How Not to Fix the Economy


 

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace

Author(s): Michael J. Boskin

Research Area: Economics

Keywords: Economy; Recession

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Six years into the expansion that followed the 2001 recession, the post-Y2K collapse of the stock market bubble, and the terrorist attacks, the economy was slowing and the risk of recession growing rapidly. What is the proper role of economic policy in dealing with these problems? Bailouts, protectionism, higher tax rates, new spending—these are supposed to help?

This essay appeared in the Wall Street Journal on November 13, 2007