04 | January | 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013

Best of the foreign policy blogs 12/29-1/4

Marc Thiessen | January 4, 2013, 3:22 pm

Here is the best of what AEI’s foreign and defense policy scholars are reading this week: Tim Padgett at TIME asks What if Hugo Chavez Dies? Rich Lowry at National Review Online on Gerard Depardieu, Tax Refugee John McCain, Joseph … read more >

Image Credit: Kevin Dooley (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Economics, Pethokoukis

Bank analyst: Either the 14th amendment or trillion-dollar platinum coin options ‘would be as bad as an actual default’

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 3:20 pm

Are there other financial options for the US government other than Congress approving a higher debt ceiling? Analyst Jaret Seiberg from the Washington Research Group has looked at two that are being discussed — and he’s dismissive of both: The … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

Study: Making a tax code more progressive hurts economic growth

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 2:39 pm

From the “Macroeconomic Effects of Progressive Taxation” by Tae-hwan Rhee of the Samsung Economic Institute (via the American Economic Association annual meeting): In this paper, I analyze the progressivity of state income tax in the United States. Using the IRS public use file … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

Study: Firms founded by Dems more likely to be ‘socially responsible’ — and less valuable

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 2:18 pm

From the study “Are Red or Blue Companies More Likely to go Green? Politics and Corporate Social Responsibility” (via the American Economic Association annual meeting): We examine whether the political leanings of a firm’s stakeholders affect its behavior in terms of … read more >

Economics, Free Enterprise

In a victory for free markets, the FTC drops its antitrust allegations against Google

Emma Bennett | January 4, 2013, 2:09 pm

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dropped its investigation into Google’s potential violation of US antitrust law, indicating that they would not file a lawsuit against the search company. read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Watching ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ with the CIA

Marc Thiessen | January 4, 2013, 2:08 pm

When New Yorkers sat down with their popcorn at a Times Square movie theater the other day to watch the movie “Zero Dark Thirty,” they didn’t realize that they were watching the film with the man who lived the story … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

New study suggests U.S. fiscal stimulus generates less than $1 in GDP growth for every $1 spent

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 2:07 pm

The economic theory driving the $800 billion Obama stimulus holds that government spending has a multiplier, especially during tough economic times. For every $1 of spending, overall GDP increases by more than $1, maybe $1.50 or so. That is pretty … read more >

Economics, Taxes and Spending

Were taxes really higher in the 1950s?

Andrew Biggs | January 4, 2013, 1:52 pm

Tax rates were high in the 1950s, we often hear, yet economic growth boomed. So why should we fear higher taxes today? One answer is that taxes in the 50s weren’t really high. Yes, the top marginal tax rate was … read more >

Pethokoukis

Connections are key for the careers of male Wall Street analysts. For females, it’s education and forecast accuracy

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 1:24 pm

Sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know, at least for men on Wall Street. For women, it’s, you know, ability and results. From the paper “Gender and Connections Among Wall Street Analysts” (via the American Economic Association … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

Why male CEOs get stingy on worker pay after having a kid

James Pethokoukis | January 4, 2013, 1:13 pm

If your company has a male CEO and he just had a kid — especially a boy — you may not be getting a raise anytime soon. From the new paper, “Fatherhood and Managerial Style: How a Male CEO’s Children Affect the … read more >