Thoma Bait I might as well be honest. I am posting this here rather than at rjwaldmann.blogspot.com , because I think it is the sort of thing to which Mark Thoma links and my standing among the bears is based entirely on the fact that Thoma occasionally links to me. I think that Pigou, Samuelson, […]
The notorious GSE bailout will probably cause the US Federal debt to be considerably lower than it would have been without the bailout. It could cause the US Federal debt to be much lower than it would have been, but that won’t be allowed to happen. Fannie and Freddie are now profitable. They are likely […]
This is likely to be a hot issue tomorrow. Today, Italy’s highest court of appeals is hearing Berlusconi’s appeal of his conviction for tax evasion and embezzling from his firm. As I wait for their decision, I write about the issue in general. Things are very different here East of the Channel. There is a […]
I have had some trouble disagreing with anything written by Paul Krugman. Now I think I have a case. Also it was written in 2007 well into the shrill phase. In 1958 the New Zealand–born economist A.W. Phillips pointed out that there was a historical correlation between unemployment and inflation, with high inflation associated with […]
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 […]
Congress is in recess, actual recess with no pro forma sessions. Barack Obama can recess appoint people. Tomorrow Ed DeMarco could cease to be acting director of the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency). I think that Obama should, indeed must, recess appoint Mel Watt to be FHFA director. As acting director DeMarco has blocked all […]
As long since noted by Krugman, for the monetary authority to be able to stimulate demand when the safe short term interest rate is almost exactly zero, it has to be able to credibly pre-commit to causing high inflation, by keeping that interest rate extremely low in the future when the economy has recovered and […]
Earlier I noted the research of Peter Muennig, Zohn Rosen and Elizabeth Ty Wilde which proves (at all standard confidence intervals) that welfare reform killed people. I was alarmed that almost nobody but the must read Bill Gardner noticed this research. Now Dylan Matthews has a long excellent post on the research and other evidence that anti […]
Starting in 1994, soon before the 1996 welfare reform bill (PRWORA) the state of Florida explored what was roughtly a pilot version the “Family Transition Program” (FTP). I recall reading at the time that this was the only reformed welfare program with a hard time limit on benefits. Importantly, Florida officials decided to conduct […]
Recently, I was pleased to note a disagreement between Paul Krugman and Dean Baker. Finally, I hoped, a chance to prove I am not a knee jerk acolyte of Krugman. Sadly I found I agreed with Krugman and not Baker (ouch). But I didn’t give up hope, until yesterday. Surely, I can disagree with Krugman […]