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The projected path of US federal debt presents significant economic costs and risks. Karen Dynan (Harvard) explains:
05/26/2025

The projected path of US federal debt presents significant economic costs and risks. Karen Dynan (Harvard) explains:

The debt is projected to reach levels beyond historical experience in the next 3 decades. The challenge is significant but manageable as a matter of economics.

EconoFact Chats recently featured an abridged version of a AMA with Maurice Ostfeld (PIIE). For more on the role of int...
05/26/2025

EconoFact Chats recently featured an abridged version of a AMA with Maurice Ostfeld (PIIE). For more on the role of international trade in the US economy, tariffs and their consequences, dollar weakness, and prospects for the US, and the global economy, listen here:

This week, EconoFact Chats features an abridged version of an EconoFact AMA webinar featuring Maurice Obstfeld, former Chief Economist at the IMF.

Many aspects of the Federal Reserve’s structure are designed to help insulate it from political pressure. Yet, as histor...
05/23/2025

Many aspects of the Federal Reserve’s structure are designed to help insulate it from political pressure. Yet, as history shows, U.S. presidents have found ways to exert influence over its decisions. So just how resilient is the Fed against political pressure? Thomas Drechsel (University of Maryland) explains:

An analysis of meetings between US presidents and Fed officials finds times when presidential pressure influenced the Fed at the expense of price stability.

What does taxation in the U.S. look like? How can it be improved?
05/23/2025

What does taxation in the U.S. look like? How can it be improved?

What does taxation in the U.S. look like? How can it be improved? Watch this episode of EconoFact Explains to learn more.

Does the trade deficit pose an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and economic stability? Michael Klein (Eco...
05/22/2025

Does the trade deficit pose an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and economic stability? Michael Klein (EconoFact) explains:

The U.S. has been running a trade deficit every year since 1975. However, both exports and imports have more than doubled since the beginning of this period.

Craig Garthwait and Amanda Starc highlight the impact of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act on drug prices, focusing on Me...
05/19/2025

Craig Garthwait and Amanda Starc highlight the impact of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act on drug prices, focusing on Medicare's ability to negotiate drug and treatment prices. While this could make medications more affordable, a key question remains: would lowering prices discourage incentives to invest in future research and development?

Medicare will have a more direct role in setting prices for certain drugs. While this should lower drug costs, it could also create disincentives for firms to invest in new drug development.

Michael O’Hanlon (Brookings) places current defense spending in historical and international context, noting that while ...
05/19/2025

Michael O’Hanlon (Brookings) places current defense spending in historical and international context, noting that while total spending is high, as a share of GDP, defense spending has been decreasing. Find out more:

Current U.S. military spending is higher than at any point of the Cold War in inflation-adjusted terms, but relatively low as a percent of national income.

What impact does Medicaid have on health outcomes and government spending? Joshua Gottlieb and Mark Shepard examine key ...
05/16/2025

What impact does Medicaid have on health outcomes and government spending? Joshua Gottlieb and Mark Shepard examine key findings from the Affordable Care Act, highlighting that quantifying the ACA’s value is essential to guide the future of healthcare policy:

The House and Senate plans to repeal and replace Obamacare would make dramatic cuts to Medicaid. What does research say about the costs and benefits of Medicaid?

Can manufacturing jobs today offer a stable, well-paying means of employment for those without a college education? If n...
05/14/2025

Can manufacturing jobs today offer a stable, well-paying means of employment for those without a college education? If not, what policies can help those without a college education find careers that offer a path to the middle class?

Robert Lawrence (Harvard) joins EconoFact Chats to discuss:

A discussion with Robert Lawrence on whether manufacturing jobs today offer a stable, well-paying means of employment for those without a college education.

Doug Irwin (Dartmouth) discusses the relationship between trade and industrialization and how ideas about free trade hav...
05/13/2025

Doug Irwin (Dartmouth) discusses the relationship between trade and industrialization and how ideas about free trade have changed over the last 250 years on EconoFact Chats.

Doug Irwin joins Michael Klein to discuss how ideas about free trade have changed over the last 250 years.

Maurice Obstfeld (PIIE, UC Berkeley) joined EconoFact Chats to discuss why tariffs could prove costly to US consumers an...
05/13/2025

Maurice Obstfeld (PIIE, UC Berkeley) joined EconoFact Chats to discuss why tariffs could prove costly to US consumers and producers, are unlikely to revive manufacturing, and will have little effect on the trade deficit.

A discussion with Maurice Obstfeld on why steep, across the board tariffs will prove costly to US consumers and producers, and won't revive US manufacturing.

What is the 10-year Treasury yield? What role does it play in the economy? And what can the Treasury do to affect it? Ke...
05/12/2025

What is the 10-year Treasury yield? What role does it play in the economy? And what can the Treasury do to affect it? Ken Kuttner (Williams) explains:

What is the 10-year Treasury yield? What role does it play in the economy? What determines it? And what (if anything) can the Treasury do to affect it?

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