Post Highlights From 2016

I've included a bit of summary and additional thoughts, for some of the more popular posts of the year.

Comparative Advantage and the Marketplace for Time Value Tradable sectors have benefited from comparative advantage for so long, that it is not always immediately obvious, whether nations have particular advantages for divisions of labor. That said, comparative advantage has scarcely even been sought, for the non tradable sector activities, products and assets which are closely connected to time and location. Consequently, a lack of comparative advantage in home based markets, means today's non tradable sector product is not representative of a free market. Even though the product of time and location has a considerable degree of built in scarcity, real market conditions have forced these goods to be far more scarce than is actually necessary.

Notes on Solow Model Effects in General Equilibrium Solow model effects can greatly contribute to general equilibrium conditions, so long as markets are dominated by primary market formation. But what happens when non tradable (secondary market) sectors with built in scarcities for time based product and asset location, begin to impact Solow model gains?  A different approach is needed, to allow asset and services formation to organize more effectively for measurable wealth creation at the outset, so as to bring this activity into primary market formation.

Even though the time based product involved would be "static", since time use isn't (gradually) reduced in relation to non tradable sector output, the local time use continuum means product quality gains will be recorded and measured. There are positive total factor productivity considerations as well, because labor force participation would gradually rise. Ultimately, a broader range of economic access would bring better balance to general equilibrium conditions, which are now caught in political struggles due to a lack of aggregate time value among populations as a whole.

Economic Freedom, in Public and Private Context Can a marketplace be considered free, if a lack of government intervention still doesn't improve the output levels of skills and knowledge which are important to society? Or have private interests limited the production and consumption of these options to such an extent, that limits on government participation, would mostly mean further marketplace limits?

When the Political Chickens Come Home to Roost Even though structural adjustments are greatly needed, it is unrealistic to impose them on entire populations as "one size fits all" remedies. But will governments be willing to experiment at the margins, given the strict definitions they seek to impose on the marketplace? When populations lose faith in continued growth and prosperity, they can become caught in the unproductive drama, of exceptionally dominant political personalities.

Once and Far Away, Inflation Was Not Imaginary Too many central bankers have proven willing to impose overly tight monetary conditions on citizens, when investment opportunities appear slim. Of course, they have not always been willing to impose such limits on themselves or the financial institutions they represent, when investment opportunities have instead appeared ripe for the taking.

Notes on Endogenous and Exogenous Growth Factors As nations appear increasingly anxious to "call back" the exogenous wealth generated by their tradable sector activity, governments have yet to look to the vast degree of marketplace potential which is already close to home. Non tradable sector activity is the endogenous wealth which is a substantial portion of GDP, and it could be made dynamic in ways which once again free up growth potential.

Some Thoughts on Sticky Wage Considerations The sticky wages of non tradable sector income in particular, are an interlocking component of general equilibrium conditions. While tradable sector income also affects valuations across the entire spectrum, it is more flexible, because this income is more responsive to changes in tradable sector output. Still, both income sources are affected by the investment costs of education - a factor which contributes to the difficulty of reducing these costs for both business and consumers. Symmetric compensation could relieve sticky wages at the margin (alternative equilibrium) by reducing local educational investment costs, which in turn would reduce the location costs for relevant asset formation.

What is Asymmetric Compensation? Even though it is only partially representative of aggregate time use potential, asymmetric compensation made it possible to extensively invest in human capital in the 20th century. However, it was expected to replace other forms of compensation for resource coordination, when this wasn't really possible. Now, with too few internal dynamics for economic coordination, a degree of social reciprocity has already been lost. At a personal level, this impacts one's ability to form and maintain normal relationships with others. As an exogenous approach to time value, asymmetric compensation is not structured to maximize a full range of personal potential. Symmetric compensation, as an endogenous approach to time value, could establish a broader economic dynamic.

Re Local Corporations: A "Naming" Issue As the year progressed, I finally settled on the name "equilibrium corporation". I believe this name is appropriate, for it neatly captures the framework, by which a new corporate structure would be different from traditional interpretations of corporate activity. A major challenge for this construct is to generate broader definitions of free market product. Without more non tradable sector choice, a growing portion of today's market options may be assumed away as no longer feasible, by many who claim to want free markets, but are reluctant to release their hold on what is distinctly not free.

Notes on Defining Economic Access Problems regarding economic economic access are multidimensional, and largely equilibrium induced. As the primary markets of tradable sector activity have gradually shifted to non tradable sector dominance, this has taken place with corresponding lack of productive agglomeration throughout the system. An alternative equilibrium response to generate new access, would be entrepreneurial in nature. Yet this approach is not immediately obvious, because time value is the resource which has yet to be fully tapped.

Musings on Monetary Flows and Political Circumstance Tradable sector wealth is truly the wealth of nations. In particular, when central bankers focus too much on financial factors, the role that commodities play as a worldwide medium of account and liquidity origination, becomes more vulnerable to supply shocks. Present day attempts to localize tradable sector activity, do not take into account the interdependence of multiple sectors. Further, the importance of non tradable sector activity in the 21st century has scarcely been noticed, as a potential source of dynamism and strength.

Some Benefits of Resource Linked Money Higher minimum wages translate into less employment, yet the fact remains that many individuals need more economic access than is presently possible. Some, however, would ask: what's the point, if a small amount of pay is not sufficient for life's obligations? When money falls short due to the preexisting obligations of general equilibrium, it is possible to build an alternative equilibrium in which the costs of production and consumption more closely correspond to a small amount of monetary compensation. By making it possible to break free from the sticky wages and expectations of non tradable sector activity, alternative equilibrium can eventually bring greater balance to general equilibrium conditions as well.