Personal income: Not so great in the Great Recession
Although job losses and unemployment have captured public attention during the current recession, another key indicator of state economic performance — personal income — is the weakest since modern records have been kept.
The Economic Minute: Phoenix and the recovery, or beyond ground zero
In this edition of The Economic Minute, economist Dennis Hoffman says that Arizona could be called "ground zero of the worst recession since World War II." The hard economic fact is that Arizona depends on in migration to keeps its economy vibrant, and the state is not exactly a people magnet rig
GDP is up ... but employment recovery may be years away
Economists, Wall Street, and the general public were pleased with the advance report on third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis. The consensus expectation as posted on Briefing.com was an annualized increase of 3.2 percent.
Eminent domain: Drawing the line on property rights
When the city of New London, Connecticut, moved to take homes in the modest Fort Trumball neighborhood by eminent domain, a group of residents resisted in court. Led by Susette Kelo, the residents eventually lost their case at the Supreme Court.
Friend or foe: Does the minimum wage hurt the workers it's intended to help?
William Boyes understands why his students feel the way they do about the federal minimum wage — why they seem to universally believe that the minimum wage is a good thing. It's a good thing for them; a good thing for workers across the country; a good thing for the economy as a whole.
Arizona Town Hall calls for bold action to solve the state's fiscal crisis
Last week about 140 of Arizona's leaders gathered at the Grand Canyon for the 95th Arizona Town Hall — designed to bring Arizonans together for three days of discussion, culminating in a plenary session where participants adopt a final report of findings and recommendations.
Western region accounts for 5 of 10 weakest state labor markets
For the first time in the recession, all 50 states lost jobs over the year in September, reports Lee McPheters, editor of Economy@W. P. Carey. Before the latest figures were released, North Dakota had continued to add jobs year over year, albeit at a slowing pace.
Self-ownership, abortion and a Brave New World
"The idea of ownership," said W. P. Carey Economics Professor William Boyes, "is that we can do anything we want with what we own as long as it does not harm anyone else or violate anyone else's property rights." By that definition, our common concept of ownership might often be called
2010 economic forecast: Don't hold your breath
"The recession probably ended in June, if we had to pick a date," according to Jan Hatzius, Chief U.S. Economist at Goldman Sachs. But that doesn't mean it's time to break out the champagne.
How we got here: Bush economic advisor analyzes the financial sector meltdown
The deepest recession since World War II was caused by the collapse of the financial sector, but that disintegration is not proof that markets don't work, said Stanford economist Edward Lazear, who was chief economic advisor to former President George W. Bush.