Has the U.S. Government Finally Spent Too Much?
When COVID-19 arrived in America, Uncle Sam was already deep in debt.
Economic Growth
The Pandemic's Economic Carnage Looks Worse Than Expected
Get ready for more pain caused by COVID-19 as well as by the policies intended to hold it in check.
Negative Interest Rates Will Damage an Already Crippled Economy
Some economists believe that a negative interest rate policy will stimulate the economy by reducing the cost of loans. That isn’t how it has worked in practice.
There Is No China Crisis
Unless we cause one by overreacting to Asia's changing political and economic landscape
Nearly 3.3 Million Unemployment Claims Due to Coronavirus Economic Meltdown
Much about the COVID-19 outbreak has been unprecedented and historic, but until now it's been difficult to quantify exactly how serious a blow the virus would deal to the U.S. economy.
The Not-So-Great Society
Historian Amity Shlaes on the good intentions and bad results of LBJ's war on poverty
How Badly Could the Novel Coronavirus Epidemic Whack the U.S. Economy?
Looking at better and worse projections.
Just How Good Is Trump's Economy, Anyway?
While the 2017 tax cuts didn't deliver the results promised by Trump and his magical-thinking supporters, the administration has delivered some economic expansion, some job creation, and some investment growth.
Good Riddance to the Roman Empire
Maybe Rome needed to disintegrate before the West could grow wealthy.
Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey
Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..
Trump's Budget Plan Is an Economic Fantasy
The president’s plan calls for modest cuts made easy by unlikely growth.
Republican Deficit Hypocrisy Will Make America's Debt Problems Much Harder To Solve
A new report shows federal budget deficits pushing past $1 trillion for the next decade.
Ecomodernism Is the Solution to Man-Made Climate Change
The Breakthrough Institute's Ted Nordhaus urges Americans to reject both doomism and denialism.
Trump Campaigned on Saving Factory Jobs, but U.S. Manufacturing Just Went Through a Year-Long Recession
Trump's trade war has harmed the very industries and workers he aimed to help.
What Did Reason Get Wrong in 2019?
And what predictions will we shank in 2020 and beyond?
On Thanksgiving, Take a Moment to Focus on the Good News
It will help us feel grateful for our lives.
Trump's Near-Zero Presidency
Judged by his own yardstick, the president has failed because he hasn't delivered on his promises to voters.
Why the Middle Class is Better Off Than You Think
The consensus view that the American middle class "is dead, dying, hollowed out" is based on an "incomplete reading of the data," says economist Russ Roberts.
The Economy Keeps Growing, but Americans Are Using Less Steel, Paper, Fertilizer, and Energy
Good news! We’re getting more while using less.
Latest Trade War Casualties: More Than 10,000 Layoffs in August
The trade war should be thought of as a massive tax and regulatory scheme.
Is Another Recession Coming? Or Does Elizabeth Warren Just Want to Scare Us?
Plus: Lucy Steigerwald explains libertarianism to New Republic readers, Donald Trump and Al Sharpton trade Twitter barbs, nutrition science is imploding, and more...
Unemployment, Underemployment, and the Comprehensive Jobless Rate
When it comes to the health of the labor market, we don’t know the full story.
Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Says Trade Deficits Hurt Jobs and Growth. Here's Why He's Wrong.
Navarro's Wall Street Journal op-ed looks more like a deliberately deceptive attempt to argue that limiting imports will boost economic growth. It won't.
Trump's Immigration Plan Could Use Some Work
Still, it's better than the administration's previous proposals to cut legal immigration in half.
This One Chart About Global Aging Changes Everything
"For the first time ever there are now more people in the world older than 65 than younger than 5."
Simon Abundance Index Launch on Monday at the Cato Institute
Mark the 49th anniversary of Earth Day by celebrating human ingenuity.
Tyler Cowen's Gospel of Prosperity
The George Mason University economist and Marginal Revolution founder explains why a richer world is a better world.
The Government Can't—and Won't—Give Meaning to Your Life
A conservative technocrat tries to engineer a better world.
U.S. Baby Bust Fears Inspire a Radical Policy Proposal
Is the solution a "fertility dividend" that makes a portion of a person's Social Security benefit dependent on each of their offspring's earnings?
Resources Are Almost 5 Times as Abundant as They Were in 1980
New Simon Abundance Index elegantly refutes primitive zero-sum intuitions with respect to population and resource availability trends.
America's Economic Health Has Improved
The U.S. rose four places in the International Tax Competitiveness Index, and this just the latest bit of good news.
The National Debt Is Coming Due, Just Like We Told You
By 2020, interest on the debt will cost more than Medicaid. By 2025, it will cost more than defense spending. And that's just the start.
Tyler Cowen's Stubborn Attachments To Freedom and Prosperity: Podcast
The prolific George Mason University economist outlines his unabashedly libertarian argument for a government that does less and individuals who do more.
How Big of a Deal Is an Extra Half Degree of Global Warming?
New report declares world must be off fossil fuels entirely by 2050.
Unlimited Growth and Climate Change Economists Win Nobel Prize
Paul Romer overturns limits-to-growth nonsense, and William Nordhaus projects climate change damages.
The U.S. Economy Is More Free Than It's Been in Years
Economic freedom is good-whether in itself or because of the longevity, prosperity, and associated liberty it brings.
Trillion-Dollar Deficits Are Nearly Here. Thanks, Republicans!
At nearly every opportunity, the GOP has made the nation's fiscal outlook worse.
Artificial Intelligence Will Be More Economically Consequential than Steam Power Was
AI could boost economic growth by 1.2 percent annually between now and 2030.
Trump Wants More Low Interest Rates From Federal Reserve but Isn't Getting Them
Trump worries that the Fed chief's predictable interest rate policy could impair the economic growth needed to make his tax policies viable.
Slavery Did Not Make America Rich
Ingenuity, not capital accumulation or exploitation, made cotton a little king.
3 Statistics That Will Make You Smarter and Happier
If you read Reason you already know these three pieces of good news about global trends.
Sucking Carbon Dioxide from the Air to Produce Gasoline?
Carbon-neutral transportation fuels might be possible.
Undocumented Immigrants Are Less Crime Prone Than Native-Borns
More undocumented immigration meant less violent crime.
The Coming Century of Environmental Renewal
A new article in BioScience vindicates The End of Doom.
Climate Change Problems Will Be Solved Through Economic Growth
"How bad will climate change be? Not very."