Large-scale stock buybacks by public corporations provide short-term rewards for shareholders and senior executives at the expense of potentially higher-return corporate investments.
This US survey examines (a) Adam Smith’s metaphor of the invisible hand has been foundational to the development of modern economic theory; (b) Adam Smith’s metaphor of the invisible hand has been commonly misinterpreted as advocacy for pure laissez-faire capitalism
With the US federal government having reached the current debt ceiling set by Congress and amid political tensions about raising the limit, we invited our panels of experts in economics and finance to express their views on the potential effects of default, as well as the ceiling’s impact on the long-run size of the debt. Over the weekend before the recent meeting between President Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, we asked the US economics panel whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements, and, if so, how strongly and with what degree of confidence:
With the US federal government having reached the current debt ceiling set by Congress and amid political tensions about raising the limit, we invited our panels of experts in economics and finance to express their views on the potential effects of default, as well as the ceiling’s impact on the long-run size of the debt. Over the weekend before the recent meeting between President Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, we asked the US economics panel whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements, and, if so, how strongly and with what degree of confidence:
This European survey examines (a) Loosening regulations on state aid to allow targeted incentives for companies in certain sectors will substantially improve the EU’s relative attractiveness for corporate investment; (b) Loosening regulations on state aid will give a substantial advantage to the economies of EU members with stronger public finances; (c) Even if looser regulations on state aid are temporary, they risk permanent damage to the EU’s longstanding competition policy regime
This Finance survey examines (a) The SEC’s proposed new rule for stock orders from individual investors is likely to be effective in giving those investors better prices on their trades on average; (b) The new rule would improve the overall operation of the stock market
This US survey examines (a) Prohibiting firms from imposing employment contract provisions that prevent workers from moving to a competitor or starting a competing business would lead to a substantial increase in wages in the affected industries; (b) A ban on non-compete clauses would lead to a measurable increase in innovation; (c) A ban on non-compete clauses would lead to a measurable reduction in firms’ investment in staff training
