Mike Norman Economics

A very simple reason that there may be decreasing returns to scale is transaction costs increasing for a variety of reasons, some of which may not be well explained. Scaling up micro to the macro level risks running into the fallacy of composition since systems operate differently at different scales — as J. M Keynes observed with the paradox of thrift.Information Transfer Economics The replication argument Jason Smith

Shortly after the White House unveiled new sanctions last Friday against Venezuela while prohibiting U.S. trading in various bonds issued by the country (while exempting the notorious Goldman "Hunger Bonds"), Venezuela’s "close ally" China slammed the latest diplomatic crackdown and said on Monday that external interference and unilateral sanctions only make things "more complicated and will not help resolve problems." Asked by reporters about the new U.S. measure, Chinese Foreign Ministry...

“We are building the ministry of the future,” Oreshkin said by text message. “A key task is to attract strong personalities and create the environment for them to develop. In the revamp, Oreshkin is creating an informal group known as the “office of changes,” to improve the structure of the ministry and the way it operates. It’s populated with recent prize hires -- Ekaterina Vlasova, poached from Citigroup Inc, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Zoya Viktorova and Yulia Urozhaeva from McKinsey &...

Much Western media and many observers of Russian politics are fond of playing up an ostensible revival of Stalin – his ‘rehabilitation’ as it were – under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule. This is not just inaccurate — as I have written in the past, the Putin era has seen numerous anti-Stalinist and non-Stalinist state-funded projects including mass audience films, television serials, museums and monuments — but it dangerously distorts our understanding of contemporary Russia....

I have often argued here in the comment sections that the ruling elite made their money from the slave trade and now they are able to cripple those countries where they got the slaves from all those centuries ago through the their financial system and by installing client vassal states (a country where a few ruling elite do very well out of the situation as in old Venezuela before Chavez) . They then use 'capitalism' and 'free markets' and even 'democracy'  to buy the media so they can...

How long the Shia rebellion in eastern Saudi Arabia, home to almost all Saudi oil reserves, will be able to maintain an armed resistance to the Saudi military assault is the 10 million barrel a day question. The excuse given by the House of Saud royal family mouthpieces is they were driving the Shia from their ancient homeland for "urban renewal" purposes. Never mind the "renewing" would destroy world heritage sites such as the ancient town of al-Zara, capital of the Shia, Persian province...

The cards are on the table, and the battle lines are drawn. Note: I am linking to the Krugman piece through Economist's View rather than providing a link to the New York Times, to which I refuse to link owing to what I consider ongoing bad behavior. Economist's ViewPaul Krugman: Fascism, American StyleMark Thoma

Is capitalism still creating prosperity and well-being for the many? That’s a central question behind Re-Imagining Capitalism (Oxford University Press, November 2016), a book coedited by McKinsey’s global managing partner, Dominic Barton; York University’s Schulich School of Business dean, Dr. Dezsö J. Horváth; and Matthias Kipping, Richard E. Waugh chair of business history at the Schulich School. In this video interview, Horváth speaks with McKinsey’s Rik Kirkland about the various forms...

On August 14, President Donald Trump instructed the US Trade Representative to commence investigating Chinese infringement of intellectual property rights. Whatever the merit of such allegations, Chinese retaliation against US trade sanctions would almost certainly cause far more economic damage. Project SyndicateAmerica and China’s Codependency Trap Stephen S. Roach, former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and the firm's chief economist, now a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson...

One shoe fits all not a satisfactory method. The question then become now to chose the appropriate model for the task in advance rather than through hindsight when the future is enveloped in uncertainty.Stumbling and MumblingOn models & downs Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle