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  Report No. 3

  Report September 2001

  In remarks delivered at the Levy Institute’s recent conference on educational policy, summarized in this issue, Bard College President Leon Botstein stated that schools will never function well if the general culture does not express an excitement and joy about learning. Botstein stressed the need for afterschool programs, which provide a more peer-supported environment that […]
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  Public Policy Brief Highlight No. 65

  Easy Money through the Back Door

  This brief assesses the experiences of Europe’s policy regime in the two years since the introduction of the euro in 1999, particularly the performance of the European Central Bank (ECB), the institution in charge of conducting monetary policy for the euro area. Conventional accounts of European growth, price, and labor market performance over recent years […]
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  Working Paper No. 337

  Can Countries under a Common Currency Conduct Their Own Fiscal Policies?

  The debate about balance of payment problems is generally linked with adjustments in the fiscal sector, especially since the views of Bretton Woods institutions became predominant. For the majority of theoretical models that currently inform policy, it is becoming common thought that in a world of free trade and free movement of capital, a floating […]
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  Working Paper No. 336

  The Role of Institutions and Policies in Creating High European Unemployment

  The conventional wisdom is that high European unemployment is the result of job markets that are rigid and inflexible. This paper presents new empirical evidence that challenges this received wisdom. A major contribution of the paper is that it fully accounts for both micro- and macroeconomic factors, as well as taking account of cross-country economic […]
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  Working Paper No. 335

  Young Mexican Americans, Blacks, and Whites in Recent Years

  This paper stresses that the key to concerns about the progress of second-generation Americans is the fate of the Mexican second generation. It compares several indicators of the advances of second-generation Mexicans to those of non-Hispanic, native-born blacks and non-Hispanic, native-born white attainments. The analysis relies on the most recent available evidence from the CPS […]
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  Public Policy Brief No. 65

  Easy Money through the Back Door

  This brief assesses the experiences of Europe’s policy regime in the two years since the introduction of the euro in 1999, particularly the performance of the European Central Bank (ECB), the institution in charge of conducting monetary policy for the euro area. Conventional accounts of European growth, price, and labor market performance over recent years […]
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  Policy Notes No. 8

  The War Economy

  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 lower interest rates or the provisions of the recent tax act. Rather, we are in for a crisis; the sooner this is recognized and acted […]
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  Strategic Analysis

  As the Implosion Begins . . . ?

  Distinguished Scholar Wynne Godley and Research Scholar Alex Izurieta respond to Jan Hatzius’s rebuttal of their July 2001 Strategic Analysis, in which they stated that the American economy was probably already in recession, and that a prolonged period of subnormal growth and rising unemployment was likely unless there were another round of policy changes. Hatzius, […]
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  Working Paper No. 334

  Reflections on the Current Fashion for Central Bank Independence

  This paper challenges the time-inconsistency case for central bank independence. It argues that the time-inconsistency literature not only seriously confuses the substance of the rules versus discretion debate, but also posits an implausible view of monetary policy. Most worrisome, the inflationary bias featured prominently in the time-inconsistency literature has encouraged the development of a dangerously […]
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  Policy Notes No. 7

  The New Old Economy

  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. One problem with the consensus view is that it pays little heed to the very unusual nature of the American expansion. A minor downturn prompted […]
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  Strategic Analysis

  As the Implosion Begins . . . ?

  The American economy is probably now in recession, and a prolonged period of subnormal growth and rising unemployment is likely unless there is another round of policy changes. A further relaxation of fiscal policy will probably be needed, but if a satisfactory rate of growth is to be sustained, this will have to be complemented […]
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  Public Policy Brief Highlight No. 64

  Campaign Contributions, Policy Decisions, and Election Outcomes

  Proposals for campaign finance reform are essentially based on the belief that political influence can be bought with financial donations to a candidate’s campaign. But do contributions really influence the decisions of legislators once they are in office? In this brief, Christopher Magee examines the link between campaign donations and legislators’ actions. His results suggest […]