In 2001, the United States' net debt to the rest of the world jumped to $2.3 trillion, a level double that recorded in 1999. Much of the increase reflects the new borrowing undertaken by the country to finance its mounting current account deficit. A third of the change, however, can be traced to...

The authors use a stylized model of the economy to analyze how permanent and temporary increases in government expenditure--and the timing of taxation used to finance them--affect aggregate output and other variables that describe the economy.

This exploratory issue paper begins with a statement by Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, which outlines what a well-functioning global financial system would achieve, followed by his dry statement that the current global financial system does none of these things. The paper...

An essay, written in 1779-80, concerning the relationship between money growth, government liability issues, and inflation.

Each year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) publishes its Budget and Economic Outlook. The CBO’s deficit projections for the current fiscal year (FY) and the next 10 FYs are widely followed because they provide an assessment of the medium-term budget outlook based on current law and a...