Economy News
The Daily Signal reports on economy news with analysis and commentary on growth, recession risks, employment, and financial trends.
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opinion
How Latvia Has Become a Beacon of Economic Freedom in Northern Europe
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins has made a timely case that the U.S. and its allies should foster increased economic freedom as the world reels from the economic impact of COVID-19. At a Heritage Foundation event Tuesday on a transatlantic agenda for economic cooperation, Karins underscored the importance of continuing reforms, enhancing competitiveness, and revitalizing… -
opinion
New Jobs Report Suggests Americans Eager to Return to Work After Lockdown
Expert predictions were shattered again, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 4.8 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 2.2 percentage points to 11.1%. The new jobs report suggests that Americans are eager to return to work, after many were temporarily unemployed due to an effort to contain the… -
opinion
Trump’s Trade Czar Details Monitoring of Chinese Compliance With Phase One Deal
When U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified before the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees last month on the Trump administration’s trade policies, much of the discussion was focused on the progress of the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement with China. Lighthizer was able to shed some light on how his agency… -
opinion
The Inter-American Development Bank’s Next President Should Advance Rule of Law, Free Markets
The Trump administration recently announced its intention to nominate Mauricio J. Claver-Carone for the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, a Washington-based regional development bank that has a $97 billion loans portfolio across Latin America. Claver-Carone currently serves as the deputy assistant to the president and senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the… -
news
Labor Department Seeks to Protect Retirement Savings From Politics
The Labor Department has proposed a new rule governing the responsibilities of those who manage retirement plans, to prioritize investors over social goals. The department says in a press release that it receives questions periodically on how a 1974 law applies to nonfinancial objectives—such as environment, social, and public policy goals—for investment managers. The law… -
opinion
Time to Revitalize America’s Economic Freedom
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell highlighted during a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing that the “best way the Federal Reserve can help reduce racial inequality is to return the U.S. labor market to its pre-coronavirus strength.” Indeed, ensuring a thriving job market by advancing economic freedom is the key fundamental element of reducing poverty,… -
opinion
Iceland Reopening With Its Economic Freedom Largely Intact
Iceland, a small Nordic country, has successfully flattened the COVID-19 curve and is ready to move ahead. Life in the country seems to be almost back to normal. Curfews and social-distancing mandates have been lifted, and gyms, swimming pools, and restaurants are reopened. The country opened its airports to tourism on June 15. There had… -
opinion
American Leadership on Economic Freedom Needed Now More Than Ever
In its release of recommendations on how to spur the fastest and most complete rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, The Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission emphasized the importance of economic freedom and the free-market system: In all of history, there has been no better model than that of free markets in lifting people out… -
opinion
Advancing Economic Freedom Is Key to Ensuring America’s Economic Rebound
Having recently unveiled its final report, The Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission offered a clear pathway to America’s economic rebound with specific, actionable recommendations for policymakers. Highlighting the interwoven critical linkage between good public health policy and sound economic policy, the commission’s final report underscored the importance of economic freedom to our recovery efforts:… -
opinion
What Policymakers Need to Know About ‘Misclassifications’ in Recent Unemployment Reports
The unemployment figures for May have surprised economists, who were expecting a significant increase in the unemployment rate and 7.5 million job losses. Instead, the unemployment rate declined from 14.7% to 13.3%, and 2.5 million new jobs were added. This is particularly important, as policymakers are now considering making changes to or extending unemployment benefits…. -
opinion
What Social Distancing? House Transportation Bill Would Pack Americans on Mass Transit
For months, the news media and health experts have repeatedly told Americans that the main way to stop the spread of COVID-19 is to avoid crowded and enclosed spaces. That guidance led to a nationwide shutdown of churches, schools, businesses, and other places of public gathering, causing the greatest disruption to our way of life… -
opinion
May Jobs Report Shows Why More Government Isn’t the Answer for Economic Recovery
In a welcome surprise, the U.S. economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, and the unemployment rate fell by more than a full percentage point to 13.3%. Most economists had predicted the opposite, continued job losses, and soaring unemployment amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The economy has halted its free fall. This good news is… -
opinion
Implementing US-Mexico-Canada Agreement Vital for Reviving America’s Economic Pulse
Reflecting the current global economic slowdown, the latest statistics show that America’s trade with Canada and Mexico, the two largest trading partners of the U.S., has plummeted by more than 40% since last year. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, when compared with the previous April, U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico dropped by 43% and 46%, respectively. Undoubtedly, the three North American trade… -
opinion
Greater Economic Freedom Could Unleash India’s ‘Tiger’ Economy
India’s reported number of coronavirus cases has been surprisingly low, given the country’s huge and highly dense population. Experts think there are a number of factors that could be contributing to the low infection rates, but as a Heritage Foundation colleague summed up concisely: “Unfortunately, we don’t have a solid answer.” When it comes to… -
opinion
Bulgaria’s Growth in Economic Freedom Will Speed Its Recovery
Economic freedom has been growing rapidly in Bulgaria, one of Eastern Europe’s least heralded reformers. The country’s score in the latest edition of The Heritage Foundation’s annual Index of Economic Freedom is 70.2 (on a 0-100 scale), making its economy the 36th freest out of 180 countries measured. Bulgaria’s score has climbed a total of… -
opinion
Azerbaijan Making Promising Strides in Advancing Economic Freedom
Until the global economy was hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic, oil production was booming in Azerbaijan. The country’s vast hydrocarbon and other natural resources—the backbone of its economy—were enabling it to serve as a significant alternative to Russia for oil and gas. That in turn has helped Europe’s energy security and, by association, the security… -
opinion
Americans Need Work Opportunities, Not Unemployment Incentives
With more than 1 in 5 Americans filing for unemployment benefits over the past eight weeks, policymakers’ top priority is clear: restoring conditions that allow workers to resume their previous jobs or find new ones. Federal assistance can help bridge a temporary gap in employment and incomes, but the only long-term solution is to let… -
opinion
As Unemployment Keeps Rising, Congress Needs to Fix What It Broke
Another 2.4 million workers filed for unemployment claims last week, bringing the 10-week total to nearly 39 million. If all of these represent separate claims, that means that almost 1 in 4 workers has filed for unemployment since the coronavirus shutdowns began. That’s bad news because unemployment is undesirable at best, and devastating at worst…. -
opinion
Why a Return to Obama’s Student Loan Forgiveness Rules Would Be a Mistake
The battle over the Department of Education’s borrower defense to repayment rule, which governs student loan repayments when a student claims he has been defrauded by a university, has made its way to President Donald Trump’s desk. Congress this week utilized the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Trump administration’s rewrite of the Obama-era rule…. -
opinion
How Greater Trade Freedom Advances Women’s Economic Empowerment
A new study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, “Gender and Trade,” considers the impact of trade on women and notes that effective trade policy “works in tandem with domestic policy to support women’s economic empowerment.” More specifically, the report highlights the importance of market structure and institutional quality in shaping the…