Weekend reading: “diminishing demand” edition

Equitable Growth round-up

The latest release in the Equitable Growth Working Paper series looks at how high levels of income inequality might affect aggregate demand. Adrien Auclert of Stanford University and Matthew Rognlie of Northwestern University summarize their research while another post digs into what their findings might mean for the future of interest rates.

The U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear oral arguments in Ohio v. American Express, a case you likely haven’t heard of. But as Michael Kades argues, how the court rules on the case could have a major impact on the future of antitrust policy.

Check out the slides from a presentation Greg Leiserson gave this week on the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Links from around the web

The Family and Medical Leave Act was signed into law 25 years ago, notes former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, but “while the FMLA was a landmark achievement, it doesn’t go far enough. American workers and businesses need a universal paid leave program.” [wapo (opens in a new tab)]

Leah Fessler interviews Harvard University economist Claudia Goldin about Goldin’s research into the origins of the gender pay gap and her own career. [quartz (opens in a new tab)]

Marcus Casey and Bradley Hardy—fellows at The Brookings Institution—point out that while the black unemployment rate is having its time in the national spotlight as it hit historical lows recently, the economic well-being of any community can’t be determined by just the unemployment rate. [brookings (opens in a new tab)]

Should employers in the United States be able to ask a prospective hire about her previous salaries? Several states and cities have passed laws recently banning the practice. Noam Scheiber looks into how such policies might affect hiring. [nyt (opens in a new tab)]

The rate at which U.S. workers participated in the labor force at one time far outstretched the participation rate of workers in the United Kingdom. But since the late 1990s, the participation rate in the United States has dropped sharply while and the U.K. rate has risen. What happened? Ernie Tedeschi dives into the data. [medium (opens in a new tab)]

Friday figure

View Fullscreenthis figure — opens in a new tab

Figure is from “How income inequality may affect U.S. interest rates,” by Nick Bunker