Economy | Donald Marron

America's broken budget process

Yes, the government's open, but the budget battle isn't over yet. Congressional negotiators have until mid-December to craft a budget plan. Even if they strike a deal on time, it won't be enough, Marron says. The budget process is broken and it's time to fix it.
The government shutdown cost the US 120,000 jobs

A new paper examining the lasting effects of the government shutdown estimates that it cost the US economy 120,000 jobs by October 12.

Why did Fama, Hansen and Shiller win the Nobel?

Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen, and Robert Shiller won the Nobel Prize in Economics Monday. Why? For their work studying asset prices. Marron explores their work and explains why they won the prize.
Federal debt default? Been there, done that.

Budget-watchers love to say that the United States has never defaulted on the Federal debt. It's a great talking point, but it isn't exactly true.

Photos of the Week 01/21 Photos of the week

Participants listen to speakers outside City Hall during the Women's March in a -22 Celsius (8 Fahrenheit) wind chill snowstorm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 19.

Do bitcoins violate a fundamental economic law?

The legal woes of the most famous bitcoin exchange may illustrate a fundamental problem with the bitcoin market.
It's debt limit time (again). What past showdowns can teach us.

Once again, the US Treasury is facing the possibility of going past the debt limit, which could prompt major policy changes or minor tweaks to the Federal budget. This feels like a modern phenomenon, but debt limit showdowns are nothing new.
The balanced budget amendment's $300 billion error

The Senate Republicans balanced budget amendment contains a striking error, Marron writes.
House debt limit bill: five key facts

The US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on a debt limit bill that will suspend the debt limit through May 18. If they fail to pass a budget by April 15, Marron writes, the debt limit bill will withhold their pay.
Treasury nixes $1 trillion platinum coin

Neither Treasury nor Federal Reserve believes its legal to use platinum coins to avoid debt-limit increase, Treasury spokesman says. With $1 trillion platinum coin out, administration ponders other debt-limit strategies.
$1 trillion coin: Should Obama exploit the Treasury's platinum loophole?

A $1 trillion coin could provide an answer to America's debt limit woes. Marron explores how the $1 trillion coin could work, and whether or not President Obama should take advantage of it.
The entrepreneur as prospector

Entrepreneurs have one fundamental goal – to find an unmet need in the market, Dr. Cornwall writes.
Shapley and Roth get the Nobel Prize for economic engineering

Lloyd Shapely and Alvin Roth got a much-deserved Nobel prize for their work on designing markets, Marron writes.
Five things you should know about Mitt Romney’s '$5 trillion tax cut'

Donald Marron offers his perspective on Mitt Romney's proposed $5 trillion tax cut.
A good jobs report

The big news, economically and symbolically, is that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, Marron writes.