Facebook Inc. took a momentous action last week. And I don’t mean its announced intention to sell shares for $28 to $35 in an initial public offering later this month.

Inside the political fantasies, fatuities, and naiveteof foreign service officers.

Americans have the highest health spending on the planet. Why? Because they can afford to do so. What few people realize is that the U.S. has increased its standard of living vis-à-vis its biggest competitors despite rising health expenditures (figure 1.6c).

Are global corporations cleaning up their supply chains? The debate over the abysmally low wages paid to workers in emerging economies illustrates the difficulty. There are two conflicting narratives, both tied to China.

The general economic "health" of the U.S. manufacturing sector has re-emerged in a Presidential election year. In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama announced to Americans "that we have a huge opportunity, at this moment to bring manufacturing back," promising manufacturers special tax reductions and other federal...

How to help the poor is a question central to American life, rooted deeply in our nation's Judeo-Christian heritage.

Drawing on research from the world's most important economists, this volume tells a big picture story about the huge differences in the standard of living across time and across borders.