“There is wide agreement about the major goals of economic policy: high employment, stable prices, and rapid growth. There is less agree-ment that these goals are mutually compatible or, among those who re-gard them as incompatible, about the terms at which they can and should be substituted for...

“Now, in The Housing Boom and Bust (Basic Books), Sowell contemplates the greatest expansion of government power in a generation, which was itself occasioned by the greatest economic crisis in as long. A quick but thorough guide to the causes of the crises, Sowell’s book shows how government...

“Federal Reserve officials could express more caution about the U.S. economy’s recovery after their meeting this week, giving them additional reason to keep short-term interest rates close to zero for a while. The three meetings of the Fed’s policy-setting body so far this year have...

“No news isn’t always good news. When Federal Reserve officials meet this week, almost two months will have passed since their last policy-setting conclave, the longest such stretch of the year. And it has been a pretty woeful period for financial markets. Since the Fed’s last meeting...

“In late 2008, with the financial crisis rippling through the global economy, China’s leaders embarked on a two-year, $586 billion spending program to try to stave off a recession and keep the Chinese economy growing. Unlike in the United States — where President Obama’s large...