Economy

International trade has lifted millions of people out of poverty, boosted standards of living, and benefitted the United States more than...

It’s no coincidence that democratic countries with capitalist systems typically have the highest quality of life, standard of living, economic productivity per capita, life expectancyand educational standards. Democratic systems also tend to have the lowest levels of corruption. In many countries, however, democracy is currently being challenged, which may have the potential to bring about harsh consequences. Democratic backsliding could, in turn, cripple our capitalist syste

The key to U.S. economic growth and job creation lies in our ability to innovate new products and services and deliver them to the world’s nearly 8 billion consumers. This requires tax policies that incentivize entrepreneurs to take risks and pro-globalization legislation that secures access to foreign markets.

Today’s most critical challenges are impacting every American. These include the direction of globalization and Chinese relations...

The labor shortage in the U.S. is an urgent national concern. As of July 2022, USCC counted 11 million job openings but only 6 million unemployed workers, and many companies are struggling to maintain their level of productivity. While moving forward is a challenge, fortunately navigating the labor shortage is possible if companies assess the

Attempting to predict short-term fluctuations in inflation is extremely difficult. However, if you look at the evolution of globalization, which has a major impact on inflation, accurately predicting long-term inflation trends is a bit easier. So let me start with globalization and how it’s evolving.

A dearth of workers is slowing our recovery from the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. Overly large unemployment insurance checks, an expanded welfare state and immigration restrictions have reduced the supply of willing workers. There are 9.2 million job openings nationwide and 9.3 million people unemployed. As a result, employers are hiking prices faster than...

If you can’t find workers, you’re not alone. At each keynote speech I give, I ask the audience to raise their hands if it’s difficult to hire new employees. Just about everyone raises their hand. I then ask if they have trouble retaining them. Again, nearly everyone raises their hand.

The unveiling of the American Jobs Plan has sparked conversation about what the Biden administration can do for U.S. workers. This is a step in the right direction. However, because this legislation is more fundamentally about infrastructure and new jobs, the question of what the government can do for current low-income workers in particular is

Monetary policy can only do so much: it cannot permanently increase the wealth of a nation. That is the lesson from economic history. In the short run, the Fed can affect real variables like output and employment by expansionary monetary policy, but trying to use monetary stimulus as the primary vehicle to move the economy

The business of international trade has become extremely complicated. Due to Covid-19, global supply chain disruptions have become commonplace, especially in China. And even when the risks associated with the pandemic end, the risks associated with supply chains won...

To protect America’s way of life and standard of living, the Biden administration must take two critical steps. First, it should implement legislation designed to improve American free-market capitalism and strengthen the middle class. If not done soon, a political shift to the left is more likely later. And secondly, the administration must choose international engagement over isolation. Surprising to many, these decisions are connected.

Among the things learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that our supply chains are on the verge of breaking. National borders that had receded into the background of a globalizing world have been thrust to the fore in the scramble to obtain life-saving Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for those on the front lines of the […]

The Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act (H.R. 2299/S. 1188), which would provide duty-free access to the U.S. market for products made in Mongolia using Mongolian cashmere, stands to be a win-win for the U.S. and Mongolia, a stalwart democratic American ally in Northern Asia. Passage of the legislation, currently languishing in Congress, would benefit

The Trump Administration has just issued a proclamation that will restrict the issuance of many temporary economic migrant work visas. The proclamation will go into effect on June 24 at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time. The visas affected are the H-1B visa for skilled temporary migrant workers, the H-2B visa for temporary lower‐skilled non‐agricultural employment

Recent trade battles with China, Mexico, Canada, and Europe have reduced trade flows. Now, with the outbreak of COVID-19 severely impacting international commerce, many argue that globalization will soon be dead. Globalization is not dying. Rather, it’s evolving, and existing trends are accelerating. American companies and workers would be wise to prepare for what’s ahead.

In the New York Times on Tuesday, May 5, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) proposed abolishing the World Trade Organization. On the next day came a flood of fact corrections from trade experts exposing the senator’s idea as the spawn of fallacies. Then, on that Thursday, conceding only that the United States can’t “abolish” the WTO...

Many predicted that West Texas Intermediate crude oil could trade as low as $15 a barrel during the Saudi-Russia price war. Some even speculated it could hit $5 when figuring in the demand crater due to the global pandemic. No one predicted this. There simply isn’t a proper word to use here — unprecedented, catastrophic...

Protectionists have been emboldened by the Trump administration’s approach to trade policy, and some are now using COVID-19 as an argument to support their cause. In most cases, it’s not worth responding, but I don’t think of economics columnist Noah Smith as an economic nationalist, so if he is saying things along these lines...

Some people talk about trade as though it were an end in itself. It’s not. Trade is a means to an end. We trade so that we can specialize. We specialize so that we can produce more. We produce more so that we can consume and save more. That is how we create wealth...