In this working paper, Steven Fazzari presents new empirical research that attempts to measure the relative strength of fiscal policy on investment through the cost of capital, firms' financial circumstances, and sales growth. Fazzari argues against the crowding-out effect and claims that even...

Fazzari offers evidence that policies aimed at stimulating private sector investment through interest rate reductions are, at best, misguided. He concludes that because of the nebulous effect of interest rates on investment, while there may be benefits from policies aimed at increasing saving or...

Tax reform that reduces tax rates on capital income, no matter how successful it is in reducing the user cost of capital, will have at best minimal effects on capital formation and output and therefore on the growth of the U.S. economy.

Research Associate Steven M. Fazzari and Benjamin Herzon assess the effect of a capital gains tax cut on firms' decisions to undertake new investment projects and the possible effect of such projects on economic growth and employment. Their analysis takes into account such factors as projects'...

Hyman Minsky's research emphasized the central role of finance in modern economics at a time when finance was not important in most mainstream macroeconomic research. But in the 1980s, mainstream research began to explore the role of finance in firm and consumer behavior. This paper examines the...

One might expect that rising US income inequality would reduce demand growth and create a drag on the economy because higher-income groups spend a smaller share of income. But during a quarter century of rising inequality, US growth and employment were reasonably strong, by historical standards,...