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Category Archive: Uncategorized
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Best Economics News Story of 2011: Dickens Meets Hayek in a Mumbai Slum
My one-man committee has met and made a decision: The award for best economics news story of the year goes to Jim Yardley of The New York Times for an article titled “In One Slum, Misery, Work, Politics and Hope,” published in the December 29 issue. It is a story about Dharavi, Mumbai’s most famous [...]
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What Do the Russian Protesters Want? One Observer’s View of Problems and Needed Reforms
Commentators have compared the recent Russian protests to those of Tahrir Square and Occupy Wall Street. There are differences, of course, but certain similarities stand out. For one thing, these recent movements differ from, say, Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, in that none of them has a clear leader. Instead, they have coalesced around negatives: Egypt without [...]
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Downward Revision of US GDP Strengthens Case for New Stimulus
The second estimate of U.S. GDP for the third quarter of 2011 shows a downward revision, making the real growth rate 2 percent rather than the 2.5 percent reported in last month’s preliminary estimate. The slowing growth rate makes the expansion look weaker than before and strengthens the case for new stimulus. Almost all of [...]
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On Technical Barriers to Leaving the Euro and Learning from Others’ Experience
When discussion turns to the possibility that some country might leave the euro, much is often made of the technical difficulties of introducing a new currency, especially of the months, even years, of planning that went into launching the euro in the first place. Sample: “Computers will have to be reprogrammed. Vending machines will have [...]
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Understanding the New View of Poverty (1): The Erosion of Stereotypes
We all thought we knew who is poor in America. Children, especially in one-parent households. Racial minorities. Families who aren’t able to participate in the great American dream of home ownership. Really? The Census Bureau’s new Supplementary Poverty Measure (SPM) erodes all of these stereotypes. They still contain some truth, but less than it seemed. [...]
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October Job Growth Still Slow but Details Hold a Bit of Good News
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported only 80,000 new payroll jobs in October, still a very slow tempo. However, there was a bit of good news hidden in the revisions for earlier months. The August payroll job figure, originally reported as a shockingly bad zero gain, was revised upward to a more respectable 104,000. September’s [...]
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Only Economists Can Save the Planet
Gernot Wagner’s But Will the Planet Notice? is the book I would like to get my neighbors to read. The ones who use canvas shopping bags, take short showers, recycle, and think that is enough. The ones who think “environmental economics” is an oxymoron. The ones who think concepts like markets, incentives, and property are [...]
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The Senate’s Currency Manipulation Bill Is Not Only Bad Policy, but Unnecessary
China’s currency manipulation is bad policy. So is the Senate’s latest crackdown on it. The bill passed yesterday is not only bad policy, but unnecessary. Here’s why. First of all, before we get hysterical about Chinese policy, we should recognize that currency manipulation is the global norm, not the exception. By a recent count, only [...]
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What the Wall Street Protesters Want: An Economic Commentary on the “Contract for the American Dream.”
Nearly every news story I read about the occupation of Wall Street begins by saying that the protesters are vague about what they want. Even Paul Krugman, who is supportive of the demonstrations, complains in today’s New York TImes about a lack of specific policy demands. Maybe that is a valid critique of individual protestors, [...]
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Natural Gas Flaring, Carbon Taxes, and the Risk of Alien Invasion
To an alien orbiting Earth in a flying saucer, natural gas flares would be one of the most visible signs of human life on earth. Notice I said “human life,” not “intelligent life.” Flaring is the practice of burning off the natural gas that is produced in association with oil rather than piping it to [...]
