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Articles by Arnold Kling

Regulating Risk Thursday, April 11, 2013
An illustration of the impact of financial regulation on capital allocation is the extent to which the world's savings have been attracted to long-term ...
The 'Two Drunks' Model of Financial Crises Wednesday, March 13, 2013
It’s unlikely that banks and government can be disentangled, but a healthier relationship could begin with a new approach to credit guarantees.
What Do Banks Do? Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A closer look at bank leverage.
Reform Government Pay with Step Decreases Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Longevity is the wrong characteristic to reward in the case of government workers.
16 Tons of Keynesian Economics Tuesday, January 22, 2013
As the old song goes, after 16 tons of Keynesian economics, all we have to show for it is that we are deeper in debt.
Skin in the Housing Game Monday, January 14, 2013
Recourse mortgages with significant down payments will stabilize the housing market, prevent speculative bubbles from forming, and limit taxpayer risk.
What Would Churchill Do? Friday, December 21, 2012
November 6 was an electoral setback dealt to those of us who believe in capitalism and limited government. What can we learn from Churchill, who was no ...
The Risky Mortgage Business: The Problem with the 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Tuesday, December 11, 2012
One would not be troubled by the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage if it were an emergent property of free markets. But it is not.
Lenders and Spenders: Confronting the Political Reality of Debt Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Is federal debt really nothing more than money ‘we owe to ourselves’? No. It frays the political fabric, and we are feeling its effects already.
Reforming the Housing Transaction Tuesday, November 13, 2012
If policymakers truly want to make things better for home buyers, they should look for ways to streamline and modernize the housing transaction itself.
Who Needs Home Ownership? Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Home ownership subsidies have imposed costs that are large and clear. The benefits of such subsidies are, at best, small and vague.
How to Think about QE3 Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Here are three possible outcomes.
Many-to-One vs. One-to-Many: An Opinionated Guide to Educational Technology Wednesday, September 12, 2012
There are many horses in the educational technology race. Which ones are worth betting on?
The Economics of Pepco Friday, July 6, 2012
What happens when there is no market for reliability.
Checks, Balances, and Audits Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Here’s an approach that accepts the reality of the Administrative State while restoring the principle of checks and balances.
Why We Need Principles-Based Regulation Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Instead of regulating the boundaries between what is approved and what is forbidden, perhaps we should lay out broad but well-defined principles that ...
The Tribal Mind: Moral Reasoning and Public Discourse Thursday, April 26, 2012
If we want to get along better and resolve differences more easily, it will take conscious effort to overcome tribal behavioral instincts.
Economics: A Million Mutinies Now, Part Three Monday, April 16, 2012
The mainstream vs. the anti-modernists.
The Challenge of Achieving a Liberal Order Monday, April 2, 2012
In order to have the rule of law, a society must have cultural institutions that promote rules and norms that cannot be overturned by autocrats.
Economics: A Million Mutinies Now, Part Two Wednesday, March 14, 2012
We have accumulated more than six decades of macroeconomic experience since the end of World War II, yet neither stubborn Keynesians nor stubborn monetarists ...
Economics: A Million Mutinies Now Monday, February 27, 2012
There are now so many versions of ‘what's wrong with the economics profession’ that, with apologies to V.S. Naipaul, I could describe the state of economics as ...
The Case for an Executive Re-Organization Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The executive branch of the federal government is a sprawling collection of programs and agencies, many working at cross-purposes or to no good purpose at all. ...
The Political Implications of Ignoring Our Own Ignorance Thursday, December 8, 2011
Do individuals’ cognitive biases provide a justification for government intervention? No.
What If Middle-Class Jobs Disappear? Thursday, November 3, 2011
Structural change is an important factor in the current rate of high unemployment. The economy is in a state of transition, in which the middle-class jobs that ...
What to Do with Super-Achievers? Saturday, October 15, 2011
Society is better off when super-achievers do their striving within the private sector rather than in government.
The Soothsayers of Macroeconometrics Monday, September 19, 2011
Applying macroeconometric models to questions of fiscal policy is the equivalent of using pre-Copernican astronomy to launch a satellite.
Prosperity, Depression, and Progress Sunday, May 8, 2011
Any historical study that focuses on the Great Depression is bound to ask what parallels there are with the current period of prolonged high unemployment.
Putting Mr. Market on the Couch Wednesday, March 9, 2011
When it comes to our swinging stock market prices, what is the problem and what are the solutions?
What’s Stalling the Next Economic Revolution? Thursday, September 9, 2010
The next economic revolution is likely to come in healthcare and education. Two things stand in the way: credentials cartels and state-subsidized incumbents.
When Labor Is Capital: The Limits of Keynesian Policy Friday, August 6, 2010
The economic mystery of 2010 is the persistence of high unemployment, in spite of stimulus that follows the prescription of the prevailing Keynesian orthodoxy. ...
 
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