Nothing Is Sacred : Economic Ideas for the New Millennium

The MIT Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. London, England. 2002. Thoughts on Friends and Other Noteworthy Persons. Economics of Social Issues. Economic Growth, Democracy, and Things International. Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, and the Macroeconomy. Since The 1970s, Robert Barro's Academic Research Has Significantly Influenced Macroeconomic Theory. For More Than A Decade, His Writing Has Also Enlivened The Pages Of Publications Such As The Wall Street Journal And Business Week. In Nothing Is Sacred, Barro Applies His Well-honed Free Market Arguments To A Remarkably Diverse Range Of Issues. These Include Global Problems Such As Growth And Debt, As Well As Social Issues Such As The Predictive Value Of Sat Scores, Drug Legalization, The Economics Of Beauty, And The Relationship Between Abortion Rights And Crime Reduction. Throughout, Barro Shows That Even The Most Widely Held Beliefs Are Not Sacred Truths. The Application Of Sound Economic Analysis Can Shed New -- And Often Surprising -- Light On Them.--rear Cover. Thoughts On Friends And Other Noteworthy Persons. Milton Friedman And His Memoirs -- Adam Smith, Including Thoughts On Ken Galbraith And David Ricardo -- George Stigler And The Chicago School Of Economics -- Gary Becker, The Great Economic Imperialist -- Robert Mundell, The Father Of International Macroeconomics -- Bob Lucas And Rational Expectations -- Larry Summers, The Economist As Treasury Secretary And Harvard President -- Bono, The Rock Star As Amateur Economist -- Domingo Cavallo- The Second Coming Of The Argentine Savior? -- Al Gore In The Balance -- George W. Bush And Compassionate Conservatism -- Joe Dimaggio -- Economics Of Social Issues. Economics Of Beauty -- Abortion And Crime -- Colombia And U.s. Drug Policy -- Sat Scores And Meritocracy In Higher Education -- Napster, Prozac, And Intellectual Property Rights -- Microsoft And Antitrust Policy -- Personal Accounts For Social Security : Not A Free Lunch -- Economic Growth, Democracy, And Things International. Eastern Germany- A Lesson In Welfare Dependency -- Inequality And Economic Growth -- Democracy In The New Congo? -- Chile's Presidential Election -- Mexico's New Democracy -- Dollarization In Russia? -- Yankee Imperialism In Asia -- Dollarization And The Grand Ecuadorian Experiment -- My Brief Tenure At The World Economic Forum -- What To Do With The International Monetary Fund? -- Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, And The Macroeconomy. Budgets And Tax Cuts -- September 11 And The War On Terror- What Does It Mean For The Economy? -- Fiscal Profligacy At The American Economic Association -- It's The Economy- Economic Evaluations Of The U.s. Presidents -- Serious And Nonserious Fiscal Reforms -- Mr. Greenspan And U.s. Monetary Policy -- And The Winner Of The 2000 Presidential Election Was ... -- Oil- The Good Guys And The Bad Guys -- Exuberance And Pessimism In The U.s. Stock Market. Robert J. Barro. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Since the 1970s, Robert Barro's academic research has significantly influenced macroeconomic theory. For more than a decade, his writing has also enlivened the pages of publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. In Nothing Is Sacred, Barro applies his well-honed free market arguments to a remarkably diverse range of issues. These include global problems such as growth and debt, as well as social issues such as the predictive value of SAT scores, drug legalization, the economics of beauty, and the relationship between abortion rights and crime reduction. The book opens with a series of essays on famous economists, past and present, and other prominent figures whose work has economic implications, including Joe DiMaggio and Bono. In the book's second part, Barro discusses the economics of social issues. In the third part, he considers democracy, growth, and international policy, and in the final part he examines fiscal policy, monetary policy, and the macroeconomy. Throughout, Barro shows that even the most widely held beliefs are not sacred truths. The application of sound economic analysis can shed new -- and often surprising -- light on them. Essays by the influential—and controversial— macroeconomist Robert J. Barro.Since the 1970s, Robert Barro's academic research has significantly influenced macroeconomic theory. For more than a decade, his writing has also enlivened the pages of publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. In Nothing Is Sacred, Barro applies his well-honed free market arguments to a remarkably diverse range of issues. These include global problems such as growth and debt, as well as social issues such as the predictive value of SAT scores, drug legalization, the economics of beauty, and the relationship between abortion rights and crime reduction.The book opens with a series of essays on famous economists, past and present, and other prominent figures whose work has economic implications, including Joe DiMaggio and Bono. In the book's second part, Barro discusses the economics of social issues. In the third part, he considers democracy, growth, and international policy, and in the final part he examines fiscal policy, monetary policy, and the macroeconomy. Throughout, he shows that even the most widely held beliefs are not sacred truths but are open to analysis. At the Harvard University that I knew as a graduate student in the late 1960s, Milton Friedman was treated as a right-wing midwestern crank.