Archived Publication Types

The Levy Institute’s October 2004 conference on the distributional effects of government spending and taxation addressed topics ranging from the social benefits of various types of economic development to the economic fortunes of future retirees, and included keynote speaker David Cay Johnston’s stinging indictment of the distributional properties of the American tax system. A synopsis […]

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The most charitable interpretation of the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hikes is that they appear to have been premature. A convincing array of data on payrolls, employment-to-population ratios, and other labor market indicators show that the current recovery has not yet attained the degree of labor market tightness that was common in previous recoveries, […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 80A, 2004 PDF (243.36 KB)

The conference was held October 15–16, 2004, at the Levy Institute’s research and conference center at Blithewood on the campus of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

The American economy has grown reasonably fast since the second half of 2003, and the general expectation seems to be that satisfactory growth will continue more or less indefinitely. In this issue of the Report, a new Strategic Analysis argues that the expansion may indeed continue through 2004, and for some time beyond. Contents: New […]

Download Volume 14, No. 3 PDF (1.21 MB)

In this issue: an overview of the 14th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on Financial Structure. A common observation among participants was the atypical business cycle pattern associated with the 2001 recession: strong GDP growth and very little job growth.   Contents:   Institute Research – Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being – Levy Institute […]

Download Volume 13, No. 3 PDF (578.22 KB)

For a time, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) seemed to have learned from the mistakes of the past. Instead of taking good economic performance as a sign of incipient inflation, Chairman Alan Greenspan kept interest rates relatively low in the late 1990s, even as unemployment plummeted. Many commentators worried that the FOMC’s unusually easy […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 79A, 2004 PDF (410.07 KB)

In this issue, Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray’s comments on President Bush’s tax relief and spending stimulus, and all that red ink. Contents: Comment, “Greenspan and All That Red Ink” * New Strategic Analysis, “Is Deficit-Financed Growth Limited? Policies and Prospects in an Election Year” * New Policy Note, “Inflation Targeting and the Natural Rate […]

Download Volume 14, No. 2 PDF (426.40 KB)

Twenty to 25 years ago, a debate was under way in academe and in the popular press over the War on Poverty. One group of scholars argued that the war, initiated by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, had been lost, owing to the inherent ineffectiveness of government welfare programs. Charles Murray and other scholars argued that […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 78A, 2004 PDF (243.92 KB)

A rebound of consumption, investment, and consumer confidence in the second half of 2003 has raised hopes that the United States’ recovery from the 2001 recession is on a sustainable course. According to this brief by Philip Arestis and Elias Karakitsos, however, the trend in the short-term factors affecting the economy has changed for the […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 77A, 2004 PDF (333.34 KB)

The sharp reversal from surplus to deficit of the federal budget has prevented a deep recession, but long-term strategic economic difficulties remain. A new Strategic Analysis suggests that the government continue its substantial fiscal stimulus while enhancing the country’s international competitiveness, so as to stimulate export growth and use the domestic jobs thereby created to […]

Download Volume 13, No. 2 PDF (523.84 KB)

Topics at the 2004 Minsky conference included fiscal and monetary policies for the expansion of national economies as well as the global economy; exchange rate misalignments resulting from “brutal” gyrations in the currency markets, and their possible cures; and trade and capital flows as they might impinge upon the conduct of monetary and fiscal policies. […]

Download Conference Proceedings, April 23–24, 2004 PDF (748.07 KB)

Economic growth and a rising stock market in the 1990s gave the impression that everyone was accumulating wealth and asset poverty rates were declining. The impression was supported by the official, income-based poverty measure, which exhibited a sharp decline. According to Senior Scholar Edward N. Wolff and Research Scholar Asena Caner, poverty measures should include […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 76A, 2004 PDF (249.57 KB)

As 2004 begins, the Levy Institute can look back on the 2002–03 period as one of accomplishment and transition. Several initiatives were begun, new personnel were added, and the Institute continued its efforts in its traditional areas of strength. Thus, we can report that the Institute remains vibrant and as determined as ever to contribute […]

Download Biennial Report, 2002–2003 PDF (2.02 MB)

Like a recurrent nightmare, the Bush administration, apparently emboldened by its success in getting Congress to start down the road to privatizing Medicare, seems ready to resurrect its proposals to privatize Social Security. Senior Scholar Thomas Hungerford comments in this issue of the Report. Contents: Comment, "Saving Social Security from Those Who Would ‘Save’ It" […]

Download Volume 14, No. 1 PDF (465.79 KB)

The Winter Summary highlights the recent Levy Institute conference "International Perspectives on Household Wealth," which focused on the dynamics of the distribution of wealth across population subgroups, income levels, and regions. A common finding was the rapid growth in wealth, but increasing inequality, during the 1990s as a result of the euphoria in the financial […]

Download Volume 13, No. 1 PDF (251.91 KB)

In 2002 more than $1 trillion worth of new bonds was sold across international boundaries. The total stock of cross-border bond holdings was more than $9 trillion. Such lending, together with sales of equities, is regarded as one of the chief benefits of globalization. But financial investment does not always flow where it is needed […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 75A, 2003 PDF (337.92 KB)

Most recent discussions of deflation seem to overlook the main dangers posed by a deflationary economy and appear to offer superficial solutions. In this brief, the authors argue that, barring drastic changes in asset and output prices, deflation itself is not the main problem, but rather the recessionary conditions that sometimes give rise to deflation. […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 74A, 2003 PDF (107.13 KB)

The main focus of this conference was on the distribution of household wealth and savings in the United States and other advanced industrialized countries. Most of the papers highlighted recent trends in wealth inequality in this set of countries during the 1990s. Comparative work on a few less-developed countries was also be presented. Other topics […]

The slowdown in economic growth and rising unemployment in the euro area have revealed serious fault lines in the stability and growth pact governing the zone’s macroeconomic policies. In an editorial, Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer state that the pact threatens to become an “instability and no growth pact,” with the thrust of fiscal and […]

Download Volume 13, No. 3 PDF (339.91 KB)

In an asset and debt deflation, the process of reducing debt by saving and curtailing spending takes a long time, say authors Philip Arestis and Elias Karakitsos. Current imbalances and poor prospects for spending in the private sector affect the balance sheets of the commercial banks. The downward spiral between the banks and the private […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 73A, 2003 PDF (292.66 KB)

The “American Model” serves as a point of reference in discussions of economic policy around the world, especially in Europe. Many claim that the American version of the free market represents an ideal type—it is the highest form of capitalism. Senior Scholar James K. Galbraith argues, however, that the United States has relied heavily on […]

Download Public Policy Brief Highlights No. 72A, 2003 PDF (237.95 KB)

This issue provides an overview of the Institute’s Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference, the focus of which was the formulation of economic policy for sustainable growth; topices included the effects of low interest rates and the reemergence of budget deficits, the implications of ongoing current account deficits, and the potential for deflation in the American […]

Download Volume 13, No. 2 PDF (730.93 KB)

The 13th Annual Hyman P. Minsky conference, held April 15, 2003, at the Hilton New York, focused on the uncertainty surrounding the United States’ recent economic recovery, as well as the monetary and fiscal policy prescriptions for renewed growth, employment, and price stability. These proceedings were published as part of the Summer 2003 Summary.

Download Conference Proceedings, April 15, 2003 PDF (532.74 KB)

Despite the collapse in stock prices, consumers have taken advantage of rising property values and low interest rates to continue borrowing and spending; debt in the personal sector now stands at nearly 130 percent of disposable income. What will happen to the economy when this buildup comes to an end? Our latest Strategic Analysis assesses […]

Download Volume 13, No. 1 PDF (183.86 KB)