Archived Publication Types

In a new Public Policy Brief, Senior Scholar Jan Kregel reviews Hyman P. Minsky’s concept of financial fragility, and concludes that the current financial crisis is the result of insufficient margins, or "cushions," of safety based on how creditworthiness is assessed in the new originate-and-distribute financial system. Contents: NEW PUBLIC POLICY BRIEF Minsky’s Cushions of […]

Download Volume 18, No. 2 PDF (215.89 KB)

In this brief, Senior Scholar Jan Kregel reviews Hyman P. Minsky’s concept of financial fragility—in short, that the structure of a capitalist economy becomes more fragile over a period of prosperity—and concludes that the current crisis is in fact the result of insufficient margins of safety based on how creditworthiness is assessed in the new […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 93A, 2008 PDF ()

A new Strategic Analysis by the Levy Institute’s Macro-Modeling Team reviews the domestic economy and where things might be headed. It argues that a significant drop in borrowing is likely to take place in the coming quarters unless the dollar is allowed to continue its fall and thus complete the recovery in the external imbalance, […]

Download Volume 18, No. 1 PDF (139.10 KB)

In their latest Strategic Analysis, Distinguished Scholar Wynne Godley, Research Scholars Greg Hannsgen and Gennaro Zezza, and President Dimitri B. Papadimitriou forecast a significant drop in borrowing and private expenditure in the coming quarters, with severe consequences for growth and unemployment—unless the dollar continues to fall and fiscal policy shifts its course.   Contents:   […]

Download Volume 17, No. 1 PDF (226.95 KB)

It is now clear that most economists underestimated the widening economic impact of the credit crunch that has shaken American financial markets since at least mid-July. A credit crunch is an economic condition in which loans and investment capital are difficult to obtain; in such a period, banks and other lenders become wary of issuing […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 92A, 2007 PDF (160.12 KB)

The failure of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in July 2006 was the first major collapse of a multilateral trade round since World War II. Research Associate Thomas Palley sees the failure as an event that could mark the close of a 60-year era of trade policy largely centered on […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 91A, 2007 PDF (160.22 KB)

The optimistic view of the subprime mortgage sector is that it makes the availability of credit for home purchases more egalitarian, extending it to those otherwise regarded as a high credit risk. The authors of a new Levy Institute Public Policiy Brief, however, are not as sanguine about such developments. Contents: NEW PUBLIC POLICY BRIEF […]

Download Volume 17, No. 4 PDF (684.09 KB)

The Fall issue leads off with the 16th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference, in which top policymakers, economists, and analysts explored the impact of global imbalances and whether or not the United States economy was headed for a hard or a soft landing.   Contents:   INSTITUTE RESEARCH Program: The State of the US and […]

Download Volume 16, No. 3 PDF (406.35 KB)

In April, scholars, policymakers, and financial analysts gathered at the Levy Institute’s headquarters in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, to explore themes from the work of the late Levy Institute economist Hyman Minsky. A summary of their discussions appears in this issue of the Report. Contents: CONFERENCE 16th Annual Hyman P.Minsky Conference on the State of the […]

Download Volume 17, No. 3 PDF (388.14 KB)

With economic growth having cooled to less than 1 percent in the first quarter of 2007, the economy can ill afford a slump in consumption by the American household. But it now appears that the household sector could finally give in to the pressures of rising gasoline prices, a weakening home market, and a large […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 90A, 2007 PDF (324.52 KB)

In this issue: a new Policy Note recommends reforming the Alternative Minimum Tax while retaining some tax cuts in order to reduce the growing tax burden on middle-class families. A related paper criticizes orthodox policymaking that calls for fiscally austere budgets when the real engine of economic growth is government spending. Contents:   INSTITUTE RESEARCH […]

Download Volume 16, No. 2 PDF (636.24 KB)

The 2007 Hyman P. Minsky Conference drew upon public discussions on the state of the United States and world economies in the context of prevailing economic trends and their implications. Topics included fiscal and monetary policies for continued growth and employment; currency markets fluctuations and the consequent exchange-rate misalignments, as well as possible cures; and […]

The 2007 Hyman P. Minsky Conference focused on monetary and fiscal policies for continued growth and employment; currency markets fluctuations and the consequent exchange-rate misalignments, as well as possible cures; and the United States’ households and trade deficits, their implications for growth and employment, and their effect on the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy. […]

Download Conference Proceedings, April 19–20, 2007 PDF (3.89 MB)

Who’s really at the top of the economic ladder? A new Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being report by Senior Scholars Edward N. Wolff and Ajit Zacharias examines how comparisons of economic well-being are affected by the inclusion of an accurate measure of well-being derived from wealth. Contents: NEW LEVY INSTITUTE MEASURE OF ECONOMIC WELL-BEING […]

Download Volume 17, No. 2 PDF (637.07 KB)

Many believe that the value of the dollar will eventually collapse, succumbing to pressure from the deficit in the current account. A new Strategic Analysis by the Levy Institute Macro-modeling Team finds that further devaluation is inevitable, but they emphasize its beneficial effects. Contents: NEW STRATEGIC ANALYSIS Can Global Imbalances Continue? Policies for the US […]

Download Volume 17, No. 1 PDF (993.66 KB)

According to Research Associate Thomas I. Palley, global outsourcing represents a new economic challenge that calls for a new set of institutions. Palley expands upon the problems of offshore outsourcing as outlined in Public Policy Brief No. 86 and focuses on the microeconomic foundations. He argues that outsourcing is a central element of globalization that […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 89A, 2007 PDF (290.64 KB)

The Winter Summary provides an overview of the Institute’s October conference on employment guarantee policies, which focused on government policy initiatives that can create a safety net through public service employment for individuals who are ready, willing, and able to work. Also in this issue: a new Strategic Analysis and Public Policy Brief address the […]

Download Volume 16, No. 1 PDF (530.90 KB)

Over the past decade, deficit spending by consumers has supported the United States economy. Research Associate Robert Parenteau analyzes the financial balance of American households and finds that the pace of deficit spending is likely to stall and, possibly, reverse course. This reversion will jeopardize US profit and economic growth, as well as the growth […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 88A, 2006 PDF (334.71 KB)

Unemployment in the European Union (EU) is a serious problem that threatens to disrupt the integration of accession countries, the character of individual countries, and the continued existence of the EU. European integration poses a huge conundrum for European employment because the conventional theory explaining unemployment in Europe—labor market rigidities—is wrong. According to Senior Scholar […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 87A, 2006 PDF (373.74 KB)

Most people are not accustomed to thinking of taxation as a gender issue. But research presented at the recent Levy Institute conference on gender equality, tax policies, and tax reform, summarized in this issue, show that taxes affect men and women quite differently. Contents: CONFERENCE Gender Equality, Tax Policies, and Tax Reform in Comparative Perspective […]

Download Volume 16, No. 4 PDF (495.78 KB)

The focus of this conference is on government policy initiatives that can create a safety net through public service employment for individuals who are ready, willing, and able to work but find themselves in an economic environment that does not offer employment opportunities. Our premise is that unemployment and involuntary "inactivity" are structural macroeconomic problems […]

Download Conference Proceedings Friday, October 13–14, 2006 PDF (253.70 KB)

The Levy Institute draws inspiration and guidance not only from its founders and scholars but from a world facing many new and daunting challenges. Our efforts to redefine economics and public policy continue to attract notice and exert influence, nationally and internationally. As we begin our 20th year, we can look back on the Institute’s […]

Download Biennial Report, 2004–2005 PDF (1.81 MB)

This conference focused on those government policy initiatives that can create a safety net through public service employment for individuals who are ready, willing, and able to work but who find themselves in an economic environment that does not offer job opportunities.   Unemployment and involuntary “inactivity” are structural macroeconomic problems of both developed and […]

The theory of comparative advantage says that there are gains from trade for the global economy as a whole. In this second brief of a three-part study of the international economy, Research Associate Thomas Palley observes that comparative advantage is driven by technology, which can be influenced by human action and policy. These associations have […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 86A, 2006 PDF (353.41 KB)