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

GDP, Manufacturing employment

David Zetland….”For years, I have complained that “nobody wakes up in the morning, looks at GDP statistics, and changes their plans for the day.” Listen to this podcast on mis-measuring productivity and manufacturing statistics, which may have given populists excuses to “fix” problems that never existed. (My impression is that many more people would be happier if they looked […]

The Changing Nature of FDI

by Joseph Joyce The Changing Nature of FDI The OECD has published its data on flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first half of 2019. They reveal how multinational firms are responding to the slowdown in global trade and the U.S.-Chinese tariffs. They may also reflect longer-term trends in FDI as multinationals reconfigure the scope […]

Stock Buybacks are a problem

(Dan here….written last year, still relevent) By Steve Roth  (originally published at Evonomics) Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer’s New York Times op-ed, “Limit Corporate Stock Buybacks,” has thrown internet gasoline on the buyback debate. The left is waving the flag, and the right is trying to tear it down. The core Sanders/Schumer argument: buybacks extract money from firms, money […]

Innovative bureaucrats?

by David Zetland    (Via One handed economist) Innovative bureaucrats? The Dutch are fond of subsidies for arts, sustainability and… innovation. These subsidies arise when bureaucrats with “topical portfolios” award cash to winners of various “promise to stimulate [topic]” contests. On the one hand, I am pleased to see the government providing public goods, i.e., […]

Looking for An additional Editor for Angry Bear

Dear Readers,  Commenters, and Bears, Bill and I are looking for an additional editor:  a participant in running the Angry Bear site and interact with contributors and readers to encourage responses and moderate threads as administrator add consistent points of view in posts and finding topics to supplement contributors efforts, become knowledgeable with the administration […]

To Be Sure Jennifer Senior

(Dan here…lifted from Robert’s Stochastic Thoughts) by Robert Waldmann To Be Sure Jennifer Senior I just read an op-ed by Jennifer Senior. I am not 100% satisfied. To be sure, she denounces the Republican Party in no uncertain terms. The op-ed is not completely Balanced. However, old habits die hard. The op-ed contains a good […]