A recent analysis of enrollment in institutions of higher education worldwide by Harvard economist Richard Freeman notes the rapid rise in students in developing countries, and the decline in the U.S. share of worldwide enrollment, from 29 percent of all students in 1970 to 13 percent in 2005. One result of the expansion of higher education overseas is that the U.S. has come to rely extensively on the immigration of highly... More

Americans' perception about which are the best investment vehicles have changed dramatically since 2003, according to a recent Gallup Poll, with far fewer respondents favoring  real estate now.

The enclosed chart is a historical view of the growth in U.S. credit card debt per household. In March 2009, U.S. credit card debt per household was $8,475, down slightly from a  record high reached in September 2008, of $8,729. In March 1969, the U.S. credit card debt per household was only $37.

Single-family housing starts remained consistent over the last three months...

In the last several years, several states have enacted tax increases targeted at high income earners. Such taxes are unusual in that they impose a top tier on a small subset of users, according to the Tax Foundation. Above are these top tax rates, and the income level at which they kick in.

Reports last week that the recession is draining Social Security and Medicare funds were just one more reminder that the United States needs to fix its finances. For inspiration, why not look to Canada? Long derided by American conservatives as "socialist" and praised by the left for its generous government spending, Canada is casting off those stereotypes.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 passed in February. The major part of this package was to send cash totaling over $100 billion to individuals and families in the United States so they would have more to spend and thus jump-start consumption and the economy. Most of the checks were sent in May, June, and July. As would be predicted by the permanent income theory of consumption, people spent little if anything of the temporary... More

Let’s see how actual unemployment numbers compare to what Obama’s own economists predicted...

The economic crisis, which has claimed more than 5 million jobs since the recession began, did not strike the entire country at once. A map of employment gains or losses by county tells the story of how those job losses first struck in the most vulnerable regions and then spread rapidly to the rest of the country.

Real GDP contracted annually by 8.6%, 6.4% and 13% in the first three years of the Great Depression, for a cumulative decrease of almost 26%. According to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Survey of Professional Forecasters, real GDP will contract this year by -2.0 before increasing by 2.2% next year.

Gallup's recent update of its long-standing trend question on whether big business, big labor, or big government will be the biggest threat to the country in the future finds Americans still viewing big government as the most serious threat. However, compared to Gallup's last pre-financial-crisis measurement in December 2006, more now see big business and fewer see big government as the greater threat.

Since the housing bubble burst, many homeowners have been left with mortgages that are larger than the value of their homes. One reason is because in the midst of the housing bubble, home owners refinanced their mortgages at record rates and used the refinancings to take big chunks of equity out of their homes.

About a year ago the United Nations announced UNdata, a way to disseminate data stretched out across 22 United Nations databases through one central application. While UNdata houses 66 million records, it's tough to get a sense of what's going on without a visual representation. Progress is an effort to make this world data visible. Take a look.