Evaluating the Labor-Market Effects of Compulsory Military Service

Read the complete IZA paper here.

China's state-owned enterprises: Nationalisation rides again

Do state firms have too much power? A case in Hebei stirs debate. Read the complete piece in The Economist here.

Inventing a Better Patent System

Congress should add five amendments to existing statutes that would improve patent processing, reduce lawsuits and speed up the arrival of innovations on the market. Read the complete column in The NYTimes here.

Euro Solidarity With Eastern Europe

It's a shame that assistance efforts for the new member states are not EU-led but spearheaded by the IMF. Read Verhofstadt's opinion article in the WSJ here.

No Time to Read This? Read This

Many readers seem to think they do, based on the email response to my recent column on the importance of taking time off. Dozens asked me to recommend a time-management method that would help them get on top of their work and home duties. In response, I asked a half-dozen executive coaches to help me pick the most widely used time-management systems—not just software tools or high-tech to-do lists, but behavioral-change techniques that help people get organized, clarify thinking and increase output. Then, I tried out for a week each of the three methods they mentioned most often—including one that involved a ticking plastic tomato. Read the complete article in the WSJ here.

Evaluating the potential of solar technologies

Solar power is poised to grow into a reliable alternative energy source, promising lower carbon emissions and decreased dependence on fossil fuels. What technologies are currently jostling for leadership in the market?

Read this McKinsey article here.

The lingering effects of financial crises

Will the economic recovery be U-, V-, W-, or L-shaped? This column warns that recoveries from recessions caused by financial crises are slower than others, due to stressed credit conditions that persist even after output begins to recover. It thus recommends policies aimed at recapitalising financial institutions, resolving distressed financial assets, ensuring adequate provision of liquidity, and expediting bankruptcy proceedings.

Read the full article from P. Kannan on Vox.eu here.

The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary stimulus in depressions

There is one important source of information on the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal stimulus in an environment of near-zero interest rates, dysfunctional banking systems and heightened risk aversion that has not been fully exploited: the 1930s. This column gathers data on growth, budgets and central bank policy rates for 27 countries covering the period 1925-39 and shows that where fiscal policy was tried, it was effective.

Read the full article from B. Eichengreen et al on Vox.eu here.

Sudden financial arrest

How should governments respond to sudden failure of the financial system? This column says that it is neither credible nor desirable to refuse to assist the private sector in financial crises. It makes the case for massive provision of credible public insurance and guarantees to financial transactions and balance sheets – a financial defibrillator to respond to sudden financial arrest.

Read this full article from R. Caballero on Vox.eu here.