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Curated

Data and calculations for the book "The Land of Too Much" Monica Prasad, Harvard University Press 2012 (ICPSR 34298)

Released/updated on: 2012-07-05
Geographic coverage: United States, Global
This data collection was used in the preparation of the book "The Land of Too Much" by author and Principle Investigator Monica Prasad. The data collection includes historical figures on the political economy for the Unites States and other advanced industrial countries. The book addresses why the United States has more poverty than every other developed country, why it experienced an attack on state intervention starting in the 1980s (known today as the neoliberal revolution), and why it recently suffered the greatest economic meltdown in seventy-five years.
Curated

CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, December 2009 (ICPSR 30407)

Released/updated on: 2011-07-08
Time period: 2009-12-01--2009-12-31
This poll, fielded December 4-8, 2009, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, job creation, the economy, the situation in Afghanistan, and health care. Several questions addressed the economy and included questions that asked for respondents' opinions on the condition of the economy, the recession, who they thought was to blame for the current high employment rate in the United States, whether they thought Republicans or Democrats would create new jobs, and whether the government's stimulus package made the economy better or created new jobs. Respondents were asked about their personal financial situation, their rating of their household's financial situation, whether they thought their financial situation was getting better, what worried them the most about their finances, whether they had made cutbacks in their day-to-day spending, how their family had been affected by the recession, and whether they discussed the financial changes with their children. Information was collected on respondents' employment status. Unemployed respondents were asked how long they had been out of work and seeking employment, how long they expected it to take to find employment, whether they were laid off, whether they were offered a severance package with their last employer, what was most effective in finding leads for new jobs, and whether they had relocated, considered changing their career, or pursued job re-training programs to increase their chances of finding employment. Respondents were asked how confident they were that they would find a job with the same income and benefits as their last job, whether they were receiving unemployment benefits, and whether they took any money from their savings account, borrowed money from family or friends, increased the household's credit card debt, cut back on vacations or doctors visits, or received food stamps as result of being unemployed. Respondents were also asked whether the following things occurred as a result of them being unemployed: positive experiences, increase in volunteer work or religious service attendance, increased stress levels or exercise time, threatened with foreclosure, had more arguments with family, emotional or mental health issues, or had trouble sleeping. Other topics covered included global warming, health insurance plans, health care reform, job security, and the war in Afghanistan. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.
Curated

Oil and the United States Macroeconomy: An Update and a Simple Forecasting Exercise (ICPSR 23220)

Released/updated on: 2008-09-05
Geographic coverage: United States
Some analysts and economists recently warned that the United States economy faces a much higher risk of recession should the price of oil rise to $100 per barrel or more. In February 2008, spot crude oil prices closed above $100 per barrel for the first time ever, and since then they have climbed even higher. Meanwhile, according to some surveys of economists, it is highly probable that a recession began in the United States in late 2007 or early 2008. Although the findings in this paper are consistent with the view that the United States economy has become much less sensitive to large changes in oil prices, a simple forecasting exercise using Hamilton's model augmented with the first principal component of 85 macroeconomic variables reveals that a permanent increase in the price of crude oil to $150 per barrel by the end of 2008 could have a significant negative effect on the growth rate of real gross domestic product in the short run. Moreover, the model also predicts that such an increase in oil prices would produce much higher overall and core inflation rates in 2009 than most policymakers expect.
Curated

The Federal Response to Home Mortgage Distress: Lessons from the Great Depression (ICPSR 22682)

Released/updated on: 2008-06-09
Geographic coverage: United States
This article examines the federal response to mortgage distress during the Great Depression. It documents features of the housing cycle of the 1920s and early 1930s, focusing on the growth of mortgage debt and the subsequent sharp increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures during the Depression. It summarizes the major federal initiatives to reduce foreclosures and reform mortgage market practices, focusing especially on the activities of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), which acquired and refinanced one million delinquent mortgages between 1933 and 1936. Because the conditions under which the HOLC operated were unusual, the author cautions against drawing strong policy lessons from the HOLC's activities. Nonetheless, similarities between the Great Depression and the recent episode suggest that a review of the historical experience can provide insights about alternative policies to relieve mortgage distress.
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