How Large Is the Federal Financial Safety Net?

The safety net is intended to reduce systemic risk by protecting financial institutions and their creditors from failure. However, federal guarantees can encourage imprudent risk taking, which may reduce economic welfare.

The 50th Anniversary of the Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord

This web-exclusive supplement to the Winter 2001 special issue of Economic Quarterly includes background information, biographies of significant people involved with the historic agreement, related economic data, and references for further research.

Macroeconomic Data: A User's Guide

Selected chapters from this popular 1995 reference: "Labor Market Data," "Macroeconomic Prices and Indexes," and "National Income and Product Accounts."

Instruments of the Money Market

This 1993 publication describes the major money market instruments and the institutional arrangements of the markets in which these instruments are traded.

The Economics of Crime

Written by University of Chicago economist Gary S. Becker, this 1995 article outlines Becker's premise that people decide whether to commit a crime by a comparison of the benefits and costs.

The Relevance of Adam Smith

Written in celebration of America's bicentennial in 1976, this article uses quotations from Adam Smith's monumental treatise, The Wealth of Nations, to illustrate how his major ideas are still widely used.