Railroad congestion in the Upper Midwest has been a growing problem for some time, but things are coming to a head because we face a very large harvest and North Dakota oil production continues to grow. Five committees of the…
Epidemics can impose ‘exogenous shocks’
A big question that will unfold over the next six months is whether the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will remain a localized medical and economic problem or become a global pandemic. The experts at the CDC and WHO discount…
Hoopla, pundits and Fed policy
Amid much hoopla from pundits, the Federal Reserve’s policy-making Open Market Committee met this week and left its policies largely unchanged. It will continue to reduce the rate at which it increases our nation’s money supply by buying bonds —…
Minimum wage hike imperfect, but it’s OK
In certain circumstances, a minimum-wage law can make an economy more efficient. In other words, the economy can produce more goods and services to meet people’s needs from the same amounts of labor, capital and natural resources. That is why,…