Archive - Economic Forces

April 2025

When do rent controls help renters?

They lower price. But at what cost? Bulow and Klemperer provide the tools.

Apr 24 •

Is Dollar Dominance Good for the U.S.?

Thoughts on the U.S.'s so-called exorbitant privilege.

Apr 17 •

Josh Hendrickson

Will a recession raise productivity?

Probably not. But, historically, U.S. recessions often have.

Apr 10 •

High tariffs didn't make the U.S. rich in the 19th century. They won't this time.

On tariffs and 19th century economic growth

Apr 7 •

Can What We Know About Firms Help Us to Understand the Organization of Congress?

Congress, like the firm, is designed to minimize the costs associated with ensuring contractual performance and opportunistic behavior

Apr 3 •

Josh Hendrickson

March 2025

Stop saying a value-added tax is an export subsidy

It's not. No matter how many times people (even economists) say they are.

Mar 27 •

Do Lower Legal Interest Rates Actually Reduce Borrowing Costs?

The problem with maximum interest rates is that they increase the marginal cost of borrowing

Mar 20 •

Josh Hendrickson

A British Conservative proposes the worst idea in competition policy yet

When you get the facts and the theory wrong, bad policy conclusions are likely to follow.

Mar 18 •

What We Have Been Up To...

We've been busy. Here's what we have been doing.

Mar 13 •

Josh Hendrickson

and

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts