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201. America Demands; China Supplies

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Say's Law, named after French economist Jean- Baptiste Say (1767–1832), was promulgated at the time of the Industrial Revolution when some feared that purchasing power would be insufficient to absorb the ever-growing output of the newly mechanized economy. It states simply and reassuringly that supply creates its own demand. More specifically, the production of output tends to generate purchasing power equal to the value of that output.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China, America, and Asia

202. Watch Growth, Not Exchange Rates

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The attention being paid to exchange rates and to utterances about them by finance ministers and central bankers is misplaced. It is distracting policymakers from tending to more serious issues such as global excess capacity and attendant deflation risks.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy

203. The Opposite of Stagflation

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
The blissful combination of higher growth and lower inflation that has characterized the U.S. economy since last spring is the inverse of stagflation, the nightmare scenario that followed the oil shock of 1973–74, when higher oil prices produced lower output, lower growth, and higher inflation. The current cycle is fundamentally benign—more output at lower prices—but if policymakers fail to recognize it as such and ignore falling prices because output growth is strong, a global recession could occur.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy

204. As Good As It Gets

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Old habits die hard. Often, criticism leveled at policymakers is well founded. I certainly have offered up my share. But as 2003 ends and 2004 begins, we find ourselves at a point where the performance of the U.S. economy is about as good as it gets. The stock market is up 20 percent this year, inflation and interest rates are low, productivity growth is high, and U.S. exports are rising strongly. The biggest danger going forward arises from ill-founded criticism aimed at policy measures employed to achieve this excellent outcome and the (fortunately low) chance that policymakers will heed such criticism.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

205. An Economic Theory of Censorship

Author:
J. Gregory Sidak
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Legal criticism of broadcast regulation typically starts by demonstrating the paradoxically disparate treatment of print media and broadcast media under the First Amendment. In contrast, economic criticism typically starts by demonstrating that the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum, to the questionable extent that it exists, does not distinguish broadcasting from any other medium of communications for which the essential factors of production are privately owned and ordered. Each line of criticism is powerful. And each continues to the current day to appear again and again in court challenges to broadcast regulation. It is more useful, however, to model broadcast regulation in terms of the creation and dissipation of rent.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States

206. Taking Stock of Business: Public Opinion After the Corporate Scandals

Author:
Karlyn H. Bowman and Todd J. Weiner
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
More than a dozen corporate scandals have unfolded since December 2001. How have ordinary Americans reacted? One answer can be provided by the performance of the stock market. Another indicator is public opinion. As some of the key trials get underway, it's worth examining the polls to see how the scandals have affected perceptions of business. The results should provide some warning flags for Congress as that institution takes a closer look at the mutual fund industry.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and America

207. The Patriot Act Under Fire

Author:
John Yoo and Eric Posner
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Criticisms of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional and as a danger to individual rights are unfounded. Any marginal reduction in peacetime liberties entailed by the act seems to be a reasonable price to pay for an important weapon in fighting al Qaeda and other terrorists.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics

208. U.S. Steel Tariffs Give Safeguards a Bad Name

Author:
Claude E. Barfield
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
President Bush's decision to revoke tariffs on imported steel products may lead the European Union to challenge other U.S. trade policies. Any such steps are likely to meet with stiff U.S. resistance, however, because the mechanism for resolving such disputes in the World Trade Organization is widely seen in the United States as lacking legitimacy.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

209. The Case for Being Mean

Author:
Frederick M. Hess
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Performance-based accountability promises to ensure that every student, regardless of background, masters crucial knowledge and skills. But to realize that promise, accountability needs to be coercive, that is, it must confront failure with real consequences for both educators and students.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

210. Out of the Asylum, into the Cell

Author:
Sally Satel
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Prisons have become default mental-health treatment centers to the severe detriment of those experiencing genuine mental illness. Properly treating—rather than criminalizing—mental illness requires reforming our fragmented mental healthcare system and relaxing regulations to encourage patients to seek treatment.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics