This article highlights Simon Patten's contributions to the institutionalist method and view of abundance. It illustrates Patten's role in the cross-fertilization between early institutionalists and the German Historicists. Patten's views on the societal transition to abundance, the method of...

The comeback of most Asian economies from the crises of 1997 put talk of reform on hiatus. But most agree that reform there should still be. The author revisits the controversies surrounding the Tobin tax.

The desirability of federal budget surpluses became the conventional wisdom in the 1990s. This economist argues that ongoing surpluses will be damaging in several important ways. He proposes that the nation have its debt grow at the same rate as the GDP.

The Bush-Cheney years have been marked by a disappointing economic performance, reflected in a business cycle expansion that is by many measures the weakest since World War II. Moreover, not only has the expansion been weak, it also appears to be ending with a severe financial crisis and the...

Outsourcing is a central element of economic globalization, representing a new form of competition. Responding to outsourcing calls for policies that enhance national competitiveness and establish rules ensuring acceptable forms of competition. Viewing outsourcing through the lens of competition...

This paper argues for developing a new system of financial regulation based upon asset-based reserve requirements (ABRRs). Such a system represents a shift in regulatory focus away from the traditional concern with the liability side of financial intermediaries' balance sheets. ABRRs have both...

This economist responds to an article on reforms to social security by Thomas Michl in our November December 2001 issue. Thomas Palley believes the best way to finance social security is to cut payroll taxes and finance the public pension system from general tax revenues. Prefunding social...