Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Wrap Up for July 2019

Some have forgotten the extent to which the previous growth trajectory was lost and never fully recovered after the Great Recession. "median household wealth is one third lower than it was in 2007, before the crisis."

Reuters refers to the present expansion as the "new Gilded Age".

Before promising to pay off all student debt, it's a good idea to first observe who is actually holding it.

The "libra" historically was a medieval monetary unit.

"77% of Americans fear rising healthcare costs will damage the U.S. economy, and 45% fear a major health event will lead to bankruptcy"

In contrast with other countries, the U.S. has experienced an almost monotonic decline in the size of infrastructure as a percentage of GDP, since 1970.

When it comes to a higher federal minimum wage, geography matters.

Multiple factors have reduced labour force participation for teens.

Perhaps artificial intelligence is really just recycled intelligence.

In 2005, the labour of convicts actually accounted for 4.2% of total manufacturing employment.
This article includes some surprising statistics.

Paradoxically, life expectancy is decreasing in a way that makes aging in the U.S. even more apparent.
"On one level or another, life is simply not working out for many American adults."

"By 2030, the majority of job growth may be concentrated in just 25 megacities and their peripheries, while large swaths of the country see slower job creation and even lose jobs, the researchers found."

Even if the temptation is over-reach,
"it seems far safer to attack Iranian interests through stern letters to a messaging service in Brussels than with a carrier strike group."

More interesting statistics, these are impressions regarding the importance of manufacture.

"Four of the five largest banks in the world by assets are Chinese."

In the U.S. driving is practically a legal requirement:
"A key player in the story of automobile supremacy is single-family-only zoning, a shadow segregation regime that is now justifiably on the defensive for outlawing duplexes and apartments in huge swaths of the country. Through these and other land-use restrictions - laws that separate residential and commercial areas or require needlessly large yards - zoning rules scatter Americans across distances and highway-like roads that are impractical or dangerous to traverse on foot. The resulting densities are also too low to sustain high-frequency public transit."

Health care system failures have reduced real wages for millions of Americans.

Enrico Moretti has paid close attention to the costs of productive agglomeration.

"Why a positive aggregate demand shock should make the stock market go down if the Fed is doing its job right."

A timeless essay on creativity.

Where is the constituency for sensible economic reforms?

Coffee is actually one of the smallest contributors, to the cost of a cup of coffee!

A most inspiring discussion between Arthur Brooks and Russ Roberts.

Raj Chetty hopes to retrieve the American dream.

From "Human Capitalists": Equity-based compensation is almost "45% of total compensation to high-skilled labor."

"Another way to think about pro-growth policies is to think of them as pro-connection policies that help humans more easily acquire and communicate knowledge over large networks."

David Andolfatto explains why he is sympathetic to Roger Farmer, re the Phillips Curve.

Does price stickiness contribute to the flattening of the Phillips Curve?

Perhaps those World Bank lending standards were sensible after all.

A take from The New Yorker on "The Invention of Money"

Plastics could gain considerable value once consumers seek markets which reject the single use mindset.

Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen suggest a dedicated field of study for progress.

Arnold Kling: " A family or tribe will readily share resources and take turns doing tasks. In a super-Dunbar setting, we need hierarchies and markets to provide for organization and cooperation."
In response to Kling, I would add that hierarchies tend to be more important when final product (of necessity) results from a wide variety of input from many individuals. Many time based services between individuals don't actually fit this requirement very well. When time based services hierarchy is imposed regardless, people may act out, rebel, or at the very least disconnect emotionally from the process. Nevertheless, hierarchies can sometimes be a useful organizational factor when final time based service product will only function as intended, due to specific sets of steps which are precisely followed.

Ricardo Hausmann stresses the importance of complementary workplace relationships.

Can central bankers remain independent?

What are institutions? Bradley Hansen has plenty of examples.

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