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An economist is lucky if his or her work stands the test of time and remains relevant decades after first being published. Robert Mundell, the 1999 Nobel laureate in economics, is extremely fortunate: His work is actually more respected and relevant now than when it was first published. In fact, looking at economic headlines over the past year, it’s easy to pick out numerous events to which Mundell’s work...
Is it good or bad for a society when people are able to sue each other with abandon? That question came to mind when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said recently that the U.S. government is going to sue tobacco companies for health care expense damages. Judging by the popularity of jokes about lawyers and by reactions to new reports of large damage settlements, the average American evidently thinks...
“Pardon me, do you have any real Dijon?” Rather than a romantic gaze, that question is eliciting howls of pain from French mustard lovers in the United States ever since the U.S. imposed punitive tariffs on imports from Europe of numerous specialty food products. These trade sanctions were authorized by the World Trade Organization when it ruled that European restrictions on imports of hormone-treated U.S. beef ran counter to...
Alan Greenspan, the speaker at Thursday night’s Minnesota Meeting, is a past master Fed-Speak, a language in which many complex words are used to say as little as possible. Indeed, he frequently acknowledges this skill. He once told a congressman, “If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.” On another occasion he said “I know you believe you understand what you think I...
The U.S. economy is doing better than it has in decades. Inflation and unemployment are low, incomes are rising, and the stock market remains high. You already knew that, you say? Well then consider this: Alan Greenspan should announce that he doesn’t want to be reappointed as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board when his current term ends next June. There, I said it. Lightning did not strike me,...