Some wages say that, like the state of Mississippi, Bolivia exists to make others look good by comparison. Tragically, poor Bolivians bear every day the cumulative consequences of four centuries of bad government. Unfortunately, votes they cast this past week…
Fed action and reaction
Substantial lengths of time often pass between when an economic policy change occurs and that change actually affects the economy. Unfortunately, such lags are not widely understood. This was sharply evident one morning this week. I received an e-mail from…
AIDS deaths are economic, human tragedy
When a significant proportion of a population dies in some disastrous events–such as the ongoing AIDS epidemic–the economic effects depend greatly on which age groups are most affected. AIDS deaths constitute an economic as well as a human tragedy because…
The economy’s performance and potential
At parent-teacher conferences, did teachers ever tell your parents that your academic performance was well above your potential? Probably not! But many of us remember them being told that despite good grades we were not “performing up to potential.” The…