Coassembly is a homotopy limit map

We prove a claim by Williams that the coassembly map is a homotopy limit map. As an application, we show that the homotopy limit map for the coarse version of equivariant $A$-theory agrees with the coassembly map for bivariant $A$-theory that appears in the statement of the topological Riemann-Roch theorem.Comment: Accepted version. Several improvements from the referee, including a more elegant proof of Lemma 3.

The Housing Bubble: Is It Back?

In the last decade, there was an unprecedented run-up in house prices in most parts of the country. It was easy to recognize this run-up as a bubble since there was no remotely corresponding increase in rents, which for the most part just tracked inflation during this period. There was also no evidence of a shortage of housing supply. Housing starts were at near record highs from 2002 to 2005. In addition, the vacancy rate as reported by the Commerce Department was at near record highs through most of this period. With weak job and wage growth throughout most of this period, it was possible to recognize the run-up as a bubble even without knowing anything about the proliferation of bad loans in the mortgage market.The run-up in real house prices in the bubble years was almost completely reversed in the subsequent crash. While the first-time homebuyers' tax credit temporarily stopped and reversed the decline, house prices continued to fall until the spring of 2012. Since then, the market has recovered much of the lost ground. While it is still 20.1 percent below the bubble peaks of 2006 in real terms, inflation-adjusted house prices are now 37.7 percent above their level in 1996, before the beginnings of the bubble.While these prices may seem somewhat high, there is little basis for concern that the national market has again entered a bubble

Equivariant infinite loop space theory, I. The space level story

We rework and generalize equivariant infinite loop space theory, which shows how to construct G-spectra from G-spaces with suitable structure. There is a naive version which gives naive G-spectra for any topological group G, but our focus is on the construction of genuine G-spectra when G is finite. We give new information about the Segal and operadic equivariant infinite loop space machines, supplying many details that are missing from the literature, and we prove by direct comparison that the two machines give equivalent output when fed equivalent input. The proof of the corresponding nonequivariant uniqueness theorem, due to May and Thomason, works for naive G-spectra for general G but fails hopelessly for genuine G-spectra when G is finite. Even in the nonequivariant case, our comparison theorem is considerably more precise, giving a direct point-set level comparison. We have taken the opportunity to update this general area, equivariant and nonequivariant, giving many new proofs, filling in some gaps, and giving some corrections to results in the literature.Comment: 94 page

Life After Debt in Puerto Rico: How Many More Lost Decades?

As Puerto Rico enters the legal debt restructuring process, this paper examines the future prospects for an economy that has had no growth over the last ten years — a lost decade. The facts indicate that the fiscal plan approved by Puerto Rico's Financial Oversight Board will not lead to an economic recovery in the foreseeable future and that another lost decade, or worse, is a much more likely outcome. Nor will the proposed restructuring satisfy creditors, who may then further impede economic recovery by taking legal action in an attempt to collect the full value of the bonds they hold. The paper also notes the recent historical and structural causes of the economy's decline, which led to the debt crisis; and that these, too, will need to be addressed if Puerto Rico is ever to have a sustainable recovery

Decade of Reform: Ecuador's Macroeconomic Policies, Institutional Changes, and Results

This paper looks at some of the institutional, policy, and regulatory changes enacted by the government of Ecuador, as well as overall economic and social indicators, over the decade since the Correa government took office

Did NAFTA Help Mexico? An Update After 23 Years

This paper compares the performance of the Mexican economy with that of the rest of the region and with its own economic performance, over the 23 years since NAFTA took effect, based on the available economic and social indicators. Among the results, it finds that Mexico ranks 15th out of 20 Latin American countries in growth of real GDP per person, the most basic economic measure of living standards; Mexico's poverty rate in 2014 was higher than the poverty rate of 1994; and real (inflation-adjusted) wages were almost the same in 2014 as in 1994. It also notes that if NAFTA had been successful in restoring Mexico's pre-1980 growth rate -- when developmentalist economic policies were the norm -- Mexico today would be a high-income country, with income per person comparable to Western European countries. If not for Mexico's long-term economic failure, including the 23 years since NAFTA, it is unlikely that immigration from Mexico would have become a major political issue in the United States, since relatively few Mexicans would seek to cross the border. This report updates a version released in February 2014

The French Economy, European Authorities, and the IMF: "Structural Reform" or Increasing Employment?

This paper looks at two competing views among economists and other observers, of how the French economy can overcome mass unemployment and have a more robust recovery. One view sees the unemployment and economic stagnation of the past decade as overwhelmingly structural. An alternative narrative, mostly from the Left but with some elements adopted by the far Right, sees the most immediate problem as one of inadequate demand in the economy.The authors find that France's unemployment rate, which has averaged 9.1 percent over the last decade, is not the product of "structural" barriers, but rather due to political choices made by the French government and European authorities. With inflation well below target, real borrowing costs at about zero, and a low current interest burden on the debt, it would make much more economic sense for the government -- and the eurozone as well -- to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy that increases employment

Categorical models for equivariant classifying spaces

Starting categorically, we give simple and precise models of equivariant classifying spaces. We need these models for work in progress in equivariant infinite loop space theory and equivariant algebraic K-theory, but the models are of independent interest in equivariant bundle theory and especially equivariant covering space theory.Comment: 29 pages. Revised version, to appear in AGT. Considerable changes of notation and organization and other changes aimed at making the paper more user friendl