Want to Save the Environment? Give Consumers More Benefits for Going Green

The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market With the Planet

In the process of confronting pollution and climate change, environmentalists have had to grapple with the demands of capitalism. Some see markets and corporations as obstacles to saving the planet, while others seek to use government regulation or litigation to incentivize capitalists to change their behavior, and still others appeal to consumers to limit consumption. But so far, curbs on capitalism have had limited success in mitigating climate change, or producing transformational reversals of environmental damage. How can you change the consumption habits of billions of people? Must people be …

by Magali Delmas | July 5, 2018

In the 1930s, America Defaulted on Its Debt. It Could Happen Again.

FDR’s Decision to Drop the Gold Standard Holds Resonance Today as Big Bills Come Due

By Reed Johnson | June 21, 2018

In the darkest days of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with support from Congress and the Supreme Court, agreed to wipe out more than 40 percent of public …

When the U.S. Government Asked American Families to Turn in Their Gold

American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle Over Gold

By Sebastian Edwards | June 15, 2018

At $20 trillion, the national debt of the United States is slightly bigger than the annual output of the American economy. Government shutdowns and brinksmanship about extending the country’s debt …

“Brexit Means Brexit” Is a Meaningless Mantra

Britain Wants to Build a Wall Between Itself and Europe. That's Not Possible.

By Francesco Duina | June 5, 2018

A hard and massive self-deception sits at the heart of Brexit, one that the United Kingdom’s government has not admitted to itself, much less the public: Brexit is a journey …

The Amazon Headquarters Sweepstakes Is Bad for Cities

The Tax Incentives Doled out to the Online Shopping Giant Aren't Worth the Gains in Jobs

By Christopher Thornberg and Taner Osman | May 2, 2018

Envious of Silicon Valley’s success, more than 80 places throughout the world have renamed one of their neighborhoods “Silicon-something,” including “Silicon Beach” in Los Angeles, “Silicon Bayou” in New Orleans, …

America’s Decline Is Relative but Real—and Potentially Dangerous

The Rest of the World Is Catching Up, and the Nation's Cluelessness About Its Weaknesses Will Accelerate the Trend

By Manlio Graziano | March 9, 2018

Is the United States in decline? The debate on the subject lacks both content and context. To take the conversation about American decline away from arbitrary and subjective claims, we …

Economics