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J. Bradford DeLong

J. Bradford DeLong

Writing for PS since 2002
263 commentaries

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.

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  1. American Idiots
    delong266_Michael SwensenGetty Image_musk Michael Swensen/Getty Images

    American Idiots

    Dec 23, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong considers the implications of Donald Trump and friends' effort to orchestrate an unnecessary government shutdown.

  2. Misinformation Decided the US Election
    delong265_LEONARDO MUNOZAFP via Getty Images_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.

  3. Enjoy the Soft Landing
    dahn1_Mark WilsonGetty Images_USfederalreserve 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.

  4. America Has No Alternative to Industrial Policy
    delong263_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_USindustrysteel 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.

  5. Patriotic Grift
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    Patriotic Grift

    Jul 24, 2024 J. Bradford DeLong clarifies the fundamental difference between today's Democrats and Republicans.

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  1. brown116_Timur MatahariGettyImages_indonesia_free_school_meals Timur Matahari/Getty Images

    School Meals Provide Food for Thought - and Fuel for Development

    Gordon Brown & Kevin Watkins tout universal nutrition programs in lower-income countries to mitigate a lost decade for poor children.
  2. karl3_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfires Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    A House Gutted by Fire

    Terry Lynn Karl blames the inferno now consuming Los Angeles County squarely on greenhouse-gas emissions.
  3. op_janeway17_Natalya KosarevichGetty Images_moneyhandslightbulb Natalya Kosarevich/Getty Images

    False Economies

    William H. Janeway

    For decades, an efficiency-centered “economic style” has dominated public policy, overriding the concerns for fairness that animated the New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. Now, Americans must brace for economic governance that delivers neither efficiency nor fairness, only chaos.

    highlights the high cost of the single-minded focus on efficiency that has come to dominate the discipline.
  4. bq trump institutions Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images

    Can US Institutions Withstand Trump 2.0?

    While some observers doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump poses a grave threat to US democracy, others are bracing themselves for the destruction of the country’s constitutional order. With Trump’s inauguration just around the corner, we asked PS commentators how vulnerable US institutions really are.

  5. wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images

    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.
  6. strain35_Christina HouseGettyImages_commencement_ceremony Christina House/Getty Images

    Could High-Skill Immigration Increase Under Trump?

    Michael R. Strain argues that the recent kerfuffle over foreign workers underscores the president-elect’s pragmatic instincts.
  7. posner38_Viktor SidorovGettyImages_un_flag Viktor Sidorov/Getty Images

    What Happened to International Law?

    Eric Posner sees the web of treaties, conventions, and institutions as another victim of the anti-globalization backlash.
  8. palacio165_Picture AllianceGettyImages_eu_flags Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Europe’s Year of Fundamental Choices

    Ana Palacio considers the complex array of internal and external challenges the European Union must confront in 2025.
  9. coral1_Mandel NganGettyImages_us_supreme_court Mandel Ngan/Getty Images

    Texas’s Online Age-Verification Law Must Be Overturned

    Lilian Coral & Prem Trivedi urge the US Supreme Court to protect internet users from legislation posing new privacy and security risks.

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