Article | Government & Politics
Big Money, the Maine Senate Race and US Party Competition: A Tale in Two Pictures
What can one Senate race reveal about the hidden machinery of American politics? In Maine, donor patterns expose how campaign finance can shape party competition, political narratives, and the choices voters are asked to make long before ballots are counted.
By Thomas Ferguson, Paul Jorgensen, Matthias Lalisse, and Jie Chen
Article | Macroeconomics
From Potential Output to Full Employment: A Paradigm Shift for Italian Fiscal Policy
Europe’s new fiscal rules still bind policy to fragile estimates of potential output. For Italy, targeting lower unemployment could sustain stronger growth, improve deficit outcomes, and expose the self-defeating logic of austerity when debt is measured against a stagnating economy.
Article | Finance
Sovereign Money is not Debt: Why Central bank Accounting Must Change
Central bank money is still accounted for as debt, a legacy of an earlier monetary order. Treating sovereign money as equity would clarify central bank balance sheets, strengthen institutional transparency, and better prepare monetary systems for future digital-era design choices.
By Biagio Bossone and Massimo Costa
Working Paper | Economics Profession, Government & Politics, Inequality & Distribution
The Core Value of Public Policy Should be Equality
Equality runs deeper than preference or policy fashion, rooted in human social instincts and reflected in outcomes across societies. It is time for economics and policy alike to reckon with how profoundly distribution shapes well-being and social stability.
By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush
Article | Energy, Environment, Labor, Technology & Innovation
Article | Technology & Innovation
Russell’s Teapot: Dispatches From the Final Stage of the AI Bubble
Article | Labor, Philosophy & Ethics, Technology & Innovation
Article | Finance
Less capital, more risk, familiar consequences. The latest move on big-bank rules suggests that too big to fail was never solved, only deferred.
By Pia Malaney
Article | Culture, Technology & Innovation
By Pia Malaney
Article | Energy, Environment, Technology & Innovation
By Joseph Romm
Working Paper | History, Philosophy & Ethics
As America marks 250 years of independence, Adam Smith is again being pressed into service as a founding myth. A deeper reading of The Wealth of Nations reveals a far richer thinker than today’s easy invocations of markets and liberty suggest.
Working Paper | Economics Profession, Government & Politics, Inequality & Distribution
Equality runs deeper than preference or policy fashion, rooted in human social instincts and reflected in outcomes across societies. It is time for economics and policy alike to reckon with how profoundly distribution shapes well-being and social stability.
By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush
Working Paper | Technology & Innovation
Beneath the grand claims and vast capital spending, AI is delivering weak productivity, mounting losses, and growing financial strain. If the boom cannot generate profits, jobs, or durable gains, how much longer can the bubble hold?
Working Paper | Laws
What should courts prioritize in determining antitrust cases: measurable welfare effects, or the protection of competitive rivalry itself? The Consumer Welfare Standard and the Protect Competition Standard offer different answers.
By Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada, and Darren Bush
Working Paper | Finance, Government & Politics, Macroeconomics
As the Supreme Court’s unitary executive theory reaches the Federal Reserve, a deeper constitutional question comes into view: who holds the power to make money?
Working Paper | Government & Politics, Technology & Innovation
After FTX’s collapse, crypto looked finished. Yet Washington revived it, culminating in Trump’s GENIUS Act and a surprising Democratic shift. How much did money and affluence predict pro-crypto votes, amid widening deregulation and cyber risk?
By Thomas Ferguson, Jie Chen, Matthias Lalisse, and Paul Jorgensen
Dec 08, 2025
Webinars and Events
LEPC VII will bring together leading thinkers, practitioners, and policymakers to analyze the drivers behind this sub national success, and to chart actionable pathways for the future. Each session outlined explores a foundational dimension of India’s growth story, with attention to both policy diagnosis and on-the-ground innovation.
Dec 02, 2025
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International Conference on Digitalisation, Market and Society is a cross-disciplinary plenary on how digital transformation is altering work, gender norms, and social institutions—and how society can respond inclusively.
Jul 24, 2025
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The focus of this year’s monsoon school is on pluralistic approaches to research on inequality, bringing together perspectives from varied streams of economic thought. It will provide an interactive platform for advanced-level PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and scholars affiliated with Indian research institutes to engage with diverse concepts, debates, and methodologies related to inequality.
Jul 14, 2025
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The urgency of the climate crisis cannot be overstated, particularly given its disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities in the Global South.
May 31, 2025
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Four months of the Trump presidency have already changed the world as we knew it. How did we get here? What consequences have the tariffs had and will have? How will U.S.-European trade relations evolve? What about the confrontation with China?
Apr 10, 2025
Webinars and Events
with THOMAS FERGUSON, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INET
Jul 15, 2025
Jul 14, 2025
Jul 07, 2025
YSI projects are collaboratively organized by members of the community to explore topics in new economic thinking. Projects may be held virtually (discussions, webinars, reading groups) or in person (workshops, pre-conferences). Learn more about YSI here
