Edward L. Glaeser is an economist at Harvard.

Should billions of taxpayer dollars be used to bail out the automobile industry?

Hard-line economists argue that Detroit lost its way decades ago, and that government support for this industry will be worse than wasteful. Industrial policy advocates disagree, arguing that millions of jobs are at stake and that a General Motors bankruptcy would be a national disaster.

There is a middle path between bailout billions and car company catastrophe: the possibility of limited government aid after automobile companies have entered Chapter 11.

The hard-line argument against aid to Detroit, or any other declining industry, starts with the idea that the American economy...  full article