Economics

Israel has become one of the most important economies in the world, and is second only to the United States in its pioneering of technologies benefitting human life, prosperity, and peace. Like the Jews throughout history, Israel poses a test to the world. In particular, it is a test for any people that lusts for the fruits of capitalism without Read More ›

This article, published by National Review, is about Discovery Institute Senior Fellow George Gilder and his book The Israel Test: George Gilder was one of the speakers on the recent National Review cruise round the Mediterranean, and he gave me a copy of his new book The Israel Test — there, I’ve declared an interest. The rest of the article can be found here.

When a dubious economic theory turns up as the punch line in a wildly popular song, it’s safe to say that the proposition has deeply penetrated the public’s consciousness. The odd notion that when the rich get richer, the poor get poorer received recognition and publicity in the jaunty foxtrot Ain’t We Got Fun, introduced as part of the vaudeville Read More ›

On June 1, 2009 America’s most famous manufacturing corporation died–and along with it a great era of private corporate enterprise. Founded in 1908, GM set the standard for auto manufacturers by employing more than 600,000 people, and in 1954 attained a historic 50-million cars sold worldwide. Valued at $93 per share as recently as late 1995, GM’s stock was trading Read More ›

There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place. –G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man (1925) In the wake of the massive economic downturn pundits on the Left—owing to their Keynesian economic philosophy—urge us to “go out and Read More ›

This article, published by National Review, mentions Discovery Institute Senior Fellow George Gilder: A demographic policy agenda would mean boldly calling for the repeal of numerous tax provisions, social programs, and court decisions that, over the last 40 years, have unraveled what George Gilder terms the sexual constitution of society, and that obstruct the creation of the wealth that really Read More ›

If you were to ask most Americans whether or not the United States has the lowest infant mortality, I suspect the large majority would give you a resounding “yes.” That’s why it’s startling to realize that the U.S. actually ranks 46th in the world. The top three countries are Singapore at 2.3 infant deaths per thousand, Sweden at 2.75 and Read More ›

Israel stands out from other nations in many ways, not least that its survival appears to depend on powerful but geographically very distant countries. That observation should lead Jews to wonder what makes friends of Israel feel as they do. America has been the country’s closet ally, while other Western countries showed less affection even before absorbing huge new Muslim Read More ›

If the August 2007 implosion of the subprime mortgage lending market signaled the impending burst of the housing asset bubble, the March 2008 collapse of the old-line investment banking firm Bear Stearns & Co. heralded the stock market crash and global financial crash of 2008. Cohan is an ex-investment banker who previously published a history of the investment-banking firm Lazard Read More ›

Do you understand why well-known economists, including Nobel Prize winners, are on opposite sides of the debate about the stimulus package and what should be done about the recession? Not only Americans, but people everywhere are confused, largely because the economists who are writing and speaking about what should be done have such fundamental disagreements. There are two main schools Read More ›