Subject: The outstanding economists of our time (AEI Economics Ledger) If you have trouble reading this message, click here to view it as a web page.

Honoring the outstanding economists of our time This week, AEI presented the 2014 Irving Kristol Award to Nobel laureate Eugene Fama. ICYMI – Eugene Fama discusses efficient market theory with Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot Tribute to Gary Becker, 1930–2014. Karlyn Bowman: “Becker did much to enrich his profession, winning the Nobel Memorial prize in Economic Sciences in 1992 ‘for having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behavior and interaction, including non-market behavior.’ He was a long-time friend of AEI, serving the Institute as an adjunct scholar and as a member of the Institute’s Council of Academic Advisers.” Tribute to Murray Foss, 1918–2014. Karlyn Bowman: “Economist Murray Foss, who passed away on May 4, joined AEI as a visiting scholar in 1979 after having served as senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers (1975–78) and as a researcher at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (1969-75).”

Get smart on financial regulation

Money market funds were a victim of the crisis, not a cause. Peter Wallison: “As in medicine, the wrong diagnosis of a policy issue can lead to the wrong prescription. A good example is the persistent argument by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal that a stable $1 net asset value (NAV) for money market mutual funds (MMFs) is somehow a threat to the taxpayers or the stability of the financial system. The error, I believe, comes from a mistake about the facts. . . .” VIDEO — The FSOC’s regulation of SIFIs PRESENTATION — The past, present, and future of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA PRESENTATION — The economic costs of bank regulations on shadow banking

Times are changing From taxing tobacco to taxing e-cigarettes. Alan Viard and Alex Brill: “A handful of Senate Democrats are quietly promoting the pernicious idea of extending tobacco taxes to e-cigarettes. Taxing e-cigarettes would threaten public health by penalizing a product that holds the promise of luring people away from the traditional cigarettes that have caused so much death and disease.” Gone are the ringing coins. Alex Pollock: “Fifty years ago, U.S. silver coins disappeared from circulation, symbolizing a profound shift in the behavior of the government with respect to money. The year 2014 is a little noticed 50th anniversary: the anniversary of the disappearance of U.S. silver coins from circulation in 1964.”

In other news

The jobs challenge from smart machines. Jim Pethokoukis: “A key takeaway is that policies meant to boost GDP growth may not be enough to guarantee broadly shared prosperity.” Behind the policy curve at the European Central Bank. Desmond Lachman: “History is not going to judge the European Central Bank kindly in its handling of Europe’s present deflation threat. Since, despite every indication that the Eurozone’s inflation rate will continue to decelerate well into the danger zone, the ECB chooses to wait.” Beverly Hills bans fracking. Derek Scissors: “The City Council of Beverly Hills has unanimously voted to ban hydraulic fracking within the city’s boundaries. Obviously, the movie and television industry is doing well enough that no one needs the extra cash that might come from accessing underground deposits of natural gas.”

Mark your calendar 5.13 AEI event: A foundation for prosperity: An address by Sen. Rob Portman 5.15 Consumer Price Index released 5.15 Weekly jobless claims released 5.20 AEI event: The fourth revolution: The global race to reinvent the state

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