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Cato Journal - v41n3 - Cover

Fall 2021

Vol. 41 No. 3
Articles

Editor’s Note

Although the Cato Journal is being sunset, it will continue to be available online and serve as a valuable research tool for years to come.

The Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth

By Jack Salmon

This article explains how studies were identified for the survey sample, provides an overview of the theories of how public debt impacts economic growth, reviews the findings of the 40 studies in the survey sample, and concludes with some recommendations for future research.

Covid Cash

By Kenneth Rogoff and Jessica Scazzero

Should strong demand for paper currency be considered an unalloyed benefit in the helicopter money era? Many treasuries and central banks around the world seem to think so.

The Limits of Democracy

By D. Eric Schansberg

Regardless of political bent, most people have high hopes for democracy, at least if they can manipulate the levers of governance.

The Economic Mentality of Nations

By Pál Czeglédi, Brad Lips, and Carlos Newland

In virtually every country there are people who passionately defend free markets, while others have very interventionist mentalities.

The Potential for Constitutional Devolution in South Africa

By Martin van Staden

Recognizing that secession is usually best reserved as a last resort in political and constitutional disputes, given that secessionist agitation often flares up into violence, this article proposes an alternative—namely, the constitutional path to devolved government.

The Economic Policies of Lord Liverpool

By Martin Hutchinson and Kevin Dowd

We must make an option between a steady and continued exertion on a moderate scale, and a great and extraordinary effort for a limited time, which neither our means, military or financial, will enable us to maintain permanently.

Labor Taxation: Insights from the World Economic Forum Survey

By Michael Mitsopoulos and Theodore Pelagidis

In spite of the controversies found in the literature, there exists sufficient empirical evidence to suggest that increasing taxes on labor leads to a slowdown in economic growth and a decline in employment, as well as an encouragement of undeclared work

Reforming Patent Law: The Case of Covid-19

By Michele Boldrin and David Levine

While vaccination rates are increasing quickly in wealthier countries, rates in Africa, Latin America, India, and elsewhere are not improving much.

Book Reviews
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
By Sam Spiegelman

Outside the halls of power, Hatchett and Mecher led an underground of doomsayers who watched with unease as the world lurched from one apparent biological conflagration to another.