News
Bloomberg | Service Industries in U.S. Kept Expanding in March
Service industries in the U.S. grew in March, capping the strongest quarter in a year and indicating the world’s largest economy will keep generating jobs.
NY Times | Census Data Offers Look at Effects of Recession
The Census Bureau offered the first detailed picture of population shift in the United States since the end of the recession, releasing data that showed that population growth in outer suburbs — the fastest growing areas in the last decade
Bloomberg | Credit-Default Swaps in U.S. Jump Most in Almost Four Months
A benchmark gauge of U.S. company credit risk jumped by the most in almost four months as Spanish bond yields rose amid investor concern that the country may need international aid.
Market Watch | Treasury yields fall to lowest in a week
Treasury prices rose on Thursday, pushing yields down to their lowest levels in a week, as growing worries about Spain’s debt problems and Europe’s economic outlook revived interest in the relative safety of U.S. government debt.
National Journal | IG Report: Solyndra Loan Review Was ‘Rushed’
The Energy Department’s approval of a $535 million loan guarantee to the now-bankrupt Solyndra was “rushed,” according to a Treasury Department inspector general report released this week.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Library of Economics | How Property Rights Solve Problems
Should restaurants allow smoking or not? Should schools teach evolution or intelligent design or both? Should insurance companies cover contraception? Should I be able to take off my shoes in your living room?
Washington Times | Mr. Obama, you’re no Ronald Reagan
Well, there they go again. While criticizing the new Republican budget plan on Tuesday, President Obama invoked the Gipper. “Ronald Reagan,” he said, “who, as I recall, was not accused of being a tax-and-spend socialist, understood repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control - that for him to make a deal - he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases.”
WSJ | Killing Coal
For three years the Environmental Protection Agency has imposed a de facto ban on new coal-fired power while doing everything it can to harm existing coal plants. But for once there's something good to say about the latest EPA carbon rule: At least the agency was less devious when it formalized the coal ban last week.
NBER | Does Federal Student Aid Raise Tuition? New Evidence on For-Profit Colleges
We use administrative data from five states to provide the first comprehensive estimates of the size of the for-profit higher education sector in the U.S. Our estimates include schools that are not currently eligible to participate in federal student aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act and are therefore missed in official counts.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Freeze Red Tape to Warm the Economy
The House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 15–13, recently approved a proposed moratorium on new regulations in order to spur job creation.
The American | Just how fast can the U.S. economy grow?
What’s a reasonable expectation for future U.S. economic growth? It’s an important question. Higher growth is critical to avoiding a debt crisis, not to mention improving the American standard of living.
Café Hayek | Living Standards and Ideology
Contrary to a narrative often heard in popular discussion, the U.S. economy circa the late 1970s through 2008 was – as Spencer recognizes – mixed. It was not close to being laissez faire. There was some deregulation (such as, for example, in air and surface transportation); there was some additional regulation (such as, for example, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act).
