The May employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows an economy running in place. Over the past year, employers have created an average of 172,000 net jobs a month. In May, they added 175,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate slightly increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.6 percent. Other measures of labor market strength, such as the…

The conventional mortgage market has tightened lending standards in the past few years and, consequently, witnessed a decline in delinquency rates with fairly clear lines in credit quality of borrowers and reasonable requirements on borrower collateral (generally a 20 percent down payment to avoid private mortgage insurance) for loan approval. The Federal Housing…

The Senate is preparing to vote on the confirmation of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This is no routine matter. The bureau is one of the most powerful—and least accountable—regulatory agencies in government. No vote should be cast without consideration of substantial reforms to the CFPB. Cordray has been running the…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently weakened its long-held institutional support for the free flow of capital across national borders. The IMF’s new view, described most clearly in a document entitled “The Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows: An Institutional View,”[1] which was endorsed by the IMF governors in December 2012, is that temporary…

In monetary policy, zero is an important number. Nominal interbank interest rates cannot normally sink below zero—that would mean one bank was paying the other to borrow its money. This is known as “the zero lower bound.” For central banks such as the Fed, the zero lower bound is a constraint on their ability to affect markets by moving key interest rates. In addition,…

President Obama has nominated Michael Froman, deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs since 2009, to be the next United States Trade Representative (USTR). In the coming weeks, the U.S. Senate will begin the confirmation process for Froman, whose task as America’s trade czar is to “serve as the president’s principal trade advisor, negotiator,…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April employment report found healthy growth in the labor market in April. Employers added 165,000 net jobs, and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.5 percent. While falling short of expectations for a recovery from a deep recession, this would be considered decent growth in normal economic times. However, the improvement in…

In an April 2 speech, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim set out the ambitious goal of ending extreme poverty within a generation.[1] Outlining a bold development agenda in advance of the World Bank–IMF spring meetings from April 19 to 21, Kim emphasized the importance of fostering “inclusive growth” and building “a science of delivery for development.” The search for a…

Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) has been a critical tool for advancing free trade and spreading its benefits to a greater number of Americans. TPA, also known as “fast track” authority, is the legislative power Congress grants to the President to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements. Provided the President observes certain statutory obligations under TPA, Congress agrees…

Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor, former trade union boss Nicolás Maduro, appears to have defeated Governor Henrique Capriles by a narrow margin in a contentious and hard-fought special election on April 14. Venezuela is in such shambles after 14 years of seat-of-the-pants mismanagement that Maduro—assuming his victory is confirmed—may ultimately be forced to pursue…

President Barack Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget proposes fundamental reforms to America’s food assistance programs. Most notably, the proposal would shift funds from the Food for Peace Act (P.L. 480) to programs in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In general, these reforms are positive and echo proposals suggested by aid practitioners in…

Should the federal government break up America’s big banks? Once confined to the populist fringes of policy debate, the idea has developed surprising momentum in recent months, with a number of conservative voices jumping on the bank breakup bandwagon.[1] Regulators will never allow the biggest banks to fail, supporters say, because of the feared effect of such a…