives can help the environment and cost nation less	Campaign 2000, environment
10/15/00	We need more teachers, nurses?  We have to pay them more money.	Baumol effect, William Baumol, opportunity cost
10/12/00	The Nobel laureates in economics are little-known but safe choices	James Heckman, Daniel McFadden, microeconomics, Nobel Prize
10/08/00	Promises sacrifice sound policies to score a few points in the polls	Campaign 2000, national debt, Social Security, taxation
10/04/00	A call to share the global wealth	globalization, IMF, Nobel conference, Jeffrey Sachs, World Bank, world economy
10/01/00	Euro and oil actions are unlikely to have a major effect on market	Campaign 2000, euro, Alan Greenspan, market economy, oil prices, politics, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Larry Summers,
09/24/00	Voters, take heed:  Government can't have a family-like budget	Campaign 2000, fallacy of composition, federal budget, Federal Reserve, national debt, Social Security,
09/17/00	Drug cost plans treat a symptom, not larger problem of health care	Campaign 2000, health policy, prescription drugs
9/10/01	(No column)
09/03/00	Prescription-medicine business is one of complicated economics	Campaign 2000, health policy, prescription drugs
08/27/00	Politicians' rhetoric about changes in health care light on substance	Campaign 2000, health policy, politics, HMOs
08/20/00	Politicians deliver glib comments, but voters need to study the truth	budget surplus, Campaign 2000, health policy, politics, taxes
08/13/00	History shows U.S. is controlled by the Fed, not the White House	Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Federal Reserve, FOMC,  Campaign 2000, taxes, politics
08/06/00	Convention brings gusts of hot air concerning federal fiscal policies	estate taxes, Social Security, politics, taxes, Campaign 2000
07/30/00	When free speech disrupts events, a democratic society pays costs	civil disobedience, GMOs, opportunity cost, First Amendment, IMF, WTO,
07/23/00	As long as the demand still burns, someone will be making cigarettes	lawsuits, litigation, tobacco, cigarettes
07/16/00	Life expectancy misunderstood	Social Security, life expectancy
07/09/00	Solutions to "save" Social Security have to work in the real economy	Social Security, Ponzi scheme, real economy
07/02/00	What is "price gouging" and do we need pricing laws?	price gouging, market economy, oil prices
06/25/00	Calmly at the economic controls or clutching the emergency brake?	Greenspan, FOMC, oil prices
06/18/00	Politicians have better things to do than mess with gas price concerns	oil prices, price gouging, market economy
06/11/00	A trade deficit does not indicate a fiendish plot by another country	trade deficit, mercantilism, China
06/04/00	More to Social Security than retirement	Social Security, disability and survivors' benefits, retirement
05/28/00	Los Alamos disaster illustrates concept of 'moral hazard'	moral hazard, forest management, Los Alamos, resource management, environment
05/21/00	The New Internet Economy:  How Big?  (Printed in a special section on e-business published by several newspapers)	Internet, e-business, Douglass North, Deirdre McCloskey, new economy
05/21/00	So euro is weak--who cares?  U.S. farmers, plenty of others	euro, farm policy, exchange rates, European Union, WTO, ag imports & exports
05/14/00	Should Federal Reserve try slow escalation or a knockout punch?	Federal Reserve, Greenspan, FOMC
05/07/00	Bankruptcy laws must balance creditors, debtors and society	bankruptcy, consumer credit industry, economic growth, efficiency
04/30/00	Have fun, scare people with charts	stock markets, Dow Jones, Nikkei
04/23/00	World Bank:  It's a dirty job	foreign aid, World Bank,  Bretton Woods
04/16/00	World Bank, IMF emerged from the exigencies of war	World Bank, IMF, Bretton Woods,
04/09/00	Public wants it privacy--and detailed data about itself	census, economic data, Current Population Survey
04/02/00	Those who think Greenspan rules are mistaking influence for power	Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, monetary policy, FOMC,
03/26/00	Real estate taxes troublesome, but they're part of who we are	real estate taxes, local government, Latin America, decentralized government
03/19/00	Sign of a creative, thriving economy:  Many high-tech firms are sure to fail	Schumpeter, new economy, innovation, venture capital
03/17/00	Oil price shock need not cause inflation	inflation, oil prices, OPEC
03/12/00	Slowing population growth will have strong effect on economies	population change, Easterlin, Social Security
03/02/00	Some Net alliances pose market peril	Internet, antitrust, collusion
02/27/00	How human nature and politics can muddy national public works	benefit cost analysis, environment, Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River
02/20/00	Cyanide spill points out need for nations to cooperate on environment	environment, international pollution, externalities, Eastern Europe
02/13/00	Instead of handing out rebate, why not cut back state sales tax?	budget surplus, sales taxes, regressivity, income taxes
02/09/00	Productivity:  Often ignored, always important	productivity, innovation, economic growth
02/06/00	Looking at societal changes helps cut through rhetoric on income disparities	income distribution, unions, minimum wage, inequality
01/30/00	Hatch making same mistake as Latin America	Mike Hatch, HMOs, Latin America, role of government
01/23/00	In discussing income inequality, understand the nature of the data	income distribution, Current Population Survey, inequality
01/16/00	Environmental improvements require complex give-and-take	environment, externalities, Mississippi River, GMOs
01/09/00	Cost of living adjustments are based on false assumptions	Cost of Living, Consumer Price Index, Social Security
01/02/00	Skepticism aside, idea of new economic era is a pleasing one	New economy, James Glassman, Kevin Hassett, William Sahlman
12/26/99	Taxation of milk raises vexing questions about role of government in a democracy	dairy policy, taxation
12/19/99	In examining Social Security, fairness is in eye of beholder	Social Security, Medicare, HMOs,
12/12/99	19th-century activist could provide lesson to misguided trade protesters	WTO, NAFTA, international trade, Richard Cobden, civil disobedience
12/05/99	There's no need to fret over effect of China's entry into trade group	China, WTO, GATT,
11/28/99	Brilliant people, investment by government bring new technology	technology, innovation, Jim Clark, Zvi Griliches, Tim Berners-Lee
11/21/99	Coca-Cola needs to master simple lessons about price discrimination	Coca Cola, price discrimination
11/14/99	Maybe money supply, not inflation, is the real question faced by Fed	Federal Reserve, monetary policy, inflation, FOMC
11/07/99	Donation or sale of body parts central issue of conscience, ethics	health policy, organ donation
10/31/99	It's time to stop confusing investors with meaningless market numbers	stock markets, stock indexes, Consumer Price Index
10/24/99	To improve health care, remove tax-exempt status for benefits	health policy, taxes
10/17/99	Despite comments now, Greenspan contributed to Social Security woes	Social security, Greenspan, baby boom
10/14/99	Nobel laureate has proved his economic relevance	Robert Mundell, Nobel Prize, optimal currency area, European Union
10/10/99	Are numerous, lengthy lawsuits against industry going too far?	lawsuits, litigation, Ronald Coase, equity, efficiency
10/02/99	U.S. industries need to remember the foreign customer is always right	foreign trade, WTO, auto industry
10/01/99	Greenspan's oral circumvention is cerebral fribble	Greenspan, monetary policy, Federal Reserve
09/26/99	Retiring from the Fed would be good for Greenspan, good for the country	Greenspan, Federal Reserve, monetary policy
09/19/99	Trivial side issues mask real story of whether Western aid is effective	foreign aid, Eastern Europe, USAID, IMF
09/12/99	Propping up commodity prices isn't the way to save family farms	farm policy, price supports, ag imports & exports