The concept of fiscal multipliers is examined in the context of the major theoretical approaches. Differing methods of calculating multipliers are then recounted (structural equations, VAR, simulation). The sensitivity of estimates to conditioning on the state of the economy (slack, financial...

This paper characterizes the frequency domain properties of feedback control rules in linear systems in order to better understand how different policies affect outcomes frequency by frequency. We are especially concerned in understanding how reductions of variance at some frequencies induce...

Problematic personal debts and associated outcomes, such as bankruptcy and foreclosure, lead to significant declines in psychological health. This article summarises the recent literature and discusses the key issues in measurement and causality. Medical studies show that problem debts are...

The large differences in income per capita across countries are mostly explained by differences in total factor productivity (TFP). This article summarises the evidence on the importance of resource allocation across productive units in explaining the observed differences in TFP across countries.

This paper surveys research on social capital. We explore the concepts that motivate the social capital literature, efforts to formally model social capital using economic theory, the econometrics of social capital, and empirical studies of the role of social capital in various socioeconomic...

Thomas J. Sargent is the 2011 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (along with Christopher Sims). Sargent has been instrumental in the development of rational expectations economics. The central idea behind this approach is that individuals should not make systematic mistakes. Yet...

In this article I consider the evaluation of racial profiling in traffic stops from a combination of welfarist and non-welfarist considerations. I argue that benefits from profiling in terms of crime reduction have not been identified and that further, the harm to those who are innocent and...