U.S. economy
Blowing in the wind, Financial Times
Behind the Bush bust, by Paul Krugman
L-ish economic prospects, by Paul Krugman
Borrowers and bankers: a great divide, by Gretchen Morgenson
The heart of the economic mess, by Robert Reich
Living standards, poverty, inequality, well-being
Understanding the demand side of the low-wage labor market, by Gregory Acs and Pamela Loprest (via Matt Lewis)
The measure of America: American human development report 2008-2009, by the American Human Development Project
Inequality and the Fannie/Freddie bailout, by Dean Baker
Disability and democracy, by Michael Bérubé
Recent trends in the variability of individual earnings and household income, by the Congressional Budget Office
Parental education and parental time with children, by Jonathan Guryan, Erik Hurst, and Melissa Kearney
Parents’ health, children’s health, and incomes: a cycle of poverty, by Janet Currie
We’re rich!!, by Chris Dillow
Women crack glass ceiling from above, Financial Times
Danes still the happiest, even if they won’t say hello at the grocery store, by Justin Fox
The strange fantasy world of the income-inequality denialists, by Justin Fox
Growing disparities in life expectancy, by Elise Gould
What do working-class voters want? They want a fair deal, by Steven Greenhouse
Unequal America, by Elizabeth Gudrais
The declining value of your college degree, by Greg Ip
Job creation?, by Paul Krugman
How much does it cost you in wages if you “sound black”?, by Steven Levitt
Framing the safety net — part 1, part 2, part 3, by Matt Lewis
Given a shovel, Americans dig deeper into debt, by Gretchen Morgenson
American murder mystery, by Hanna Rosin
The growth solution, by Carl Schramm and Robert Litan
“The culture of debt”?, by Mark Thoma
Gender equality and the math gap, by John Timmer (via Brad DeLong)
Women are now equal as victims of poor economy, by Louis Uchitelle
Happiness, meaning, and knowledge, by Will Wilkinson
Two views on luck and redistribution, by Will Wilkinson
Health care
Single-minded, by Jonathan Cohn
Means testing, for Medicare, by Tyler Cowen
Underinsured, by Ezra Klein
While the U.S. spends heavily on health care, a study faults the quality, New York Times
Education
Obama’s no-brainer on education, by Jonathan Alter
Can young Americans compete in a global economy?, by Elizabeth Cascio (via Mark Thoma)
How to learn the right lessons from other countries’ schools, The Economist
Beyond silver bullets: pre-K effectiveness, by Sara Mead
Crime and punishment
Reversing mass imprisonment, by Bruce Western
Unions
So you want to know more about unions?, by Nathan Newman
It’s time to make union membership a civil right, by David Sirota
Taxes
An updated analysis of the presidential candidates’ tax plans, by Len Burman and others
Evidence shows that tax cuts lose revenue, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Does business really want low tax rates?, by Howard Gleckman
Tax receipt: knowing what you paid for, by Jim Kessler and Tess Stovall
Government spending
Real fiscal responsibility, by Brad DeLong
Globalization
How to raise African wages 840 percent, by Chris Blattman
Can the U.S. bring jobs back from China?, BusinessWeek
Migration: a turning tide?, The Economist
Diverging interests: company and country at a crossroads, by Ralph Gomory and William Baumol (via Justin Fox)
The death of the globalization consensus, by Dani Rodrik
Don’t cry for Doha, by Dani Rodrik
U.S. politics
One simple way to predict a victor, by Clive Crook
More on McCain’s economic policy, by Brad DeLong
What did Reagan accomplish?, by Brad DeLong
Where should Barack Obama be campaigning?, by Brad DeLong
Presidential economics: do parties matter?, by Philippa Dunne and Doug Henwood (via Brad DeLong)
Presidential elections inequality: the electoral college in the 21st century, by FairVote (via Matthew Yglesias)
Left-right ideology of voters, congressmembers, and senators, by Andrew Gelman
A short primer on McCainomics versus Obamanomics: top-down or bottom-up, by Robert Reich
Is Obama the most liberal senator?, by John Sides
Can progressives unite, or will it be the same old bit-politics story?, by Theda Skocpol
Abroad
How can we end poverty? The determinants of development, by Raphael Auer
Europe’s Roma, The Economist
In some parts of the world, family planning is still a distant dream, The Economist
Women have long been held back in Germany, but that is now changing, The Economist
Iceland’s blend of old and new, by Thorvaldur Gylfason
A new fashion catches on in Paris: cheap bicycle rentals, New York Times
France to let companies scrap 35-hour week, New York Times
Why Darfur still bleeds, New York Times
China’s inequality looms large as a policy challenge, by Alan Wheatley
Miscellaneous
Random walks by young economists, by Angus Deaton (via Chris Blattman)
The case against meat, by Ezra Klein
Cheap wine, by Steven Levitt
What if the candidates pandered to economists?, by Greg Mankiw