Abstract: 

Abstract

There were a few seemingly tense moments at the FOMC press conference on Thursday when two reporters asked Jerome Powell about the prospect of Donald Trump asking Powell to resign. The first reporter asked “would you resign if asked to do so by Donald Trump?” To this, Powell responded with a resounding “no” followed by silence. A few moments later, Powell was asked by another reporter if it was lawful for Trump to either remove or “demote”—that is, remove Powell as chairman, but leave him on the Board of Governors—Powell.

Many media outlets emphasize discrimination as the leading barrier to women’s achievements, capturing widespread attention despite empirical evidence that suggests otherwise. Proposed solutions often include gender quotas, anti-discrimination laws, and other interventions aimed at addressing institutional sexism.

James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock’s The Calculus of Consent—published over sixty years ago in 1962—has been one of the most influential books that apply economic ideas to politics. The authors were by no means libertarians, but they favored, for the most part, a limited state and the free market. An additional point in their favor was that both authors read my book reviews.

Seemingly defying logic and common sense, many fashionistas vie to pay $12,000 (and even up to as much as $100,000 for versions made of exotic skins such as snake or alligator), for a women’s leather purse known as the “Birkin bag.” Handmade by the French firm Hermes, and named after British pop star Jane Birkin