A groundbreaking study has finally put a dollar figure on a previously unanswered question: how much do physicians' practices, due to government regulation, pay to ensure their poorest patients get the right prescription drugs?

Immigration has been controversial throughout American history. Roger Daniels' book "Guarding the Golden Door" is a scholarly yet eminently readable account of U.S. immigration policy.

In Arizona alone, non-citizen immigrant workers contribute $29 billion to the economy. That's 8 percent of the state's output, created by about 280,000 workers. State and local tax revenues resulting from their economic activity totaled $1.5 billion. What if that labor supply became unavailable?

As the debate over immigration has intensified in Arizona and across the country, the discussion has become louder, more heated and less civil.

Harsh employer sanctions are scheduled to become law in Arizona on January 1, focusing a national spotlight on the state that the New York Times called a "striking laboratory" for immigration reform.

The economy has not been a source of comfort and joy this year. The collapse of the housing market, the accompanying sub prime debacle and the credit crises has produced pain, for individuals and institutions. But how much does it hurt?

Reporting on Arizona's new employer sanctions law, a recent New York Times story commented that "As [the state] exacts its punishment on the undocumented workers who have made it so prosperous, it runs the risk of proving itself tough but not smart." The Knowledge@W. P. Car

For many business people, politics is unfamiliar territory, where missteps bring unforeseen and often unfortunate consequences.

In the old economy, manufacturing led the way and regions competed largely by offering a low-cost environment in which businesses could operate.

Next year will be marked by uncertainty, and that bodes ill for the Arizona economy. Lee McPheters, professor of economics and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and Elliott D. Pollack, President of Elliott D.