The latest Mercatus research, media, commentary, and events delivered week by week.
[link removed]
[link removed]
Central Banks Are Inflation Creators, Not Inflation Fighters
[link removed];
Joshua Hendrickson
[link removed]
February 22, 2022 | Monetary Policy
Over the past 50 years, economists have spilled a lot of ink studying and debating periods of high inflation that began in the late 1960s, continued throughout the 1970s, and ended with the disinflation of the early 1980s. Although any particular contribution to the inflation debate of the 1970s often involved technical details about monetary policy and economic models, the debate was actually about something bigger and more fundamental. Who is responsible for inflation? Put differently, if one analogizes inflation to a fire, is the central bank the arsonist or the firefighter? The answer is that central banks are the arsonist. Central banks are inflation creators, not inflation fighters.
Read More
[link removed]
Ukraine Tragedy Complicates the Federal Reserve's Inflation Challenge
[link removed]
Bruce Yandle
2/24/2022
[link removed]
Fiscal Sustainability: High Stakes and Low Interest
[link removed]
Veronique de Rugy
[link removed]
and Jack Salmon
[link removed]
February 23, 2022 | Government Spending
The “debt ratio” is the federal government debt held by the public as a share of GDP. In recent years, however, economists and policymakers have shied away from using the debt ratio to measure fiscal sustainability, turning to new definitions instead. In “Fiscal Sustainability: High Stakes and Low Interest,” Veronique de Rugy and Jack Salmon argue that these new definitions of fiscal sustainability are misleading and understate the risks associated with the US government debt trajectory.
Read More
[link removed]
Will a Post-COVID-19 Government Be Held Accountable?
[link removed]
Veronique de Rugy
2/24/2022
[link removed]
The Benefits of Mobilizing Nurse Practitioners in Kansas
[link removed]
Edward J. Timmons
[link removed]
February 21, 2022 | Healthcare
Nurse practitioners are often restricted by state law when it comes to applying their skills. Removing these barriers would reduce the challenges that vulnerable populations encounter in accessing primary care. Current Kansas law requires nurse practitioners to enter into written protocols with physicians. Kansas would not be going out on a limb by eliminating this requirement. Colorado, Iowa, and 23 other states and jurisdictions already permit nurse practitioners to work without written protocols. Kansas has also temporarily waived this requirement for nurse practitioners in light of the current public health emergency.
Read More
[link removed]
On Government and Innovation in Healthcare
[link removed]
Robert Graboyes
2/22/2022
Politicization of Public Health and the Danger of Woke Speech Codes
[link removed]
Robert Graboyes
2/21/2022
[link removed]
Missouri Should Consider Creating a Regulatory Sandbox
[link removed]
Brian Knight
[link removed]
February 24, 2022 | Financial Regulation
Although regulatory sandboxes have significant potential benefits, some risks must be guarded against. One area of obvious concern is consumer protection. One critique of sandboxes is that they remove necessary consumer safeguards. These risks can be guarded against in a well-executed sandbox that requires applicants to have a viable plan, have the ability to execute that plan, and make customers whole in the event of a failure. Likewise, the agency responsible for administering the sandbox must be able to conduct adequate vetting and supervision on participants and be able to force a participant to make customers whole if necessary and appropriate.
Read More
[link removed]
[link removed]
Rights, Responsibilities, and Preemption in Minnesota
[link removed]
Salim Furth
[link removed]
February 23, 2022 | Urban Economics
Local governments have power over land use, and they bear the final responsibility in using these powers justly. But the exercise of local land use authority relies on institutions designed by the state. Thus, the state legislature has the responsibility of adjusting institutions that are working poorly for citizens, markets, or local governments. HF 3256 touches several aspects of the state’s role in setting the framework for the exercise of local power over land use. It would limit the use of some fiscal tools and newly allow the use of others, preempt some zoning controls, and adjust the planning process.
Read More
[link removed]
[link removed]
Case Studies on Smart Zoning Reforms, Part Four: Removing Parking Requirements in Buffalo, New York
[link removed]
Emily Hamilton
[link removed]
and Sloane Argyle
[link removed]
February 22, 2022 | Urban Economics
Since striking down the city’s parking requirements in 2017, Buffalo has seen the development of more than 1,000 new homes and several flourishing new transit-dependent businesses. Rather than mandating a specific number of parking spots for new buildings, the Buffalo code now requires large developments to include a transportation demand management plan.
Read More
[link removed]
Mercatus Podcasts
Will Diamond on Safe Assets, Risk-Free Rates, and Convenience Yields and their Implications for Policy
[link removed]
David Beckworth
2/21/2022 • Macro Musings
[link removed]
Chuck Klosterman on Writing the Past and Relishing the Present
[link removed]
Tyler Cowen
2/23/2022 • Conversations with Tyler
[link removed]
Support the Mercatus Center
Donate Now
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
Unsubscribe
[link removed]
