Wrap Up for September 2020

Pandemics have always been hard on great cities.

What will the future of R & D spending look like in the United States?

Progress studies: Moving from the "what" to the "how".

Rising Debt: Will financial repression be the result?

"The obliteration of the Republican-libertarian alliance"

John Cochrane: We just passed a crucial milestone: U.S. federal debt is now at 100 percent of GDP. "Greek interest rates were low right up until they weren't."
And, what happens when we grow the debt to GDP ratio to 200 percent?

A response from David Andolfatto. Also here. 

Kindness is "an excellent coping skill for the COVID-19 era."

Exploring "The Economic Impacts of COVID-19".

Credentialism as the last unquestioned prejudice.

Some aspects of the current economic crisis are similar to what took place two decades earlier.

COVID-19 will have lasting effects on healthcare.

Tiny offices may eventually make an appearance in public spaces. Imagine how helpful this concept would be in new communities with a walkable core, especially for working students with substantial tutoring loads.

Margaret Hefferman's interesting conversation with Russ Roberts: "The future may be unpredictable but that doesn't mean you can't prepare for it."

It's worth revisiting how "good jobs" are often envisioned.

Some of us dread decline. Others seemingly can't wait for it to happen.

Though services are vitally important, manufacture is still the main driver of global growth.

For the UK, "The Great Realignment is only just getting started".

In a recent Econtalk episode, Matt Ridley notes he would like to "rescue the reputation" of average individuals who keep "tinkering" their way to innovation.

New places are good for memory retention, staying at home, not so much.

Supply shocks matter, especially when we are in the middle of one that's severe. Hence George Selgin is not as optimistic as Scott Sumner and David Beckworth re the recent Fed changes.

When urban sprawl was a reasonable objective.

How much knowledge continuity actually exists in our institutional structures?

"The pandemic will leave the country in an even weaker position to manage the costs of an aging population."

Most of the increases in the CEO/worker pay ratios took place in the nineties.

What is the reference point for our life experiences?

Climate change has also accelerated coffee rust.

Scott Sumner explains why the Fed is taking inflation targeting more seriously.

However, the Fed still lacks sufficient rationale to commit to a "new normal".

"Patience and trust are not going to happen." In the course of my lifetime, I never imagined the country of my birth might actually lose its peaceful transfer of power process. There is plenty of danger associated with this situation, and by no means just for city dwellers.

Why has Abe's additional monetary stimulus been overlooked?

An Econofact podcast with Greg Mankiw.

Why have so few academics and intellectuals spoken up in defense of an open global order?

Covid is still wreaking havoc on rural hospital finances.

"Luckily, the Supreme Court is staffed by adults and will save Obamacare and the Republicans from themselves."

Nevertheless, "While our political leaders play power politics with health care, the system is collapsing."

Women and young adults in particular tend to hold multiple jobs.

Trump's 2016 promise for lower prescription drug prices never materialized.

"The answer is to change the definition of productivity." Plus, the same realignment of time value that could benefit us in our personal lives, could also benefit decentralized group endeavour at a macroeconomic level.

Some unexpected praise for Congress. From the Joint Economic Committee.

Not all average inflation targeting is the same, yet the differences are subtle.

The current emphasis on soft skills can sometimes miss what many people are actually capable of.

"In a modern economy, the power of exit belongs not to people but to capital..."

How fragile is the preservation of knowledge?

Planet Money with Jacob Goldstein on "The Birth of the Greenback".

After last night's discouraging political debate, I'm at least glad to end this wrap up with a positive post about private incentives for racial inclusion from Alex Tabarrok.