The nominal GDP (NGDP) gap, a measure of unexpected changes in the dollar size of the US economy, is calculated as the percentage difference between the actual and the neutral levels of NGDP. The neutral level of NGDP, in turn, is a sum of all dollar incomes expected by households and businesses coming into a specific time period and is created using data from consensus forecasts. In the third quarter of 2021, the median NGDP gap rose to 0.70 percent, up from the previous quarter’s value of −0.02 percent.

This paper provides a comparative institutional analysis of the leading approaches to addressing the market power of large digital platforms: (1) the traditional US antitrust approach; (2) imposition of ex ante conduct rules such as those in the EU’s Digital Markets Act and several bills recently advanced by the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives; and (3) ongoing agency oversight, exemplified by the UK’s newly established “Digital Markets Unit.” After identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, this paper examines how they might play out in the context of digital platforms.

Recently, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said his three most important priorities were “China, China and China.” In a speech before the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 20, he expressed deep concerns in particular over Beijing’s rapid expansion of its nuclear forces into what he described as a “first strike” capability. This, along with China’s advances in space warfare and modernizing of its conventional forces, defines the threats facing the United States—as the Air Force sees them—from this would-be hegemon.

The October jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics finally provided some good news from the labor market, after two months of disappointing job growth. But while breathing a small sigh of relief, there’s still reason to worry about the overall labor market recovery.