Economic Growth Program: Publications, Events and More

Cornered

Erin Drankoski — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:34:00 -0500

Regular Harpers and Financial Times contributor Barry C. Lynn paints a genuinely alarming picture: most of our public debates about globalization, competitiveness, creative destruction, and risky finance are nothing more than a cover for the widespread consolidation of power in nearly every imaginable sector of the American economy.

Short-time Work May Be Too Short-Term for U.S.

Economic Growth — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:22:00 -0500

Since President Obama announced the December job summit this month, the policy world has scrambled to put forth their ideas on how to best stimulate job creation in our jobless recovery. Some have noticed the surprisingly low German unemployment rate in the face of the Great Recession; Germany has been one of the worst-hit European economies, but their unemployment rate ticked down from 8.6 percent in March to 7.7 percent in October of this year. Commentators have credited Germany's ability to retain jobs to a 5 billion Euro government policy directly aimed at

The Next Stage

Kirsten Gilbert — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/13/2009 - 8:30am

The current state of the "shadow banking system," rising unemployment rates, the sinking value of the dollar, and the lasting mortgage crisis demonstrate the need for long-view reform. The Next Stage will consider the larger implications of the new administration's economic policy on the economy and the international financial and monetary system. Featured speakers include James K. Galbraith, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Jan Kregel, Robert Johnson, and others.

Critics at Dartmouth Assess Health Bills | New York Times

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:20:00 -0500

In a recent blog post on the Web site of the policy journal Health Affairs, Dr. Wennberg, two other Darmouth researchers and the author Shannon Brownlee ...

A Better Way to Regulate Financial Markets

Economic Growth — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:14:00 -0500

There is widespread recognition that the financial crisis which triggered the Great Recession was significantly due to financial excess, particularly related to real estate. Now, policymakers are looking to reform financial systems in hope of avoiding future crises. But like the drunk who looks for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where the light is, policymakers remain fixated on capital standards because that is what is already in place.

A Better Way to Regulate Financial Markets: Asset Based Reserve Requirements

Kate Schuler — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:38:00 -0500

There is widespread recognition that the financial crisis, which triggered the Great Recession, was significantly due to financial excess, particularly in real estate lending. Now, policymakers are looking to reform the financial system in hope of avoiding future crises. But like the drunk who looks for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where the light is, policymakers remain fixated on capital standards because that is what is already in place.

Three Anniversaries

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:32:00 -0500

Three calendar dates. Three anniversaries. Three eras in the history of the United States and the world.

Policymakers Beware: Falling $US and Undervalued Yuan a Recipe for Disaster

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:31:00 -0500

Over the past several weeks, the US dollar's depreciation against the euro and yen has grabbed global attention.

In a normal world, a weaker US dollar would be welcome, as it would help the US come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit.

But because China links its yuan to the US dollar at an undervalued parity, the US dollar's depreciation risks major global economic damage, complicating the recovery from the worldwide recession.

All Power to the Choice Architects

Next Social Contract — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:43:00 -0500

If we go by election results, and no better guide to our national mood exists, the years of conservative hegemony in the United States are over, at least for the foreseeable future. Not only has the country elected a Democratic president and Congress, but conservative ideas, which once had seemed so innovative, are increasingly stale or non-existent. Meanwhile, the Republican Party seems both directionless and leaderless.

Landing a Job Like Getting into Harvard

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:50:00 -0500

The 650,000 jobs created or saved by the stimulus package so far make up only a small step toward correcting the gap between the tens of millions of unemployed people and the few openings that those people are fighting over.

Even the administration's goal of creating 3.5 million jobs is far below what the economy really needs. With an official unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, the gap between the number of full-time job openings and the number of people who are unemployed has widened.

Buffet Bets Big on Trains | The Takeaway

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:29:00 -0500

Joining us is Phillip Longman, Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and author of “The Next Progressive Era: A Blueprint for Broad ...

Why Dilbert Is Doomed

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:51:00 -0500

Where are tomorrow's jobs going to come from? The question is more urgent than ever, with official unemployment hovering around 10 percent and with nearly one in five Americans unemployed, if you count part-time workers who want full-time jobs and people so desperate that they have given up looking for work entirely.

Death by Renminbi

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:38:00 -0500

Over the last several weeks, the dollar's depreciation against the euro and yen has grabbed global attention. In a normal world, the dollar's weakening would be welcome, as it would help the United States come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit.

But, in a world where China links its currency to the dollar at an undervalued parity, the dollar's depreciation risks major global economic damage that will further complicate recovery from the current worldwide recession.

The New 'Awkward Age' | Baltimore Sun

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:24:00 -0500

The New America Foundation recently estimated that America needs to create nearly a million jobs a year just to keep pace with population growth, ...

What Will Replace The American Consumer?

Economic Growth — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:02:00 -0400

What will take the place of the American consumer is the biggest question hanging over the world economy.
For the past decade and a half, U.S. consumption has been the principal driver of world economic growth, supplying demand for the fast-growing export economies of Asia, whose growth in turn increased demand for capital goods from Europe and Asia and for oil and commodities from Latin America, Africa, and the Persian Gulf. From 1997 to 2008, personal consumption as a percentage of GDP in the United States increased from 67 percent to over 70 percent.

The Tax Breaks That Ate America

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:55:00 -0400

Here's the latest bold new idea for reconciling the costs of national defense with the need to avoid adding to federal deficits or raising taxes. A bipartisan coalition of "New Democrats" and moderate Republicans has proposed buying weapons for the U.S. military through the IRS rather than the Pentagon. Here's how it would work. Instead of being paid to deliver planes, missiles and tanks, defense contractors would receive "weapon supply tax credits" (WSTC). The defense contractors would be

Romer Predicts High Jobless Rate Through Election Year | Wall Street Journal

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:55:00 -0400

On Tuesday, White House economist Jared Bernstein took a more upbeat position in a talk before the New America Foundation. While he called the lack of job ...

The Jobs Deficit

Economic Growth — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:06:00 -0400

The economy has lost 8 million jobs since the beginning of the recession. But because the population is growing, we need to create over 9.6 million jobs. Due to severe job loss and steady population growth, the unemployment rate has soared to 9.8%, nearly as high as during the early 1980s.

To read more, click on the slideshow below.

Jared Bernstein: The Jobs Deficit

Economic Growth — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0400

BERNARD L. SCHWARTZ ECONOMIC SYMPOSIUM

THE JOBS DEFICIT
The Challenge Of Putting America Back To Work

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 12:00 P.M.
THE MAYFLOWER HOTEL WASHINGTON, D.C.

KEYNOTE SPEECH
JARED BERNSTEIN
Chief Economist And Economic Policy Advisor To The Vice President

TO DOWNLOAD THE POWERPOINT SLIDES FOR THIS SPEECH, CLICK HERE.

INTRODUCTION:

That Sound You Hear is the Social Fabric About to Snap

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:49:00 -0400

According to official statistics, the unemployment rate in the United States is now 9.8 percent. But those statistics understate the severity of the jobs crisis. The official statistics do not include the 875,000 Americans who have given up looking for work, even though they want jobs. When these "marginally attached" workers and part-time workers are added to the officially unemployed, the result, according to another, broader governement measure of unemployment known as "U-6," is shocking. The United States has an unemployment rate of 17 percent.