Publications

Short articles designed to reach policymakers as well as business and general audiences

183 publications found, searching for 'Policy Note '

• Policy Note No. 2
  February 01, 2003

  Reforming the Euro’s Institutional Framework

  Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer
  Abstract

  The SGP has been the focus of growing controversy within the eurozone. The ECB continues to argue that reforming the SGP by relaxing its rules would damage the credibility of…more

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• Policy Note No. 1
  January 01, 2003

  The Big Fix

  James K. Galbraith
  Abstract

  Keynesian economics is back. As John Maynard Keynes stressed, total spending matters—and not who does it or for what purpose. Tax cuts and deficit spending are, therefore, on the agenda;…more

  Download Policy Note 2003/1 PDF (59.48 KB)
• Policy Note No. 3
  March 01, 2002

  European Integration and the “Euro Project”

  Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer
  Abstract

  The introduction of the euro has been a significant step in the integration of the economies of the countries that form the European Union (EU) and the 12 countries that…more

  Download Policy Note 2002/3 PDF (60.53 KB)
• Policy Note No. 2
  February 01, 2002

  The Brazilian Swindle and the Larger International Monetary Problem

  James K. Galbraith
  Abstract

  The International Monetary Fund has offered Brazil a $30 billion loan, most of it reserved for next year, on condition that the country continue to run a large primary surplus…more

  Download Policy Note 2002/2 PDF (81.42 KB)
• Policy Note No. 1
  January 01, 2002

  Kick-Start Strategy Fails to Fire Sputtering US Economic Motor

  Wynne Godley
  Abstract

  There is a strategic need, if a “growth recession” is to be avoided, for a new motor to drive the economy, particularly if there is a further decline in private…more

  Download Policy Note 2002/1 PDF (42.99 KB)
• Policy Note No. 10
  October 01, 2001

  Are We All Keynesians (Again)?

  Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  It is now widely recognized that economists and policymakers alike had been living a 30-year fantasy. The best government is not that which governs least. The best economy is not…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/10 PDF (71.98 KB)
• Policy Note No. 9
  September 01, 2001

  Hard Times, Easy Money?

  Robert E. Carpenter
  Abstract

  The tools of countercyclical monetary policy have been brought fully to bear on a potentially severe recession. This note argues, however, that such a policy is less effective in times…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/9 PDF (53.52 KB)
• Policy Note No. 8
  August 01, 2001

  The War Economy

  James K. Galbraith
  Abstract

  There is no chance that events will right themselves in a few weeks, or that we will be saved by such underlying factors as technology and productivity growth or by…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/8 PDF (62.56 KB)
• Policy Note No. 7
  July 01, 2001

  The New Old Economy

  Bill Martin
  Abstract

  Consensus opinion sees the United States’ economy growing by around 3 percent per year over the next few years, a high enough rate to keep unemployment low and outpace Europe….more

  Download Policy Note 2001/7 PDF (53.93 KB)
• Policy Note No. 6
  June 01, 2001

  Killing Social Security Softly with Faux Kindness

  L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  The President’s commission claims that the Social Security program is “unsustainable” and requires a complete “overhaul.” It also claims that the program is a bad deal for women and minorities….more

  Download Policy Note 2001/6 PDF (70.03 KB)
• Policy Note No. 5
  May 01, 2001

  The Backward Art of Tax Cutting

  L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  This policy note examines the case for large tax cuts, focusing on the issues surrounding the purpose and overall size of the needed cut. Although Congress has passed a significant…more

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• Policy Note No. 4
  April 01, 2001

  Put Your Chips on 35

  James K. Galbraith
  Abstract

  According to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, we live in a time “profoundly different from the typical postwar business cycle.” Our experiences have “defied conventional wisdom” and mark ”veritable shifts…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/4 PDF (86.81 KB)
• Policy Note No. 3
  March 01, 2001

  Financing Health Care

  Walter M. Cadette
  Abstract

  The problem is that the payers of health care—government and employers alike—are in open revolt against costs they never anticipated would become so high. Payers succeeded for a time in…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/3 PDF (74.39 KB)
• Policy Note No. 2
  February 01, 2001

  Fiscal Policy for the Coming Recession

  Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  Growing government surpluses, a ballooning trade deficit, and the resulting growth in private sector debt have placed the United States’ economy in a precarious position. Papadimitriou and Wray agree with…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/2 PDF (78.55 KB)
• Policy Note No. 1
  January 01, 2001

  Fiscal Policy to the Rescue

  Wynne Godley
  Abstract

  The United States’ economic expansion of the past eight years has been fueled by a rise in private sector indebtedness. In 1997 the private sector spending exceeded income for the…more

  Download Policy Note 2001/1 PDF (39.59 KB)
• Policy Note No. 7
  July 01, 2000

  Why Does the Fed Want Slower Growth?

  L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  The Fed has raised interest rates six times in the past year to slow the economy, in the belief that unemployment is too low. There is scant evidence, however, that…more

  Download Policy Note 2000/7 PDF (56.76 KB)
• Policy Note No. 6
  June 01, 2000

  Drowning in Debt

  Wynne Godley
  Abstract

  The economic expansion in the United States has been driven to an unusual extent by falling personal saving and rising borrowing by the private sector. If this process goes into…more

  Download Policy Note 2000/6 PDF (284.34 KB)
• Policy Note No. 5
  May 01, 2000

  Can the Expansion Be Sustained?

  L. Randall Wray
  Abstract

  Hyman P. Minsky’s insights into the relationship between profits, economic growth, and the public and private financial balances are particularly relevant to today’s conditions. How can a Minskyan view be…more

  Download Policy Note 2000/5 PDF (204.78 KB)
• Policy Note No. 4
  April 01, 2000

  Health Care Finance in Need of Rethinking

  Walter M. Cadette
  Abstract

  Hospitals have been squeezed by the Balanced Budget Act; the uninsured population is still on the rise; and long-term care is paid for largely by welfare grants. The nation’s flawed…more

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• Policy Note No. 3
  March 01, 2000

  Welfare College Students

  Thomas Karier
  Abstract

  The rules and regulations that were developed to reduce welfare rolls through immediate employment discourage the achievement of economic independence through the pursuit of higher education.

  Download Policy Note 2000/3 PDF (86.51 KB)
• Policy Note No. 2
  February 05, 2000

  Is the New Economy Rewriting the Rules?

  James K. Galbraith
  Abstract

  Full employment without inflation can continue—with the right leadership, prudent policy changes to manage the dangers, and cooperation from all branches of the government.

  Download Policy Note 2000/2 PDF (64.39 KB)
• Policy Note No. 1
  January 01, 2000

  Explaining the US Trade Deficit

  Anwar M. Shaikh
  Abstract

  Conventional theory makes the curious assumption that, in international trade, movements in the real exchange rate negate cost differences so as to make all countries equally competitive. But quite the…more

  Download Policy Note 2000/1 PDF (93.38 KB)
• Policy Note No. 10
  October 01, 1999

  Social Security Privatization

  Walter M. Cadette
  Abstract

  Would privatization yield sufficient benefits to support low-income retirees and satisfy all others? Does a focus on private management of assets take attention away from the real issues in the…more

  Download Policy Note 1999/10 PDF (60.06 KB)
• Policy Note No. 9
  September 01, 1999

  1999 Levy Institute Survey of Small Business

  Jamee K. Moudud
  Abstract

  Modest sales expectations and limited access to bank credit may be curtailing small businesses’ plans for hiring and capital investment.

  Download Policy Note 1999/9 PDF (86.57 KB)