The recent financial crisis brought about dramatic changes in the way that the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, conducts monetary policy. One challenge for high school educators going forward will be to strike a balance between the teaching of traditional monetary policy and the teaching of the monetary policy used during these…

This paper examines labor market conditions and public employment policies in the United States during what some are calling the Great Recession. We document the dramatic labor market changes that rapidly unfolded when the rate of gross domestic product growth turned negative, from the end of 2007 through early 2009. The paper reviews the…

House Democrats recently unveiled draft legislation for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Widely touted as an economic stimulus package, the $825 billion draft legislation included as much as $142 billion for education. This includes the creation of a $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to assist state governments in…

Insufficient funding for college work-study programs, increased student loan defaults, unanticipated deficits in the federal Pell Grant program, and the climate of recession are creating serious problems for student financial aid. Some fear enrollments will be affected and federal programs will be further reduced. (MSE)

The issues, problems, and prospects of federal student aid are addressed in three papers and an introduction. In the introduction, David W. Breneman considers implications of the Middle Income Student Assistance Act and developments that raise questions about the foundation of student aid programs. In "Why Strains on Need-Based Financial Aid…