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Michael J. Boskin

Michael J. Boskin

Writing for PS since 2009
96 commentaries

Michael J. Boskin is Professor of Economics at Stanford University and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was Chairman of George H.W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1989 to 1993, and headed the so-called Boskin Commission, a congressional advisory body that highlighted errors in official US inflation estimates.

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  1. Through the Political Looking Glass
    boskin96_Joe RaedleGetty Images_trump harris Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    Through the Political Looking Glass

    Aug 22, 2024 Michael J. Boskin considers why the US and many other democracies have been experiencing major upheavals.

  2. Policy Lessons From Recent Economic Crises
    boskin95_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenamericanrescueplan Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    Policy Lessons From Recent Economic Crises

    Jul 1, 2024 Michael J. Boskin sees plenty of reasons to worry about how US policymakers will respond when the next one erupts.

  3. Why Voters Are Unhappy About the Biden Economy
    boskin94_Elijah NouvelageGetty Images_voting ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Voters Are Unhappy About the Biden Economy

    May 2, 2024 Michael J. Boskin explains why Americans do not share the White House’s rosy assessment of its economic track record.

  4. The Anatomy of the Biden-Trump Rematch
    boskin93_Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images_election Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

    The Anatomy of the Biden-Trump Rematch

    Mar 12, 2024 Michael J. Boskin surveys the complicated mix of economic and other issues that will likely decide the 2024 election.

  5. The Most Important Developments of 2023
    boskin92_JOSEPH PREZIOSOAFP via Getty Images_harvardprotest Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

    The Most Important Developments of 2023

    Dec 21, 2023 Michael J. Boskin reflects on the year's major economic, political, and technological events and trends.

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  1. karl3_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfires Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    A House Gutted by Fire

    Terry Lynn Karl blames the inferno now consuming Los Angeles County squarely on greenhouse-gas emissions.
  2. op_janeway17_Natalya KosarevichGetty Images_moneyhandslightbulb Natalya Kosarevich/Getty Images

    False Economies

    William H. Janeway

    For decades, an efficiency-centered “economic style” has dominated public policy, overriding the concerns for fairness that animated the New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. Now, Americans must brace for economic governance that delivers neither efficiency nor fairness, only chaos.

    highlights the high cost of the single-minded focus on efficiency that has come to dominate the discipline.
  3. bq trump institutions Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images

    Can US Institutions Withstand Trump 2.0?

    While some observers doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump poses a grave threat to US democracy, others are bracing themselves for the destruction of the country’s constitutional order. With Trump’s inauguration just around the corner, we asked PS commentators how vulnerable US institutions really are.

  4. wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images

    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.
  5. strain35_Christina HouseGettyImages_commencement_ceremony Christina House/Getty Images

    Could High-Skill Immigration Increase Under Trump?

    Michael R. Strain argues that the recent kerfuffle over foreign workers underscores the president-elect’s pragmatic instincts.
  6. posner38_Viktor SidorovGettyImages_un_flag Viktor Sidorov/Getty Images

    What Happened to International Law?

    Eric Posner sees the web of treaties, conventions, and institutions as another victim of the anti-globalization backlash.
  7. palacio165_Picture AllianceGettyImages_eu_flags Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Europe’s Year of Fundamental Choices

    Ana Palacio considers the complex array of internal and external challenges the European Union must confront in 2025.
  8. coral1_Mandel NganGettyImages_us_supreme_court Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

    Texas’s Online Age-Verification Law Must Be Overturned

    Lilian Coral & Prem Trivedi urge the US Supreme Court to protect internet users from legislation posing new privacy and security risks.
  9. bandemehr1_The Boston GlobeGettyImages_X-ray fluorescence analyzer The Boston Globe/Getty Images

    Revealing an Invisible Health Threat

    Angela Bandemehr & Albert Park tout deployment of hand-held X-ray devices to prevent lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countries.

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