In an ideal world, consumers' choices in relation to the incremental costs of producing goods and services would dictate what gets produced, and at what price. Choices should tell us about preferences.

While many scientists applaud former Vice President Al Gore and his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," some scientists have said that the film exaggerates the nature of environmental problems and/or makes conclusions that the science doesn't uphold.

Americans currently spend about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health care, but new research is projecting that by 2050, we'll be spending more than 30 percent of our income on health.

Are the chances of a recession increasing, and if so, should we be altering our behavior? Economists use various economic indicators to track segments of the economy, to explain current behavior and project future activity. Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and director of the L.

"Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world." Napoleon's words seem to be the inspiration behind the title of James Kynge's book, "China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future — and the Challenge for America." Kynge's book centers on "the appetite that the world's

Stock market analysts move markets, and not just because investors believe in the validity of their research and legitimacy of their opinions. In an important new study, Assistant Professors Jennifer L.

In 2006, the United States' trade deficit in goods was $836 billion, a record for the fifth year in a row and an 80 percent increase from four years earlier.

When it comes to the economic outlook for 2007, Nobel Laureate and W. P. Carey School professor of economics Edward Prescott is optimistic.

The ascent of a Democratic majority in Congress shifts the balance in the debate on illegal immigration. Voices on both sides quote numbers to prove their points, but as decision makers formulate policy, it's important to separate myth from reality.

President Bush's private-insurance initiative, unveiled during the 2007 State of the Union address, keeps alive the debate over how to get at least some of the estimated 47 million uninsured Americans into the system.