If stock market and interest-rate spreads are to be believed, America's economy has seen the worst and may be on its way to a slow recovery. But the troubles for the world economy are just starting. If globalization does not get the fix it needs, economic prospects will be dim for rich and poor countries alike. 

IN the debate over health care reform, one issue looms large: whether to have a public option. Should all Americans have the opportunity to sign up for government-run health insurance?

More and more, "production" -- that word my fellow economists have worked over for generations -- has become interior to the human mind rather than set on a factory floor. Online, you can literally create your own economy.

Why, Gabriel Calzada wonders, is the U.S. president recommending that America emulate the Spanish model for creating "green jobs" in "alternative energy" even though Spain's unemployment rate is 18.1 percent -- more than double the European Union average -- partly because of spending on such jobs?

Despite signs that the recession gripping the nation's economy may be easing, the unemployment rate is projected to continue rising for another year before topping out in double digits, a prospect that threatens to slow growth, increase poverty and further complicate the Obama administration's message of optimism about the economic outlook.

It is time for a state, perhaps California, to challenge the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act and offer funeral benefits or some other reward to the estate of those who will give their organs at death.

As the discussion of health-care policy unfolds, what we are seeing is a non-debate over non-reform. The Democratic proposals promise to entrench the status quo, which does not fit with the principles of personal responsibility and fails to allocate resources sensibly.

Many economists have stated that consumer spending can’t rebound until house prices stop falling. But the wealth effect of housing has been overstated.

President Obama, the press, all the Democrats and a fair number of the Republicans in Congress share the same assumption about health care. Whatever you believe should be done about the problem, it sure is complicated. Yet, in 2001 the economist Milton Friedman read up on health care, discovered that the inefficiencies in our system trace back to a single policy mistake, worked out a policy test that would help us correct it and... More

'California is so broken that we must look at every bold proposal out there, no matter how daring or radical -- including the idea of a flat tax."

-- Arnold Schwarzenegger, June 11, 2009

President Obama holds Medicare up as an example for the private sector. Why? Because between 1997 and 2006, Medicare's health spending per enrollee grew 4.6% annually while that of private plans grew 7.3%. But Medicare hasn't controlled costs by discovering some wonder drug to deliver new efficiencies that the private sector doesn't have. Rather, Medicare has cut costs by slashing payments to providers. The only reason providers... More

Over the past half century, Americans spent a rising share of total economic resources on health and enjoyed substantially longer lives as a result. Debate on health policy often focuses on limiting the growth of health spending. As people get richer and consumption rises, the marginal utility of consumption falls rapidly. Spending on health to extend life allows individuals to purchase additional periods of utility. The... More

At Safeway we believe that well-designed health-care reform, utilizing market-based solutions, can ultimately reduce our nation's health-care bill by 40%. The key to achieving these savings is health-care plans that reward healthy behavior.

President Obama can let the debate about the merits of a free-trade agreement with Panama run on indefinitely, like a never-ending academic seminar. Or he can move now to make sure the United States finally implements a mutually beneficial accord with this small Central American country.

'We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama," declared Andy Stern last month, and the president of the Service Employees International Union wasn't exaggerating. The SEIU and AFL-CIO have been spending so much on politics that they're going deeply into debt.

Health policy experts are deeply divided about whether the state employee plans bear any meaningful resemblance to the public plan options being considered in Washington. Although state governments bear the ultimate financial risk for their self-insured employee plans, most are administered by major commercial insurers that are given broad authority to negotiate payment rates with doctors and hospitals. In addition, the state... More

The Obama administration announced 10 new projects designed to goose the $700 billion stimulus package. The White House says more than 600,000 jobs will be saved or created. But the package still has that "Buy American" clause that caused so much controversy. And commentator Mark Perry says because of that clause, when it comes to jobs, it may be Americans who lose.

The recovery will be slower than most economists project and leave us with difficult decisions.

As if commandeering the banking, finance and auto industries weren't enough, a couple of weeks ago the Obama administration decided to throw a bomb at modern antitrust law.

One might think that "everyday low prices" for food would mean that people would eat much more--stuff themselves, even. So one would expect to see more obese folks in places where Wal-Mart does more business. Right? Think again. Research tells a different story.

Newly-created markets resting on some form of auction process can be found for commodities of all sorts these days, from electricity and advertising to carbon emission and radio-spectrum rights. But for all their success organizing private markets, economists still often face an uphill struggle when it comes to winning government work. The reason is simple: auctions are all about,... More