Sven R Larson, Ph.D., has worked as a staff economist for think tanks and as an advisor to political campaigns. He is the author of several academic papers and books. His writings concentrate on the welfare state, how it causes economic stagnation, and the reforms needed to reduce the negative impact of big government. On Twitter, he is @S_R_Larson and he writes regularly at Larson’s Political Economy on Substack.
Euros & Dollars: The European Left Is Economically Illiterate

Euros & Dollars: The European Left Is Economically Illiterate

The EU is in for a fiscal framework showdown between reformists and abolitionists. Who wins? Europe’s economic future hangs in the balance.

February 22, 2024
Euros & Dollars: Can America Pay More for NATO?

Euros & Dollars: Can America Pay More for NATO?

If Congress decides to compensate NATO for insufficient European funding, they may have a run-in with the investors on the market for U.S. government debt.

February 21, 2024
Euros & Dollars: NATO and European Defense Funding

Euros & Dollars: NATO and European Defense Funding

NATO is a defense insurance program. What happens to your insurance policy when you don’t pay your monthly premium?

February 20, 2024
The Biden Replacement Process Has Begun

The Biden Replacement Process Has Begun

The U.S. President has officially been declared to have “diminished faculties.” He is now dead as a candidate in November. How will the Democrats replace him, and with whom?

February 17, 2024
Euros & Dollars: The Un-Economics of the Green Transition

Euros & Dollars: The Un-Economics of the Green Transition

With facts and logic speaking against the green transition, countries headed for an economic recession should urgently rethink their energy policies. 

February 16, 2024
Euros & Dollars: Trump, NATO, and Budget Deficits

Euros & Dollars: Trump, NATO, and Budget Deficits

Anyone proposing more U.S. defense spending with borrowed money should consider what happens when increasingly uneasy investors have had enough of U.S. debt.

February 15, 2024
Euros & Dollars: U.S. Inflation History in Three Charts

Euros & Dollars: U.S. Inflation History in Three Charts

A review of the past 60 years of inflation and monetary policy shows why the Fed must be conservative as it considers rate cuts later this year.

February 14, 2024
Euros & Dollars: Lower Inflation Opens for ECB Rate Cut

Euros & Dollars: Lower Inflation Opens for ECB Rate Cut

Low inflation and rising unemployment suggest that the ECB will soon abandon its tight monetary policy.

February 13, 2024
Freedom, America, and Robert Nozick

Freedom, America, and Robert Nozick

It has been 50 years since Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia was published. This is a good year for both libertarians and conservatives to re-read it.

February 10, 2024
Euros & Dollars: The Reliability of GDP Statistics

Euros & Dollars: The Reliability of GDP Statistics

The system that is used to measure a nation’s economy is so complex that it would take a group of national-accounts experts to even attempt to forge the data.

February 9, 2024
Euros & Dollars: America’s Creditors Are Getting Uneasy

Euros & Dollars: America’s Creditors Are Getting Uneasy

There are two quiet trends at work in the market for U.S. debt that analysts normally do not pay attention to. They should: if these trends continue, there will be turmoil in the market.

February 8, 2024
Euros & Dollars: Slovakia Tiptoes Toward Spending Reforms

Euros & Dollars: Slovakia Tiptoes Toward Spending Reforms

There is a big need for structural reforms to the Slovakian welfare state. Such reforms require a level of political leadership that Europe so far has only seen in Hungary.

February 7, 2024