Can electricity markets be successfully opened to competition? Events ranging from California's electricity crisis to the fall of electricity trading giant Enron have caused policymakers to reexamine the benefits of restructuring the industry. This article examines policy developments in the...

Has the Midwest been good or lucky in its recent recovery? In this article, the authors assess the internal and external factors that have contributed to the revival of midwestern economic fortunes over the last decade.

Consumer sentiment is one of the many macroeconomic indicators tracked by policymakers and the public. The aggregate numbers in consumer sentiment indexes, such as the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment, conceal a wealth of demographic-specific information. The authors'...

Balanced budgets and proponents often use the experience of the states with balanced budget restrictions as an argument in favor of a federal balanced budget amendment. However, the state experience is not directly relevant to the federal government. State restriction are more lenient than those...

The authors use a measure of fiscal impetus to examine how fiscal policy has behaved during business cycles in the past, how it responded to the most recent recession, and how it is likely to evolve over the next several years. They find that policy was more expansionary than average during the...

The authors determine what items are purchased using the earned income tax credit (EITC)—one of the largest sources of public support for lower-income working families in the U.S. They find that recipient households’ EITC payments are used primarily for vehicle purchases and transportation...

The headlines concerning state government finances have become increasingly alarming since mid-2001. This article discusses the roots of the current state fiscal crisis by looking at the decisions made by state government leaders during the long expansion. The author suggests increased use of...

The authors measure the inflation experienced by demographic groups that likely received benefits from major government transfer programs during the period 1980–2010. They then compare the group-specific inflation measures with the transfer programs’ benefit adjustments, which are typically...