Publications

The Wall Street Journal reports that a new paper shows the substantial share of prime-age men not in work is due to lack of effort in seeking jobs, not a shortage of good jobs. The author of the paper says that there is a much smaller cohort of inactive men who want jobs than many people think, largely due to increased disability enrollment and social safety nets. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that homebuilders are offering to pay off millennials’ student debt if those young individuals buy homes from the builders. Experts say that other homebuilders could copy the program, as substantial debt loads have been a hurdle for first-time homebuyers in recent years. WSJ

Eric Morath of the Wall Street Journal writes that real wages in the U.S. have been rising due to persistently low inflation. While real wages have climbed more quickly over the past decade than in previous economic cycles, Morath cautions that most of the gains have been concentrated in the upper income brackets, while those in the lower brackets have experienced slight wage declines. WSJ

The Financial Times reports that many U.S. cities are in dire need of infrastructure investment or else they risk choking off economic growth. Experts say that as urban centers expand and congestion worsens, aging infrastructure require renovations and that the federal government should take the lead on investing. FT

According to the Wall Street Journal, a new study shows that the current economic expansion has spread unevenly, lifting certain cities while leaving other areas of the U.S. behind. The study shows that many formerly prosperous industrial areas of the U.S. still have not yet recovered all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession, though this struggle has been masked by the recovery of many major cities. WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports that new Federal Reserve data show that U.S. household wealth reached a new record of $96.2 trillion in the second quarter. Stock market wealth accounted for most of the rise, gaining $1.1 trillion, while the value of real estate rose $564 billion. WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, OPEC is struggling to restrain oil output from Libya and Nigeria, who are both exempt from the cartel’s production limits. When OPEC’s members reached their production agreement last year both of the countries were mired by civil unrest, though they now have managed to restart production, threatening to worsen the global crude oil supply glut. WSJ

In a Washington Post op-ed Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross argues that NAFTA needs updated “rules of origin” requirements to ensure that more U.S. inputs are used in finished goods. Ross writes that NAFTA has worsened the U.S. trade deficit in automobiles and parts and, unless NAFTA is renegotiated, the U.S. auto industry will continue to suffer. WaPo

The Wall Street Journal reports that retailers have already begun hiring warehouse workers for the holiday season in order to ensure they have enough staff to cover increased sales. As the unemployment rate hovers near record lows, wages for warehouse workers are expected to jump 10% compared to non-peak times of the year and 5% over last year’s level. WSJ

According to the Financial Times, new projections reveal that Federal Reserve officials expect U.S. economic growth to slow by more than half a percentage point in 2020. The projections also reveal that Fed officials expect the federal funds rate to be above its long-run rate in 2020, implying that officials will “put the brakes” on the economy to ensure that inflation does not accelerate. FT

Ben Casselman of the New York Times writes that the sluggish recovery from the Great Recession in part can be traced to the decline in the creation of new businesses. Economists say that the stagnant start-up rate could be due the growing power of large corporations, who have found it easier to drive challengers out of business or absorb them. NYT

The New York Times reports that Senate Republicans have agreed to move forward with a budget that would add to the federal deficit in order to allow $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next ten years. Republican lawmakers say that the tax cuts will stimulate enough economic growth to offset the increased deficit, though the budget still faces significant hurdles, including budget hawks in the House of Representatives who oppose any increases to the deficit. NYT

Sarah Kent of the Wall Street Journal reports that the North Sea has again become a hotspot for oil investment despite a production decline of 34% since 2000.  Although the North Sea used to be one of the most expensive areas to extract oil, some producers are now reporting average production costs of $15 a barrel and expect those costs to continue to fall in the future. WSJ

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook shows that big businesses plan to increase hiring in the coming six months. CEOs reportedly see progress on creating a more favorable regulatory environment which has led to rising hiring plans, though CEOs did say that if Congress fails to enact tax reform they would reduce hiring. WSJ