J. Bradford DeLong

J. Bradford DeLong, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the author of Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century (Basic Books, 2022). He was Deputy Assistant US Treasury Secretary during the Clinton Administration, where he was heavily involved in budget and trade negotiations. His role in designing the bailout of Mexico during the 1994 peso crisis placed him at the forefront of Latin America’s transformation into a region of open economies, and cemented his stature as a leading voice in economic-policy debates.

Sort by: Latest Popular Show: All On Point

Misinformation Decided the US Election
LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images

Misinformation Decided the US Election

Nov 11, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong asks why Donald Trump’s supporters overwhelmingly held a distorted view of the country’s situation.
Enjoy the Soft Landing
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Enjoy the Soft Landing

Oct 9, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong marvels at the continued strength of the US economy following rapid monetary-policy tightening.
America Has No Alternative to Industrial Policy
Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

America Has No Alternative to Industrial Policy

Sep 5, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong thinks new threats to economic security outweigh the reasons for opposing government-led development.
Patriotic Grift
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Patriotic Grift

Jul 24, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong clarifies the fundamental difference between today's Democrats and Republicans.
How Humanity Lost Control
Jorgenmac/Getty Images

How Humanity Lost Control

Jul 2, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong praises a recent book that explains why big, complex social systems so often go off the rails.

Debt Derangement Syndrome
Feb 24, 2019

A longer version, with some paragraphs cut during the editing process; https://www.bradford-delong.com/2019/02/department-of-huh-this-has-always-struck-me-as-so-wrong-on-so-many-levels-ever-since-the-first-politician-promulgated.html#comments
Debt Derangement Syndrome
Feb 7, 2019

All sounds good to me, up until the last clause. We have had financial crises triggered by "sudden stops" in lending to sovereigns for well over a century now. They seem to happen whether economists' advice is in the mix or no...
- Per Kurowski Feb 10, 2019
  
  Like that the European Union authorities have assigned a 0% risk weight to the Eurozone sovereign’s debts, notwithstanding these are denominated in a currency that is not their domestic (printable) one. With that they might have doomed the EU
  https://perkurowski.blogspot.com/2019/01/heres-moment-it-struck-me-that-if.html
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
The Great American Tax Heist Turns One
Dec 23, 2018

Why, thank you very much...

Brad DeLong
The Great American Tax Heist Turns One
Dec 23, 2018

Ummmm... As best as we can tell at this point, less than 1/10 of the money that Republican economists, the Trump administration, and the congressional majorities had predicted would be spent on boosting investment has been spent on boosting investment. Instead, it has gone into the pockets of the world's upper class—2/3 to American residents, 1/3 to residents abroad.

That's bad for the country, but I can console myself with the idea that it's good for my particular family.

Why and how do you console yourself with this extraordinary misfire?

Brad DeLong
- eric zepp Dec 24, 2018
  
  Thanks for asking, but as it was the owners' money to begin with, not mine, and not the government's I don't really need to console myself at all.
  
  If the problem we're solving for is growing the economy while providing necessary government services, isn't it wiser to incentivize owners to reinvest in the firms, while cutting government spending and regulation significantly?
  A new reply to this comment has been posted.
The Great American Tax Heist Turns One
Dec 18, 2018

The "trade war" has not been really launched yet—except for the unfortunate soybean and other farmers whom Trump has put in the crosshairs. It hasn't yet had an impact on the economy in the large for us to see in the aggregate statistics.