“…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
No Role for Fed in Income Distribution NEW YORK TIMES by Ed Conard | October 27, 2014 The Federal Reserve has neither the mandate to redistribute wealth nor the tools to do it effectively. Should it try, it will likely fail. Were it to succeed, it would likely lower middle- and working-class incomes. Either way, it would violate one of America’s founding principles — no taxation without representation — as well as its mandate to promote stable prices. A blatant political act like this would justify Congressional intervention and jeopardize the Fed’s critically needed independence. A Federal… Read More
Rescuing Subprime Borrowers Won’t Fix the Economy Fortune Magazine By Edward Conard | June 11, 2014 In their new book, House of Debt, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi make a persuasive argument that a decline in consumption caused by a drop in home prices slowed the economic recovery more than a weakened banking system. Even if banks were strong, they argue, the demand for loans would still be weak. Mian and Amir Sufi blame a sharp increase in savings by highly levered homeowners for the fall off in consumption and borrowing; as a result, the authors urge taxpayers to… Read More
Loading More Posts
End of content
No more pages to load
HIGHLIGHTS
A Trade Policy That Wouldn’t Leave Low-Wage Workers Behind Edward Conard National Review December 5, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump has shown Republicans how to forge a new electoral college majority by energizing blue-collar voters. His victory, with its demands to restrict trade and immigration, also marks the end of free-market advocates’ control over the Republican party. But there is a way that these advocates might find common ground with blue-collar Republicans to accelerate wage growth, better fund looming pension benefits without tax increases, and defeat the next iteration of liberalism. Republicans have always been a coalition of voting minorities,… Read More
Dallas Morning News Q&A: How We Can Address Growing Wage Disparity with Ultra-High-Skilled Immigration Ed Conard speaks with Jim Mitchell of the Dallas Morning News about his new book, The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. Jim Mitchell Dallas Morning News October 13, 2016 Former Bain Capital managing director Edward Conard says middle-class prosperity is taking it on the chin, but the concentration of wealth in the top 1 percent is not the reason. The problem is the entrepreneurs have moved to Silicon Valley, with few left behind to re-employ workers in areas where factories are closing down. In his new book, The Upside of… Read More
“The Upside of Inequality” Reaches #1 on New York Times Business Book List My new book The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class reached #1 on the New York Times bestselling business book list this month. The National Review says Upside is “the Conservative answer to Thomas Piketty that you’ve all been waiting for.” Buy the book, write a review, or follow me on social media at www.EdwardConard.com/Action. Read More
Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith on My Views About Trumponomics & The Future of the GOP Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith summarizes my talk at Mitt Romney’s offsite conference on how advocates of free enterprise can find common ground with Trump supporters, and win the presidential election without slowing the economy or dividing the country. It’s a little over-the-top, with menacing music and such, but you can read Ben's post below and watch my presentation here. Buzzfeed by Ben Smith September 28, 2016 At a private gathering of wealthy Republicans this June, a banker named Edward Conard made a radical proposal: To save capitalism from Donald Trump, American business leaders would need to abandon old… Read More
“The Upside of Inequality” Reaches #8 on The New York Times Bestseller List! My new book The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class reached #8 on the New York Times bestseller list this week. I summarize the book for Morning Joe, Maria Bartiromo, The New York Times and TIME Magazine. The National Review says Upside is “the Conservative answer to Thomas Piketty that you’ve all been waiting for.” Buy the book, write a review, or follow me on social media at www.EdwardConard.com/Action. Read More
National Review: “The Upside of Inequality” Is The Conservative Answer to Piketty That You’ve All Been Waiting For National Review by Patrick Brennan September 19, 2016 It’s been a rough few years for conservative economics. In some arenas, such as federal policymaking, this is understandable, given who holds the White House. But the fact that we’re losing ground in the world of ideas, too, is less forgivable. In some arenas, such as federal policymaking, this is understandable, given who holds the White House. But the fact that we’re losing ground in the world of ideas, too, is less forgivable. Consider the economics books and ideas that have broken… Read More
What Liberals Don’t Understand About Income Inequality Edward Conard Time.com September 13, 2016 Blaming the success of America’s 1% for the slow growth of middle- and working-class incomes leads to policies that slow an already slow-growing economy. A shortage of properly trained talent and risk-taking limit the growth of America’s innovation-driven economy. In those circumstances, growth can manifest itself as an increase in employment or an increase in wages. When America spreads talent and entrepreneurial risk-taking over a greater number of workers, it slows middle- and working-class productivity and wage growth. U.S. employment has grown twice as… Read More
Edward Conard Debate Highlights Edward Conard published The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class in September 2016. The book debuted at #8 on the New York Times top ten non-fiction list and reached #1 on the New York Times business book list. Upside was met with positive reviews, including former president of Harvard University and economist Larry Summers, a very tough critic on the other side of the aisle, blurbed: I disagree but respect the argument, calling it “a very valuable contribution” that will “sharpen your thinking on critical economic issues.” National Review said of Conard and Upside:… Read More