Articles
Articles and analyses from the INET community on the key economic questions of our time.

Why Inflation Sticks Around: The Social Roots of Price Persistence
Inflation persists not just because of spending or interest rates, but because underlying social conflicts over income, expectations, and power remain unresolved.

Wage Stagnation and Populism: A Comment on David Brooks and Noah Smith
Times have changed. Now we have David Brooks, of The New York Times, and economics blogger Noah Smith defending neoliberal globalization from the pincer movement of anti-trade populists from both the right and the left.

Rethinking Pharmaceutical Innovation Policy
Misaligned incentives account for many of the most troubling features of the pharmaceutical industry’s present practices and performance.
Trade in the Time of Trump

Explosive New Book Argues Facebook Is a Global Engine of Harm and Corruption. Is Reform Possible?
Sara Wynn-Williams, defying Facebook’s attempts to silence her, reveals the company’s toxic culture and global damage, exposing unethical practices and a profit-at-any-cost approach. The key question she leaves us with: How can this be changed?

Leadership in the Senate: New Boss Same as the Old Boss?
To understand politics in America, follow the money. When we do, we find good cause to expect McConnell’s shadow to live long beyond his tenure.

The Origins of the Modern Era of the Federal Reserve
Fifty years ago the actions of the Federal Reserve mattered. Today, so far as the aggregate measures of the American domestic economy go, they do not.

How to Reclaim America’s ‘Democracy’ From the Big Finance Oligarchy
Sociologist Michael A. McCarthy’s latest book shows how ordinary people can take back control of financial capitalism and make it work for them.
Political Investments

INET Research and the 2024 Election
Ever since 2016, INET researchers confirmed the significance of economic issues in Trump’s ascendency.

America at the End of Its Tether
Many voters, feeling disillusioned, are searching in vain for narratives that resonate with their experiences.
What Is a “Fair” Drug Price?

Musk and Tesla: Corporate Compensation, Financialization, and the Problem of Strategic Control
From the perspective of innovative enterprise, we ask how Musk might abuse his power of strategic control—and what that would mean for corporate governance reform.