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

Show me the Model

Antonio Fatas wrote   Show me the modelMost of the commentary one reads these days about the negative consequences of the policies set by central banks (low-interest rate and quantitative easing) are not backed by any economic model that I know.[skip] But what is the economic model that can provide a theoretical justification to an environment where […]

NRA Logic: Open/Concealed Carry, Self-Defense, Stop and Frisk, New Black Panther Party

Stepping back from the specifics/justice questions of the Zimmerman-Martin case for a minute can we take a look at the logical takeaways? One consistent story of the last few years is the push by the NRA and allies to allow Open Carry everywhere. Whether that be bars, college campuses, National Forests, a D.C. that previously […]

rational expectations revolution was based on fraudulent intellectual history

Edited from here I think this quote makes it clear that the rational expectations revolution was based on fraudulent intellectual history.  I don’t think it shows that the fresh water and new Keynesian schools of macroeconomics have made no useful advances during my lifetime (that is since 1960).  I’m sure they have made useful advances, […]

Chart for the day: Growing on Imports

by Rebecca Wilder Chart for the day: Growing on Imports Or should I say barely contracting on imports. In the traditional sense, growth in imports does not make a whole lot of sense. Normal economies import and export things, such that statistical agencies subtract the dollar amount of things that are made in other economies but […]

Follow up to yesterday’s post: Euro area consumption and Investment in Q2 2013

by Rebecca Wilder  Follow up to yesterday’s post: Euro area consumption and Investment in Q2 2013 Yesterday I illustrated the unsustainable accounting growth engine of imports occurring in the euro area (EA). Today I’ll present more of a forward looking analysis on private domestic demand within the euro area: consumption and investment. If current levels of […]

Unhealthy developments across the euro area labour market

by Rebecca Wilder Unhealthy developments across the euro area labour market There are many ways to define rebalancing within the euro area: relative prices, trade, productivity, unit labor costs, etc. I’d argue that one could see it in the employment data as well, although it will take a long time to work its way through. Basically, […]

Employment Summary: 195,000 Payroll Jobs Added in June; Household Survey Shows 432,000 More are just Working Part Time

by reader rjs Employment Summary: 195,000 Payroll Jobs Added in June; Household Survey Shows 432,000 More are just Working Part Time On its face, the headline increase of a seasonally adjusted 195,000 new jobs reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its June Employment Situation Summary was a respectable monthly increase and better than […]

An Important New Book on Income and Wealth Inequality

I just got an email from LIS (the group that runs the Luxembourg Income Study and Luxembourg Wealth Study) giving notice of a new book: Income Inequality: Economic Disparities and the Middle Class in Affluent Countries Contrary to the title, there’s a whole section on wealth inequality. The book’s 17 chapters by 17 established researchers/research […]