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

Noah Smith: “Why the 101 model doesn’t work for labor markets”

by Sandwichman Noah Smith: “Why the 101 model doesn’t work for labor markets” At Noahpinion: A lot of people have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea that the basic “Econ 101” model – the undifferentiated, single-market supply-and-demand model – doesn’t work for labor markets. To some people involved in debates over labor policy, the […]

Italy And The Future Of The European Union

by Barkley Rosser   (Barkley Rosser is now a contributor to Angry Bear) Italy And The Future Of The European Union Given that Trumpfreak may guarantee relatively pro-EU politicians winning in France and Germany in the near term (France less certain than Germany), many are now looking at Italian elections next year as the next […]

Which Is More Important, China Or Syria?

by Barkley Rosser {originally published at Econospeak) Which Is More Important, China Or Syria? For the world as a whole and the US in particular, when it is put like that it is pretty obvious: China.  It has the world’s largest population, largest economy in PPP terms, a rising military, expanding interests around the world, […]

Prime working age employment up, participation up (finally) – now how about wages?

by New Deal democrat Prime working age employment up, participation up (finally) – now how about wages? The March jobs report finishes the first quarter, which make it easier to update some labor participation trends, which, along with wages, has really lagged in this nearly 8 year old expansion. In order to eliminate the issue […]

Thank God it’s Boilerplate!: The Economist is lumping its labour

by Sandwichman Thank God it’s Boilerplate!: It’s Thursday and The Economist is lumping its labour The Economist and Jonathan Portes are at it again. “Lump of labor! Lump of labor!” The occasion? A proposal for a four-day workweek announced by the U.K. Green Party at their convention this week in Liverpool.  The Economist pretended to […]

When you hear ‘growing our economy’ to pay for services

Via Naked Capitalism is a post by Pavlina R. Tcherneva of Bard College at New Economic Perspectives. Worth reading the whole post… by Pavlina R. Tcherneva   (originally published at New Economic Perspectives) Inequality Update: Who Gains When Income Grows? Growth in the US increasingly brings income inequality.  A striking deterioration in this trend has […]

March jobs report: participation up, unemployment down, wage growth miserly

by New Deal democrat March jobs report: participation up, unemployment down, wage growth miserly HEADLINES: +98,000 jobs added U3 unemployment rate down 0.2% from 4.7% to 4.5% U6 underemployment rate down 0.3% from 9.2% to 8.9% Here are the headlines on wages and the chronic heightened underemployment: Wages and participation rates Not in Labor Force, […]