Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
Upside of Inequality Unintended Consequences Oxford

Spending

Does the Pursuit of Status Drive Growth?

After Scott Sumner surveyed, with aghast, the uselessness of the leather-bound backgammon sets and other luxury goods on the FT’s HowtoSpendit website, he couldn’t help but post an argument for progressive consumption taxes. Sadly, his argument overlooks the most valuable aspect of “luxury” goods—their motivational effect. Talented people can earn a living with less work and entrepreneurial risk-taking—two things that grow the economy and increase employment. ... Read More

Does Alan Krueger’s defense of the Obama Admin’s economic policies add up? You be the judge

Last week, I debated Alan Krueger, President Obama’s former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors on Bloomberg TV’s In The Loop with Betty Liu. I made the argument that the administration pumped trillions of dollars of fiscal stimulus into the economy over the last six years, over-predicted the impact stimulus would have on growth, and, as a result, did little else to fix the structural problems slowing the recovery. Because of this, we have suffered five years of ... Read More

Why tax hikes fall short for cliff talks

POLITICO By Edward Conard | December 12, 2012 To accelerate private-sector growth, Republicans will need all their negotiating leverage to minimize taxes on investors by maximizing spending cuts. In a world where the majority of voters garner benefits from spending and see little cost to taxing investors, that’s never been easy. But the current circumstances make it much more precarious. ... Read More