As has been generally understood and underscored by Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S.'s AAA credit rating, elected officials were willing to push the federal government to the brink of default. This was startling proof of deep dysfunction in the political process.

Media Inquiries: Veronique Rodman202.862.4870 (vrodman@aei.org)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2007

AEI president Christopher DeMuth announced today that Vincent Reinhart, former director of the Federal Reserve Board's Division of Monetary Affairs, has joined the American Enterprise Institute for Public...

All eyes were on AEI in April when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) came to AEI to unveil his plan to cut more than $4 trillion from the federal deficit.

Sudden stops and reversals in capital flows are the stuff of policymakers’ nightmares. The last 20 years of research shows that the capital-inflow dilemma is not an external problem–it is an eternal one.

The United States may not have laid the foundation for sustained expansion, with real per-capita output still 2.2 percent below its 2006 level. The chance that the economy slips into another recession within a year is about four in ten.

The special status of the United States is unlikely to dissipate soon, but it is breeding growing international resentment.

As Washington struggles to reach an agreement on the proposed bailout, and Wall Street awaits its future, AEI scholars offer insights into what is needed to protect the financial system.

If the pattern of the past few decades holds true, emerging market economies may be facing a darkening future.