Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

A New Wellbeing Rankings Study

A New Wellbeing Rankings Study  David G. Blanchflower of Dartmouth and Alex Bryson of University College in London have just published a paper at NBER 30759 “Wellbeing Rankings,” which provides some provocative ideas and data on various possible measures of well-being in societies. This reflects dissatisfaction with the tendency to use a single measure, “life […]

Goodbye 117th Congress

Goodbye 117th Congress  Merry Christmas, you all. So, the 117th Congress is done, and Nancy Pelosi is ending her historic run as Speaker of the House.  It passed more legislation than we have seen happen in a congress in a very long time.  While Joe Biden did not get all he wanted, much less the […]

What Is The Bielefeld School Of Economics?

What Is The Bielefeld School Of Economics? by Barkley Rosser @ Econospeak  This piece is about a paper I have just written for a special issue to appear in a journal I used to edit about the late economist, Peter Flaschal. Who most of you are probably thinking, although maybe not all of you? He […]

Mourning The Late Jiang Zemin?

Mourning The Late Jiang Zemin? Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin died at age 96 on Nov. 30, curiously just as the worst outbreak of demonstrations to happen in China since 1989 happened, probably now come to an end, as China both suppresses them, arresting some people based on phones and visual surveillance, as well as […]

Economic Policy After the Midterm Elections

Economic Policy After The Midterm Elections  Will economic policy change much aa a result of the midterm elections? After all, the GOP has taken the House of Representatives, if only narrowly, with inflation and the economy supposedly the top issue, especially for those supporting the GOP. Will this reappearance of “divided government” have an impact […]

The Humiliation Of Hu Jintao

The Humiliation Of Hu Jintao  The recently completed onec-every-five-years Party Congress in China, which confirmed Xi Jinping for a third term as General Secretary of the party, punctuated his apparent assumption of essentially total power by humiliating his predecessor, Hu Jintao, in its final session. At the beginning, he was forced to leave the session, […]

Are North Korean Workers Going To Annexed Portions Of Ukraine?

Are North Korean Workers Going To Annexed Portions Of Ukraine?  Maybe. An October 21 report in NK Daily says so, with further speculation on this matter on blogs that cover North Korea. Supposedly Kim Jong Un agreed to this with V.V. Putin in their most recent meeting. The number supposedly to be around 800-1,000, with […]

If GOP Wins Either House Of Congress, Dems Must Kill the Debt Ceiling

If GOP Wins Either House Of Congress, Dems Must Kill Debt Ceiling  If it comes to pass and especially if the GOP takes both houses, presumably Democrats will be able to kill the debt ceiling in the lame duck session. This assumes Manchin and Sinema stick with them on it, which one of them might […]

Iranian Demonstrations Spread to Oil Workers

Iranian Demonstrations Spread to Oil Workers by Barkey Rosser  The death of a Kuidish-Iranian woman not wearing a hijab to cover her hair has led to weeks of demonstrations led by mostly young women especially in the Kurdish parts of Iran.  However, they have gained the support of young men as well, despite a severe […]