The aim of this paper is to assess the ability of social spending to smooth output shocks and to provide stabilization. The results show that overall social spending is able to smooth about 16 percent of a shock to GDP. Among its subcategories, social spending devoted to Old Age and Unemployment...

The response in 2008-09 to the global financial crisis was in many ways a high water mark for transatlantic policy coordination. The major economies of the EU and the US rapidly agreed on a series of measures to limit the crisis. However, the common approach has since unraveled. This paper...

Die mit großer Authenzität erzählte Geschichte vom Aufstieg und Niedergang der Investmentbank Lehman Brothers und ihrer Rettung durch das Weiße Haus, das Finanzministerium und die US-Notenbank gibt tiefe Einblicke in die internationale Finanzwirtschaft. (I. Müller-Boysen)

Prologue: "The hippopotamus under the rug" -- The most certain man in the world -- Triumph -- The stealth ideologue -- The rise of Rubinomics -- Larry and Joe -- Portrait of a contrarian -- Children of the boom -- The high tide of hubris -- The last guy at the Alamo -- Reaganites redux -- The...

As Jeff Madrick makes clear, the single-minded pursuit of huge personal wealth has been on the rise in the United States since the 1970s, led by a few individuals who argue that self-interest guides society more effectively than community concerns. In telling the stories of these politicians,...