Articles 2026
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A Vital Economy Suffers Fools Gladly
A vital economy is one that suffers lucky fools gladly.
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", September 06, 2001
The dot-com bubble has burst. The stock market keeps taking scary plunges. Even well-established technology companies are suffering from surprising downturns. The cynics of a few years ago are laughing. All that "irrational exuberance," they say, was not just irrational but downright stupid. Grown-ups don't become carried away with the idea of striking it rich.
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It was not so long ago that married women had no property rights
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", August 09, 2001
When Anne M. Mulcahy became chief executive of Xerox two weeks ago, her promotion occasioned more than the usual notice of a corporate transition. With her ascension, women now make up 1 percent, for a total of five, of the Fortune 500 chief executives. That may not seem like much but only a generation ago, when Ms. Mulcahy was starting her career at Xerox, women were almost completely absent from even the middle ranks of corporate managers.
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Can Good Looks Really Guarantee a Product's Success?
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", July 12, 2001
Last week brought bad news for people who like their products with at least as much style as substance. Apple Computer said it was canceling its beautiful Power Mac G4 Cube, barely a year after it introduced the machine it called "the coolest computer ever."
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Ancients Arise to Challenge Modern Science
Los Angeles Times, June 25, 2001
While everyone was talking about federal funding for stem cell research, the Bush administration took a stand on a more important biomedical issue. And it came down on the side of sickness and death. -
The curbs on steel trade demonstrate the faults of courting special interests.
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", June 14, 2001
GEORGE W. BUSH has often declared that free trade brings prosperity. He advocates extending the North American free-trade zone to all democracies in this hemisphere. He appears to have a deep conviction that free trade is right and good.
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The wealth of nations depends on how open they are to international trade.
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", May 17, 2001
Stumping last week for expanding free trade, President Bush added a fresh argument to the usual promises of new markets for American goods and services. He called free trade a "moral imperative" essential to economic and political progress. "When we negotiate for open markets," he said, "we are providing new hope for the world's poor."
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Obituary for Edith Efron: The Woman Who Saw Through Walls
Dynamist.com, April 19, 2001
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How Well Can Economists Measure Variety?
Variety is a good gauge of progress. But how well can economists measure it?
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", April 19, 2001
Are you better off than you were four years ago? It's not just a rhetorical jab for presidential candidates; it's a vexing puzzle for economists. From a purely material point of view, what does it mean to be better off? In a dynamic economy where goods and services are constantly changing, how do you gauge progress?
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Waistlines Are Now Victims of Economic Progress
Americans' waistlines have become the victims of economic progress.
The New York Times, "Economic Scene", March 22, 2001
Ever alert for trends that threaten Americans' health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported some bad news. Only about a quarter of the population is getting enough exercise, and that percentage barely budged from 1990 to 1998. The media may be full of beautiful, fit bodies, but neither those images nor the pleading of health experts is having much effect. Most Americans seem content to stay on the couch. The result is ever greater obesity.
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A Seductive, Invidious Argument
Dynamist blog, March 08, 2001
Does all of American history belong to all Americans? Can even the most recent immigrant claim a connection to the American founding and all that followed? Or does the nation's history belong only to those with blood ties to its creators?