Mike Munger

Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program at Duke University

Mike Munger appears in the following:

Young Americans See Uptick in Hiring

Friday, December 02, 2011

After four years of economic downturns, there's finally some good news: in the past 3 months, 650,000 workers aged 16 to 24 have found jobs. This age group, dubbed by some as "the lost generation," have been hit hardest by these ongoing problems: in 2010, only 16.9 million of them were employed.

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The Economy: Double-Dip or Mixed Results?

Friday, August 27, 2010

Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke speaks today at an annual Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. What will Bernanke say about where our economy stands, in light of some recent grim numbers we've received this summer? And do we face a real threat of a "double-dip recession?"

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Grim Numbers Do Not Bode Well for Economic Outlook

Friday, August 13, 2010

With Wall Street indexes down for a third straight day yesterday and poor economic reports in recent weeks, the outlook for global economies does not look bright.

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Why It's Time to Rethink Unemployment Benefits

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

PRI
WNYC

Two gentlemen asked Ebenezer Scrooge for his "liberality" to help the destitute.  Scrooge immediately asked if something had perhaps happened to the prisons, the union workhouses, and the treadmill, all means of punishing the poor.  When assured that these institutions were in fact all active and busy, Scrooge rubbed his hands together and chortled, "I'm very glad to hear it!"  An economist answering questions about unemployment benefits always feels a bit like Scrooge.  Because the answer to the question "Couldn't we do more to help the poor?" is always, "Yes, but..."

So, should we rethink unemployment compensation?  Yes.  But...

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Are Unemployment Benefits a Disincentive to Work?

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Around 1.3 million people in the U.S. have lost their unemployment benefits since the beginning of 2010.

Yesterday, we talked with two people who have recently lost their benefits: Donovan Marsden in New York and Michelle Ives in Texas. And we asked: does the extension of unemployment benefits provide a disincentive to finding a job? We got an overwhelming number of responses on both sides of that argument. Some listeners thought it was callous even to suggest that people receiving unemployment benefits don't want jobs. A few listeners actually admitted that receiving benefits has made them lazy. Today, we get an economic perspective.

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Americans Waiting Longer to Retire

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute released Wednesday shows that more Americans are waiting longer to retire because they are not financially secure.

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Is the Recession Over If Nobody Can Tell?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Unemployment is rising, and the job market is painfully lean — but, hey, did you know the recession is over? GDP numbers out this morning say the economy is officially rebounding. We ...

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