What happens when money is really fiat bling?
"The Fed's inflation-targeting framework has forced monetary policy to be too tight for the better part of a decade."
The Spring issue is out for the JEP. (Timothy Taylor)
A standing repo facility would benefit from a corridor system.
It's still slightly more difficult to find a job now, than it was at the peak of the last business cycle peak in 2006. And job finding probabilities are still lower than in 2000.
"Five Myths about Federal Debt"
"Slow productivity growth is hugely consequential."
Iowa remains a testing ground for presidential hopefuls. Yet they are stymied as to what can be done.
This may turn out to be the best news of the year...
"Scientists from Berkeley Lab have made a next-generation plastic that can be recycled again and again into new materials of any color, shape, or form."
Democrats are increasingly the party of the young.
Ricardo Hausmann exposes the danger of merit and the prestige equilibrium.
Diane Coyle provides some highlights of a flourishing discipline.
Just finished reading A Godly Hero: the Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazin (2006) and found it unexpectedly fascinating, both as a biography and history of his times. For one, my knowledge of the early Progressive movement has been somewhat limited. Hence I was surprised how much of its origins weren't necessarily secular and urban, but also rural and religious in nature. My previous knowledge of William Jennings Bryan was mostly limited to his advocacy for silver, at a time when the gold standard had quite a negative impact on farmers. Many a monetarist for instance, recalls Bryan's Cross of Gold speech from his younger days.
Remembering Alice Rivlin:
from Brookings
Timothy Taylor
Arnold Kling
David Henderson also highlighted an oral history.
Increasing non discretionary demands on income have made rising wages less "freeing" than was previously the case. Even without wage stagnation, births are still at a 32 year low as of 2018.
Speaking of birth rates...
"Even after three decades under the ban, Romania's birth rate had not increased."
In the U.S., "17 percent of all 18 to 24 year-olds" are out of work.
Sebastian Edwards notes mistakes Latin Americans have already made with MMT. "In each case, the central bank was controlled by politicians, with predictable results."
"Nine ways to prevent future recessions."
"Big business is not running the show. If big business was running the show, President Trump never would have been elected."
Trade hawks are not doing the U.S. and China any favours.
It's no simple matter to give up what is known, for the unknown.
"...our visions of past collapses are typically seen through the eyes of its most privileged victims."
And, "Modern civilizations might be less capable of recovering from deep collapse than their predecessors."
Even though doctors may not be statistically in short supply, their skills are still needed in rural areas.
"If a house was designed by machine, how would it look?"
"Monetary policy ten years after the crisis"
It's time for Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
A thirteenth consecutive year of decline in world freedom.
Why do holidays provide more memories?
Neighborhood amenities can make a positive difference.
"Why are the prices so d*mn high?"
"It is great when we can substitute a good from the progressive sector for one from the stagnating sector, but we should not confuse statements about substitution with statements about productivity growth." (page 41)
In contrast with other developed nations, "US home prices declined sharply after 2007."
I too was dismayed at the recent outrage over currency manipulation.
David Beckworth "goes back in time" with Robert Samuelson to discuss the great inflation.
Even though Robert Samuelson isn't related to Paul Samuelson, they both had long writing stints at Newsweek. Incidentally, I recently read the latter's "Economics From the Heart: A Samuelson Sampler", which reprints nearly half the articles Paul Samuelson wrote for Newsweek between 1969 and 1981. There was plenty of discussion about the constant inflation problem during those years, which made Beckworth's recent talk with Robert Samuelson all the more interesting for me. Robert Samuelson worries that should high inflation once again become a problem, people might adjust to the point of rationalizing it. Indeed I noted some of that tendency in Paul Samuelson's later articles for Newsweek.
As it turns out, that old Paul Samuelson paperback gives me added perspective for his 11th edition of "Economics" (1980), which is one of my summer reads. I'm only 45 pages in, and already surprised how many text examples have been "revisited" of late. For example, Eric Helland and Alex Tabarrok explain the production-possibilities frontier (guns and butter) in the above linked PDF, "Why are the prices so d*mn high?"
Federal debt is not a popular subject right now!
"...more immediately, higher interest costs would force a political budget squeeze."
"Three-fourths of the decrease in labor share in the United States since 1947 has come since 2000."
What is meant by a precise inflation indicator?
"Aggregate implications of changing sectoral trends"
"Understanding weak capital investment: the role of market concentration and intangibles"
Summer is already upon us, and thankfully I haven't fallen too far behind with my writing schedule. Just 20 more subheadings to review in the last chapter, before starting the final edit. With a little luck, I'll have this first book ready to publish, sometime in early fall.
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