Dear Barry: The need for posts such as this one recurs because the large majority of economists are idiots. (Multiple exceptions noted—but not enough to change the truth of the initial statement.) As the regulatory reform report notes (quoted by PK at the last link above): In fact, enforcement of CRA was weakened during the […]

by Bruce Webb Congressional Budget Office Long Term Budget OutlookDiscuss. (Social Security is chapter 3) (Update) Not a lot of meat here. CBO offers two outlooks for Social Security, one which projects a payroll gap of 1.33% (extended baseline) and another 1.54%. (alternative fiscal scenario). The former assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts […]

by reader ilsm GAO Testimony 09-969T, On Cost and Performance of the V-22 Osprey. “Availability challenges also impacted the MV-22. In Iraq, the V-22’s mission capability (MC) and full-mission capability (FMC) rates fell significantly below required levels as well as rates achieved by legacy helicopters.6 The V-22 MC minimum requirement is 82 percent, with an […]

Via Eszter, there is one thing that is very clear from this graphic (duplicated below because I can’t figure out how to embed it): There is an excess of home-based internet capacity in the United States, for which people are definitionally paying too much. The question is whether this is a problem. If you argue […]

rdan The Economist reminds us of a common notion, but not explored a lot in the news. Decline in demand overall, and finance, is a major concern for trade partners, but is complicated because products often travel from country to country in stages of completion to finished product. Economists believe that an additional reason for […]

rdan American Economic Alert points us to a lack in who has a voice in manufacturing. The Economic Recovery Advisory Board was set up in 2008: ERAB’s makeup is a case in point. Headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, the panel contains members from many perspectives beyond what Mr. Obama calls the Washington […]

In which Robert Waldmann finds economic theory useful. A question: when does deficit financed public spending cause higher interest rates which cause private investment to be lower than it would be other things (including the spending) equal. Proposed answer, not when we are in a liquidity trap. Depending on the definition of liquidity trap this […]

By Spencer In today’s New York Times business section I read this headline: Weak Dollar Helps Send Profit Down at Oracle As I read the article I found this statement: The company attributed the declines to the effects of a stronger dollar, which makes deals done in other currencies worth less. I wonder which statement […]

rdan UNU Conversation Series As the think-tank for the United Nations and its member states, the United Nations University brings some of the most important intellectual and policy voices from around the globe, including Olivier Blanchard, Janos Bogardi, Francois Bourguignon, Noam Chomsky, Richard Cooper, Evsey Gurvich, Thomas Hoenig, Robert Johnson, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Wim Naude, […]

by cactus Inflation or Deflation, That is the Question These days some smart people are expecting inflation, other smart people are expecting deflation, and there’s another big batch of smart people who are either expecting both or don’t know. I figured – why should smart people have all the fun? So I came up with […]