n the midst of the current financial crisis the economics profession has seen a monumental resurrection of Keynesian ideas. The debate, which Keynes started back in the 1930s, is being picked up again, not where it left off, but in exactly the same place it started. While Keynesian theories were...

Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were both devastated by deadly tornadoes in 2011, but have pursued different approaches to recovery. Tuscaloosa followed the new normal path of developing a detailed recovery plan, while Joplin eschewed planning and allowed businesses and homeowners to...

One of the lingering questions for development economists is the question of economic transition and whether or not development can be promoted by a strong political leader. Earlier writings on leadership and economic development tend to fall into one of two camps: (1) Leaders matter and can...

We assess the impact of two groups of economists; mainline economists, who regard economics primarily as the science of exchange and mainstream economists, who perceive economics primarily as the science of choice. To control for scholarly quality we investigate the citation impact of Nobel...

Attempting to find the technically optimal monetary policy is futile if the Fed's independence is undermined by political influences. Nobel Laureates F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, and James Buchanan each sought ways to constrain and/or safeguard the Fed from political pressures over their...

How do political environments influence the behavior of economists who transition from academic and business environments to policymaking positions? And, more specifically, are an economist's preexisting beliefs and principles congruent with their policy stances and actions once they transition...