Wrap Up for February 2021

Maryanne Keating details "The Economics of the Hispanic Scholastics". 

"Understanding Modern Monetary Theory: Part 1"

An "interesting defense of parliamentary systems" with Coasian reasoning, plus further discussion in comments. Nevertheless, as Frances Coppola notes, parliaments have their own sets of problems.

Poor countries face many hurdles in their efforts to prosper.

Wastewater and sanitation methods are still problematic in some areas of the country. Yet this is only one important aspect of bridging the divide between urban and rural areas.

Governance today is not well equipped to deal with extensive technological disruption in the workplace. "While there are a few people who embrace the disruption there are many more who fear it."

High income economies need to fight COVID everywhere, not just in their own countries.

Twenty startups in Europe made this award shortlist for a circular economy. Also, turning plastic waste into bricks.

Finally, some protection from "surprise" billing.

The post-COVID period is going to be quite expensive. But who is really going to notice?

Were the ancients as prosperous as many are inclined to believe?

Cellular agriculture is the second wave. "There are about 60 companies in the world producing cell-based prototypes including meat, seafood and materials such as leather and cotton."

Even in low income countries, manufacturing is increasingly biased against low skill labour.

Some suggestions from Raghuram Rajan for "building back broader".

Sydney has had better results for increased housing supply than many areas.

When it comes to future harvest potential, all soils are different.

What might a"revenge of the normal people" look like?

Instead of creating more "skin in the game", cost sharing actually discourages people from using formalized healthcare.

When it comes to UBI, leisure and free time are not the same thing.

"One-third of the U.S. population has already been infected."

I worry the new minimum wage would fall especially hard on small businesses in small towns, and high school students who need small town jobs to save money for college and/or related costs of entering adulthood.

Dispelling the myths of AI.

Cash can't solve many problems faced by those with limited incomes.

Of late, the U.S. leads other nations in fiscal stimulus.

"Hume's amazing 'out-of-sample' success that had lasted for 256 years came to an end in 2008."

Overly expansive monetary policy ultimately leads to recessions, just as does tight monetary policy.

Does the best idea win the day, or does the story?

The coin shortage is a velocity story.

The split between Democrats and Republicans is not as simple as it may appear.

There are good reasons why it would be difficult to inflate away U.S. debt. Towards the end of the podcast, Ricardo Reis notes how he is less certain than he's ever been re the near future direction of inflation. 

Republicans aren't ready to move on.

Some musings from John Cochrane re inflation.

A new method for plastic dissembling which does not require extremely high temperatures.

The extent to which large foundations typically ignore rural poverty, especially resonates with me.

What does "the great demographic reversal" mean for the economy?

"Democrat fires do not exist. Neither do GOP blizzards." Also from The Week, Bonnie Kristian notes the limits of bootstrapping in Texas.

Greater density through hyperlocal zoning.

Teenagers are now less than 10 percent of all minimum wage earners, whereas they were once nearly a third.

Strong growth is forecast for 2021.

Dean Baker explains why wealth is not a good indicator of inequality.

David Andolfatto does some macroeconomic theorizing.

There's a surprising amount of space in the U.S. where no one actually lives.

I've yet to figure out making a proper link to Substack articles, but wanted to highlight a February 22 post from Noah Smith, "Who cares about the Ivy League?" where he makes the case for inclusion of average folks in social discourse.

Police chiefs in big cities especially need good people skills now.

Decline of in-migration is a larger factor.

The "smart" city idea may have already have fallen out of fashion.

Scott Sumner loses hope. And speaking of diminished expectations, I never anticipated a version of "Get Together" (by The Youngbloods) which felt quite like this:

Is it possible to reimagine democracy? "no consensus exists on exactly why things have gone so wrong."