U.S. economy

Why it’s worse than you think, by Daniel Gross

Embedded vs. non-embedded inflation, by Paul Krugman

Why central banking is no longer boring, by Guido Tabellini

Living standards, poverty , inequality, well-being

What if Adam Smith was right about poverty?, by Don Arthur

A financial transactions tax, by Dean Baker

Should the government make us happy?, by Ryan Blitstein

The rise in American inequality, by Ian Dew-Becker and Robert Gordon

Social mobility: the nasty arithmetic, by Chris Dillow

Upward intergenerational mobility in the United States, by the Economic Mobility Project

How big government got its groove back, by William Galston

The end of summer vacation, by Steven Greenhouse

Shaky economic times are shakier for women, by Heidi Hartmann

Schools, skills, and synapses, by James Heckman

A new social contract, by Michael Kazin and Julian Zelizer

Surging wage growth for topmost sliver, by Lawrence Mishel

Inconspicuous consumption, by Virginia Postrel

Trends in men’s earnings volatility, by Donggyen Shin and Gary Solon

Is income volatility really rising? For whom?, by Justin Wolfers

Taxes

Tax evasion, 2008, by Clive Crook

What the Obama and McCain tax plans would mean for real taxpayers, by Howard Gleckman

Fiscal poison pill, by Paul Krugman

Three questions for McCain, by David Leonhardt

A preliminary analysis of the 2008 presidential candidates’ tax plans, by the Tax Policy Center

Obama and McCain: Who would pay taxes?, by Bernard Wasow

Health care

A fresh look at health care reform, part I and part II, by Maggie Mahar

Health care in the Netherlands, by Maggie Mahar and Niko Karvounis

The Emanuel-Fuchs voucher system proposal, three parts (here, here, and here), by Ezra Klein

Financing the U.S. health system: issues and options for change, by Meena Seshamani, Jeanne Lambrew, and Joseph Antos

Housing

Housing slump rivals deepest slowdowns in 60-plus years, by Amy Hoak

What can the US government do to put you in a new home tomorrow?, by Ezra Klein

Home not-so-sweet home, by Paul Krugman

Education

A broader, bolder approach to education, by Helen Ladd, Pedro Noguera, Tom Payzant, and others

Does education really make you smarter?, by Norman Nie and Saar Golde

Summer learning, summer losses, by Christina Satkowski

Cities

A league table of liveable cities, by Tyler Brûlé

The urbanist party, by Felix Salmon

Density and intercity rail, by Matthew Yglesias

Trade

This global show must go on, by Tyler Cowen

Migration

World’s refugee count in 2007 exceeded 11 million, U.N. says, New York Times

Labor’s ambivalence on immigration, by Roger Waldinger

Milton Friedman’s argument for illegal immigration, by Will Wilkinson

Environment

The European Union’s emissions trading system in perspective, by Denny Ellerman and Paul Joskow

Carbon clincher, Financial Times

U.S. politics

The general election map, by Marc Ambinder

Rumors the Obama campaign shouldn’t try to correct, by Christopher Beam

Obama rides the wave, by Thomas Edsall

Ranking states by the liberalism/conservatism of their voters, by Andrew Gelman

Democrats in Congress, by Ezra Klein

Democratic primary fight is like no other, ever, New York Times

The fall of conservatism, by George Packer

True campaign reform: bring people into politics, by Theda Skocpol

Jason Furman, Social Security, and Wal-Mart, by Mark Thoma and others

Abroad

Turkey turns away from the future, by Cengiz Aktar

Let us now praise coups, by Paul Collier

Norway’s wealth: not just oil, by Thorvaldur Gylfason

Exodus of the Polish plumber, by Andrew Leonard

Italy gives cultural diversity a lukewarm embrace, New York Times