Mike Norman Economics

As a new crypto lender, Nexo, launches Monday, the fintechs that lend money to people based on the digital currency they own say they’re doing well even when cryptocurrency values plummet. Longish but interesting article that looks at three crypto lenders.American BankerCrypto lending may be risky, but these firms say they've solved the riddle Penny Crosman

Almost all governments run deficits, so it’s a big deal when a government achieves a surplus. This graph includes data for all levels of U.S. government (local, state, and federal) on the net result of their lending and borrowing: A net deficit appears below the zero line, and a net surplus appears above the zero line. Notice the sudden jump in the fourth quarter of 2017 that reaches just above zero? This is a seasonally adjusted data series, by the way, so this jump has nothing to do with...

Why are democracies around the world failing to curb rising inequality? What explains the ascent of populist parties and politicians? In a recent paper, French economist Thomas Piketty argues not only that inequality and populism are linked – but that both can be explained by dramatic shifts in the traditional two-party system that favour different elites.... The rise of the “Brahmin Left” The persistence of the “Merchant Right Where does this leave poor and less educated voters? ......

Nine-in-ten Americans believe in a higher power, but only a slim majority believe in God as described in the Bible. How does this affect economics?Assuming homo economicus, not much. Assuming homo socialis, a lot.Pew Research Center When Americans Say They Believe in God, What Do They Mean?

This is a big deal. Rural electrification made huge difference in the US less than a hundred years ago. We now take for granted.This is a sine qua non for becoming a developed country.India rising.While the West has a class system,  India has a caste system. The class system is insidious since it is invisible, but the caste system is highly visible and structured in long standing tradition with scriptural roots. This obstacle cannot be address by throwing money at it.ReutersIndia says...

In a previous article, I argued that having unknown fixed parameters within many economic models does not create much in the way of uncertainty: just extend the range of historical data available, and we can pin down the parameter values. This article covers a related case: what if we allow parameters to vary with time? This possibility will make it impossible to make reliable forecasts with the model. However, such models have another defect: they can be fitted to practically any data set,...

There has been a bit of commotion recently about the Job Guarantee idea (AKA employer of last resort). I don't consider myself an opponent of the strategy but I do have several reservations about its political feasibility, the marketing rhetoric of its advocates, and its economic and administrative transparency. Some of these concerns I share with an analysis presented by Robert LaJeunesse in his 2009 book, Work Time Regulation as Sustainable Full Employment Strategy. For that reason, it...

Australia is currently being shocked on a daily basis with the revelations in our Royal Commission on Banking, which show that our financial services sector (banks, insurance companies, financial planning, etc) is deeply corrupt, with criminal behaviour clearly rife. Hopefully, many of the top executives and board members of these firms will be prosecuted and do time. Another ‘bank’ that has totally lost any sense of moral compass, not to mention effectiveness, is the World Bank. Its...

Well North Korea keeps saying "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" instead of "North Korea," and that has a specific meaning in North Korean parlance. That is dislodging the US nuclear [extended] deterrence from the region. So, we are not talking about the denuclearization of North Korea per se, but disarmament or dislodging the US presence from the region. These are two very different conceptual definitions....  Sputnik International Kim Worked Assiduously to Develop Nukes, He's...

Are we living in denial because the consequences and alternatives are unthinkable for most? Or are the doomsayers wrong? Some of alive right now won't be alive to find out. Some may find out and likely will. Even so, our offspring most certainly will find out. It could be a very unpleasant discovery through experience.real economicsAre we doomed? Jonathan Larson