Debt in service of the state -- States and the limits of borrowing -- Democratization and globalization -- Caveat emptor -- Managing problem debts -- Successful consolidation -- Warfare to welfare -- Cycles of debt -- Oil and water -- Missed opportunities -- Debt to the rescue -- COVID-19.

Efforts to promote work have been the centerpiece of welfare reform over the past ten years. In signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, President Bill Clinton pledged that the sweeping overhaul would "end welfare as we know it" by promoting work,...

Trends in compensation and job quality. What do we really know about changes in wage inequality? / Thomas Lemieux ; comment: Lawrence F. Katz -- Recent trends in compensation inequality / Brooks Pierce ; comment: Daniel S. Hamermesh -- Are the new jobs good jobs? / Katharine G. Abraham and James...