In light of recent attacks on Governor Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) director of economic policy studies Kevin Hassett and economist Steven Davis examine in their recently published piece what is private equity, its impact on jobs, and its role in the American economy.

Governor Romney's defenders have argued that critics of his role at Bain Capital are really attacking capitalism itself. Given the academic evidence, we would have to agree.

Will we recover, unbridle ourselves of debt, innovate, pay for our national security? Or, is China fated to become number one, leaving us to live in a Chinese world?

With the recent publication of its final rule, the federal government's Financial Stability Oversight Council is now in position to designate certain nonbank firms as "systemically important financial institutions" (SIFIs). There is probably no aspect of the Dodd-Frank Act that will have more damaging effects on competition in the U.S. financial system.

The Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee works to identify and analyze developing trends and ongoing events that promise to affect the efficiency and safe operation of sectors of the financial services industry; explore the spectrum of short- and long-term implications of emerging problems and policy changes; help develop private, regulatory and legislative responses to such problems that promote efficiency and safety and further the public interest; and to assess and respond to proposed and actual public policy initiatives with respect to the impact on the public interest.

The results of a recent study suggest that private equity buyouts raise overall productivity and accelerate the reallocation of capital and labor to more productive uses, but have a negligible effect on net employment.

How a forced stand-off between two groups who have equal and opposing claims on the outcome could have been avoided entirely.

How the responsible investment movement is learning to work with private equity, and vice versa.