Most economists believe that the nation is beginning to bounce back from the deepest slump since the Great Depression. But if recessions past are any guide, the recovery process will likely be both bumpy and protracted, because growth tends to return unevenly across the regional landscape. Some...

Collapsing housing and stock market wealth has reduced households’ willingness to consume and businesses’ motivation to invest, in the process spawning the worst recession since the Great Depression. But the twin disasters may not affect all states equally. The evidence suggests that the...

The Newtown massacre has raised the issue of gun violence to a fever pitch. W W W hile Connecticut and a few other states have responded with tough new controls on firearms, most states have loosened restrictions. How might such changes affect gun violence? And would tougher gun laws drive gun...

Home values, like all prices, are the product of an ongoing interplay between the forces of supply and demand. But those broad forces depend in turn on a range of factors, including the characteristics of home buyers, the homes themselves, and the towns in which the homes are located. Another...

Policy advocates from opposing ends of the political spectrum often clash over competing plans to get the economy moving. While their prescriptions might differ, they implicitly share a common premise: the right policy can dramatically improve the economy’s performance. But how much of...