Adverse to whom? Insurance company fears of 'adverse selection' may be unfounded

For decades, insurance companies have been pricing policies based on the belief that adverse selection comes into play among their customers.

U.S. economy: Is the free fall finished?

Nobody would claim the U.S. economy is healthy right now. After all, we are in the worst contraction since the Great Depression, and poor numbers are being posted for almost every economic indicator.

Unemployment's uneven impact

The U.S. unemployment rate went up again in June, rising to 9.5 percent (seasonally adjusted).

Video: Shaping the way we think about trade

The Kearny Alliance and Arizona State University are co-hosting a series of forums in the U.S. and in China to explore global trade challenges and their impact on the evolving trade infrastructure.

Top forecasters (slightly) more optimistic for 2010

Each year, the W. P. Carey School evaluates the annual accuracy of projections from the 50 national economists that contribute to the consensus forecast reported monthly in Blue Chip Economic Indicators.

Creating the right atmosphere: How should carbon-emissions permits be allocated?

If you had an asset worth billions of dollars, would you give it away free? No? Would you hand it over if charging for it would clobber farmers with added expense, hobble businesses in similar fashion, boost unemployment and raise the cost of living for just about everyone?

Consumer spending and the 'new normal' economy

Economists, sociologists and other observers are divided in their view of consumer spending in the post-recession era that lies (somewhere) ahead.

Personal income: Not so great in the Great Recession

Although job losses and unemployment have captured public attention during the current recession, another key indicator of state economic performance — personal income — is the weakest since modern records have been kept.

The Economic Minute: Phoenix and the recovery, or beyond ground zero

In this edition of The Economic Minute, economist Dennis Hoffman says that Arizona could be called "ground zero of the worst recession since World War II." The hard economic fact is that Arizona depends on in migration to keeps its economy vibrant, and the state is not exactly a people magnet rig

GDP is up ... but employment recovery may be years away

Economists, Wall Street, and the general public were pleased with the advance report on third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis. The consensus expectation as posted on Briefing.com was an annualized increase of 3.2 percent.