The remarkable stability of low domestic inflation in many countries requires explanation. In this paper, a number of competing hypotheses are evaluated on a stand-alone basis, and all are found to be inadequate. This includes the view that this outcome has been solely the result of more...

Economic liberalization almost everywhere has constituted a positive supply shock which has been profoundly disinflationary at the global level. Financial liberalization in the industrial countries has also given fuller rein to inherent tendencies towards “procyclicality”, a process of...

The global economy has performed very poorly since the onset of the crisis in 2008. This paper argues that easy monetary policy has actually worsened economic prospects to date, being based on a fundamental, ontological error. The economy is not an understandable and controllable machine as...

Extreme weather events such as the ice storm that affected eastern Canada and the Northeastern US in January of 1998 have significant impacts on both human populations and forests. One of the questions currently facing climate scientists is whether or not better forecasting of such events would...

While it is tempting to focus on new financial innovations in helping explain recent financial turmoil, more traditional causes should not be overlooked. As on many previous occasions, very rapid credit growth led to major increases in asset prices, which in turn encouraged consumption and...

<Para ID="Par1">Physician services comprise a substantial share of total health care spending, and the price of health care services has been cited as a key contributor to the disproportionately high rate of health care spending in the US. However, despite a large literature analyzing market power in the...</para>