The Fed’s enlarged balance sheet: The Expanding Importance of Bank Reserves (Part II)

September 30th, 2020|Comments Off on The Fed’s enlarged balance sheet: The Expanding Importance of Bank Reserves (Part II)

Fotis Siokis
September 30, 2020

With an enlarged balance sheet, what is the new operating regime of the Fed (or how does it conduct monetary policy) and what are its options? In this second post we address these questions. Read more

The Federal Reserve and its balance sheet: A Herculean task in mitigating the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic (Part I)

July 31st, 2020|Comments Off on The Federal Reserve and its balance sheet: A Herculean task in mitigating the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic (Part I)

Fotis Siokis
July 30, 2020

Global pandemic events in history, beyond death and destruction, have caused major economic fallout and collapses in international trade. Read more

The New York Economy Amid the Coronavirus Crisis

April 27th, 2020|Comments Off on The New York Economy Amid the Coronavirus Crisis

James Orr and Zhuo Xi
April 26, 2020

New York, along with the rest of the nation and world, is in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. It is hard to comprehend the tragic loss of more than almost 17,000 lives (as of April 27) statewide including more than 11,000 in New York City. Read more

The Opioid Crisis in the New York Area: A First Look

February 18th, 2020|Comments Off on The Opioid Crisis in the New York Area: A First Look

Robert Utzinger
February 17, 2020

The United States has been experiencing an increase in the number of deaths due to suicide and drug overdose. In this article I first explain this problem, review the theories behind this phenomenon focusing on drug abuseRead more

A Primer on Democratic Socialism

June 30th, 2019|Comments Off on A Primer on Democratic Socialism

Twisha Asher
June 30, 2019

In 2017, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat Joe Crowley to claim the seat for New York’s 14th district in a momentous political upset. As a self-described Democratic Socialist, Ocasio-Cortez’s election spurred debate across the political spectrum. Read more

Janet Yellen in Conversation with Paul Krugman

May 30th, 2019|Comments Off on Janet Yellen in Conversation with Paul Krugman

Fotios Siokis
May 30, 2019

On December 10, 2018, the Graduate Center hosted an attention-grabbing discussion on the causes of the Great Recession and the possibility of a future downturn due to high levels of corporate indebtedness. Read more

Sturdy Job Growth in New York City Continues

May 3rd, 2019|Comments Off on Sturdy Job Growth in New York City Continues

James Orr
April 29, 2019

The recovery and expansion of employment in New York City that began following the financial crisis and downturn continued into its ninth year in early 2019. This post examines recent overall job growth in the city and... Read more

Measuring Inequality… Are we doing it right?

April 2nd, 2019|Comments Off on Measuring Inequality… Are we doing it right?

Andreas Kakolyris
April 01, 2019

Two years after the death of Sir Anthony Barnes “Tony” Atkinson, characterized as the father of modern inequality research by Paul Krugman, the question of measuring inequality remains more crucial than ever. Read more

Melting Snowballs and the Winter of Debt

January 31st, 2019|Comments Off on Melting Snowballs and the Winter of Debt

Paul Krugman
January 31, 2019

Do you remember the winter of debt? In late 2010 and early 2011, the U.S. economy had barely begun to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Around 9 percent of the labor force was still unemployed... Read more

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States

January 11th, 2019|Comments Off on Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States

Yoshiko Oka
January 10, 2019

On May 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposal to end the International Entrepreneur Rule, which was published at the end of the Obama Administration. Unlike many other countries, the United States has no visa... Read more

The Credit Crunch and the Great Recession

December 8th, 2018|Comments Off on The Credit Crunch and the Great Recession

Paul Krugman
December 08, 2018

Ben Bernanke wrote a paper arguing that the financial crisis and the resulting credit crunch were central to the Great Recession. His summary measures of financial conditions fall into two categories... Read more

A Primer on Real Versus Nominal

July 22nd, 2018|Comments Off on A Primer on Real Versus Nominal

Harvey Gram
July 22, 2018

The word “nominal” suggests insignificance. A “nominal tip” is small. “Nominally in charge” means “in name only” i.e. not really in charge. A money-valued variable such as GDP in dollars, pesos, Euros, etc. is described as... Read more

A Primer on Stocks and Flows (Part 2)

June 6th, 2018|Comments Off on A Primer on Stocks and Flows (Part 2)

Harvey Gram
June 06, 2018

“Debts” and “deficits” seem to have negative connotations. Still, every debt/liability for one party is a credit/asset for some counter-party who willingly holds the corresponding security; and every deficit has its matching surplus somewhere in a complete and consistent set of accounts. Read more

A Primer on Stocks and Flows (Part 1)

May 19th, 2018|Comments Off on A Primer on Stocks and Flows (Part 1)

Harvey Gram
May 18, 2018

The distinction between stocks and flows is essential to economic reasoning. In many cases, it is just common sense. If I tell you that my income is $1000, am I a prince or a pauper? Is it $1000 per hour or $1000 per year? Income is a flow, which must have a time dimension in order to be... Read more

U.S. Tax Reform: Where Are We Now?

April 13th, 2018|Comments Off on U.S. Tax Reform: Where Are We Now?

Rubaiyat Tasnim and the ESG
April 12, 2018

On February 28, 2018, the Graduate Center Public Programs and the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality held a panel on tax reform where experts discussed its implications and how it will impact different constituencies. Panelists were: Larry Kotlikoff... Read more

The Welfare State in the Age of Globalization

March 6th, 2018|Comments Off on The Welfare State in the Age of Globalization

Branko Milanovic
March 05, 2018

It has become a truism to say that the welfare state is under stress from the effects of globalization and migration and thus may not be able to provide the same level of income support that it had provided in the past. Read more

Why 20th Century Tools Cannot Be Used to Address 21st Century Income Inequality

February 16th, 2018|Comments Off on Why 20th Century Tools Cannot Be Used to Address 21st Century Income Inequality

Branko Milanovic
February 16, 2018

The remarkable period of reduced income and wealth inequality in the rich countries, roughly from the end of the Second World War to the early 1980s, relied on four pillars: strong trade unions, mass education, high taxes and large government transfers. Read more

How Should We Think About the Effects of Corporate Tax Cuts?

February 8th, 2018|Comments Off on How Should We Think About the Effects of Corporate Tax Cuts?

Paul Krugman
February 08, 2018

Late last year Republicans enacted a huge tax cut, mainly for corporations. They then seized on some seemingly supportive data points – investment announcements by some major corporations, bonuses paid to some employees, an uptick in some measures of wage growth... Read more

Dream Hoarders: Is the Upper Middle Class Leaving Everyone Else Behind?

January 30th, 2018|Comments Off on Dream Hoarders: Is the Upper Middle Class Leaving Everyone Else Behind?

Andreas Kakolyris
January 30, 2018

On November 15, 2017, the City University of New York Graduate Center and the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality co-hosted a presentation by Richard Reeves, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, on the topic... Read more