:: Levy Economics Institute of Bard College ::

Policy Notes | June 2009
Who Gains from President Obama's Stimulus Package ... And How Much? In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary assessment of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a package of transfers and tax cuts that is expected to provide relief to low-income and vulnerable households especially hurt by the economic crisis, while at the same time supporting aggregate demand. By the administration’s estimate, ARRA will create or save approximately three and a half million jobs by the end of 2010; while the ameliorating impact of the stimulus plan on the employment situation is surely welcome, say the authors, the government could have achieved far more at the same cost by skewing the stimulus package toward outlays rather than tax cuts. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The Distribution of Income and Wealth

Strategic Analysis | December 2008
Prospects for the United States and the World: A Crisis That Conventional Remedies Cannot Resolve The economic recovery plans currently under consideration by the United States and many other countries seem to be concentrated on the possibility of using expansionary fiscal and monetary policies alone. In a new Strategic Analysis, the Levy Institute’s Macro-Modeling Team argues that, however well coordinated, this approach will not be sufficient; what’s required, they say, is a worldwide recovery of output, combined with sustainable balances in international trade. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The State of the U.S. and World Economies

Policy Notes | June 2009
Some Simple Observations on the Reform of the International Monetary System The demand for reform of the financial system has focused on the dollar’s loss of international purchasing power (the Triffin dilemma) and its substitution by an international reserve currency that is not a national currency. The problem, however, is not the particular asset that serves as the international currency but rather the operation of the adjustment mechanism for dealing with global imbalances. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
Monetary Policy and Financial Structure

Public Policy Briefs | June 2009
Promoting Gender Equality through Stimulus Packages and Public Job Creation Beyond loss of income, joblessness is associated with greater poverty, marginalization, and social exclusion; the current global crisis is clearly not helping. In this new Public Policy Brief, Research Scholar Rania Antonopoulos explores the impact of both joblessness and employment expansion on poverty, paying particular attention to the gender aspects of poverty and poverty-reducing public employment schemes targeting poor women. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
Gender Equality and the Economy | Employment Policy and Labor Markets

Public Policy Brief Highlights | April 2009
It’s That “Vision” Thing: Why the Bailouts Aren’t Working, and Why a New Financial System Is Needed The Federal Reserve’s response to the current financial crisis has been praised because it introduced a zero interest rate policy more rapidly than the Bank of Japan (during the Japanese crisis of the 1990s) and embraced massive “quantitative easing.” However, despite vast capital injections, the banking system is not lending in support of the private sector. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
Monetary Policy and Financial Structure

Working Papers | June 2009
Fiscal Policy and the Economics of Financial Balances This paper presents the main features of the macroeconomic model being used at The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, which has proven to be a useful tool in tracking the current financial and economic crisis. We investigate the connections of the model to the “New Cambridge” approach, and discuss other recent approaches to the evolution of financial balances for all sectors of the economy. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The State of the U.S. and World Economies

LIMEW Reports | April 2009
New Estimates of Economic Inequality in America, 1959—2004 In this latest LIMEW report, the authors present new evidence on the pattern of economic inequality in the United States that indicates higher inequality in 2004 than in 1959. According to the LIMEW, there was a surge in inequality between 1989 and 2000 that reflects the large increase in income from wealth for the top rungs of the economic ladder; the principal factor behind the official measures was base income (consisting mainly of labor income). [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The Levy Institute Measure of Economic Well-Being (LIMEW) | The Distribution of Income and Wealth

Book Series | May 2008
Stabilizing an Unstable Economy The late American economist and Distinguished Scholar Hyman P. Minsky first wrote about the inherent instability of financial markets in the late 1950s, and accurately predicted a transformation of the economy that would not become apparent for nearly a generation. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
Monetary Policy and Financial Structure

Report | April 2009
Report April 2009 There is broad consensus that the prospects for the domestic economy have become dire, requiring extensive government intervention. In a new Strategic Analysis highlighted in the current issue of the Report, Levy scholars take a more skeptical view of the effectiveness of the policy prescriptions currently on offer—and argue that the global economy must be run in an entirely new way. [more]

Summary | April 2009
Summary Spring 2009 This issue of the Summary begins with a Strategic Analysis by the Levy Institute’s Macro-Modeling Team, along with a review of the latest Federal Reserve flow-of-funds data. The authors foresee a steep rise in the private sector balance and an abrupt fall in GDP in the United States, with employment rising to 10 percent in 2010; moreover, they say, the unprecedented drop in interest rates may not be effective in reactivating standard lending practices. [more]

Conference Proceedings | April 2008
17th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies In April 2008, top policymakers, economists, and analysts from government, industry, and academia gathered at the Levy Institute’s research and conference facility in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, to present their insights about the American economy and the financial sector in the context of Minsky’s economic theories. Participants discussed Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis and the ability of monetary policy to stabilize financial markets and the economy, as well as the role of the Federal Reserve and its ability to function as a systemic lender of last resort. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The State of the U.S. and World Economies

Conference Audio | April 2009
18th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies A conference organized by The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College with support from the Ford Foundation. On April 16 [more]

Press Releases | June 2009
Obama Stimulus Package Does Little to Address Income and Employment Disparities in U.S. Economy, According to a New Special Report from The Levy Economics Institute [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
Employment Policy and Labor Markets

Biennial Reports | April 2008
Biennial Report, 2006–2007 Throughout 2006–07, the Levy Institute continued to make significant contributions to the public policy discussions on many economic issues. In addition to organizing conferences, workshops, and lectures with distinguished representatives of the academy, the business community, and government, the Levy Institute used its wide range of print and online publications to disseminate information about, and foster debate on, numerous policy issues. [more]

In the Media | October 2008
Asia’s revenge October 8, 2008. Copyright 2008 The Financial Times Limited. [more]
Associated Research Program(s):
The State of the U.S. and World Economies