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The U.S. Trade Deficit: A Misleading Economic Indicator, Murray L. Weidenbaum
The U.S. Trade Deficit: A Misleading Economic Indicator, Murray L. Weidenbaum
Murray Weidenbaum Publications
The U.S. trade deficit is the most misleading indicator of economic performance in our statistical tool kit. More often than not, bad news for the economy is good news for the trade deficit, and vice versa. In 1992, the economy was in recession and our trade deficit came down. One year later, the opposite was true. When we look beyond the short-run gyrations of the trade balance and the business cycle, more fundamental, longer-run problems do involve the trade deficit. Indeed, it is a symptom of a more basic economic imbalance.
Recasting The Role Of Government To Promote Economic Prosperity, Murray L. Weidenbaum
Recasting The Role Of Government To Promote Economic Prosperity, Murray L. Weidenbaum
Murray Weidenbaum Publications
No government in the world has an agency with the mission of depressing the economy or accelerating the rate of inflation. Yet, many government actions - especially taxation, government spending, and regulation - have those undesirable effects. The paper focuses on government regulation of business, where the costs are especially insidious, and what can be done to reform this regulation. Government decision-makers often forget the fundamental fact that individuals and private organizations have tremendous capability to deal with the shortcomings of a modern economy on their own. Relying more heavily on private initiative moves us closer to a free society …