Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Testimony by Academics

A number of prominent academics testified before the US FCIC last week  – you can download the background papers here.

Expert Group on Managing the Household Debt Crisis

The government has appointed an expert group to advise on this important issue (press release here).

What are the suggestions from the readership of this blog for this new initiative?

Time for Independent Fiscal Committees

Tim Besley and Andrew Scott advocate the establishment of independent fiscal committees to improve the quality of fiscal policy formation: you can read the Vox article here.

The Financing of Healthcare

In addition to the acute problems caused by the economic crisis,  Ireland (along with all other countries) must also resolve chronic policy challenges, with the financing of healthcare near the top of that list.

This article in The Economist provides an interesting cross-country survey of the pros and cons of private insurance.

New Yorker Profile of Paul Krugman

The profile article is here.