Keynesian economists have generally supported quantitative easing (QE) on grounds it increases aggregate demand and anything that increases demand at this time of demand shortage is welcome. This paper argues that response may be misplaced. QE may back fire with respect to demand stimulus,...

As default on the Greek debt looms on the horizon, and the repercussions are likely to resonate throughout Europe and into worldwide financial markets. But the potential national bankruptcy did not rise out of a vacuum, and analysts who have been observing Greek financial policy for decades are...

As part of efforts to reduce urban emissions, major cities and states, including New York City, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and California, are now requiring building owners and operators to measure and disclose building energy performance. Such policies are expected to expand...

In this chapter from the forthcoming book, The Political Economy of Financial Crises, edited by Gerald Epstein and Martin H. Wolfson, (Oxford University Press, 2012) Engelbert Stockhammer discusses ‘financialization’, i.e. changes in the role of the financial sector. This will highlight (1)...

Epstein and Carrick-Hagenbarth analyze the conflict of interest that exists when academic financial economists, acting in their roles as presumed objective experts in the media and academia on topics, such as financial regulation, fail to report their private financial affiliations. The authors...

This paper explores the intersections between the current trajectory of globalization, changes to the structure of employment, and policies for maintaining opportunities for decent employment. There are numerous outcomes of these interactions, including higher levels of open unemployment, growth...

The radical deregulation of financial markets after the 1970s was a precondition for the explosion in size, complexity, volatility and degree of global integration of financial markets in the past three decades. It therefore contributed to the severity and breadth of the recent global financial...

Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, faces many challenges. But recent political stability, debt cancellation, and a strong developmental plan for the future embedded in the Madagascar Action Plan – in addition to Madagascar's long-standing advantages of great mineral and...

This paper examines spatial variations in exposure to toxic air pollution from industrial facilities in urban areas of the United States, using geographic microdata from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators project. We find that average exposure in...

The financial crisis of 2007 and thereafter has taken a toll on family wealth. About $15 trillion (in 2008 dollars) --22.8%--were lost in the first 18 months of the financial crisis which started in the spring of 2007. The loss of household wealth deserves public policy attention. Wealth serves...