Opponents of the ACA have labeled the health care bill a jobs killer. It seems implausible that the bill could be expected to have much impact on employment except among the relatively small number of firms that are near the 50-worker cutoff. However the bill does provide a clear incentive to...

This study estimates rates of all forms of health insurance coverage for workers aged 18 to 64, by wage quintiles, over the past three decades. This analysis looks at health insurance from any source, while other reports (with rare exceptions) look at only employer-provided health coverage. This...

The unemployment rate is expected to average 10.2 percent for 2010, 9.1 percent for 2011, and 7.3 percent for 2012. With this in mind, this Issue Brief describes a job sharing tax credit, designed to provide a quick and substantial boost to the economy. It would use tax dollars to pay firms to...

Economists are increasingly coming to the recognition that the current downturn is likely to be longer and more severe than they had expected at the time the last stimulus package was approved in February. As a result, there is likely to be interest in additional stimulus in order to boost the...

The Argentine economy has grown 94 percent for the years 2002-2011, using International Monetary Fund projections for the end of this year. This is the fastest growth in the Western Hemisphere for this period, and among the highest growth rates in the world. It also compares favorably to...

This paper examines some of the economic issues that could be relevant to Mexico’s July 1st presidential election. These include the short-term impact of the 2008-2009 recession and recovery; the longer-term record of Mexico’s economy since the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) party took power...

Outside observers could be forgiven for expecting Ecuador to suffer terribly during and after the recent global crisis. Two of the country’s largest sources of foreign earnings, petroleum exports and remittances from abroad, crashed during the global recession. Furthermore, lacking its own...

This paper looks at Ecuador’s financial and regulatory reforms during the past five years, perhaps the most comprehensive of any country in the 21st century: taking control over the central bank, regulating capital outflows, taxing the financial sector, encouraging domestic investment and...

This paper proposes publicly funding prescription drug trials as an alternative to the present system wherein pharmaceutical companies often finance and conduct tests of their drugs themselves. The report posits that in addition to substantial savings for the government, independent companies...

Venezuela’s current growth is generally described as unsustainable, with various negative scenarios put forth, including spiraling debt, inflation, and balance of payments crises. However, these pessimistic forecasts have been far off the mark for most of the past decade. This paper looks at...