Mike Norman Economics

This article demonstrates the importance of recessions in driving down the r* estimate produced by the Holsten-Laubach-Williams (HLW) methodology. Although there are other algorithms that can be used to generate a r* estimate, my argument is that they should have similar qualitative properties. In the case of the HLW estimate, my argument is that the nature of the recession in 2008 is a major contributor to the fall in r* thereafter. The underlying problem is that real-world data does not...

October 31, 2020From the editor:When it comes to justifying the “Greed is Good” ideology of neoliberal economics, Ayn Rand is mentioned as often as major economists such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and Adam Smith. Rand regarded herself as a philosopher and labelled her philosophy Objectivism, but it was her novel Atlas Shrugged that had the greatest influence, selling over seven million copies since its publication in 1957. Rand understood that fiction can be more effective than...

 Chris Williamson tweet"Despite pulling out all the stops, the EHRC spectacularly failed in their quest to brand me as an anti-Semite. Clearly, the smear-merchants aren't pleased that I managed to defeat their witch-hunt and have now reached an even more pathetic level of desperation. 

 Oregon could become the first U.S. state to decriminalize possessing hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and LSD in a ballot measure during Tuesday's election.If voters pass Measure 110, users found in low-level possession of the substances would have the option of paying $100 fines or attending new, free addiction recovery centers instead of being arrested and facing jail time, The Associated Press reported.The recovery centers would be funded by tax revenue from retail marijuana sales in the...

"It's long past time to open doors for people who have been systematically shut out and provide a better option for those grappling with the costs of simply trying to participate in an economy they have every right to—but has been rigged against them."That's according to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a handful of other progressives in Congress introduced legislation on Friday they say "would provide a much-needed financial lifeline to...

The oil curse: just about every good-for-nothing crook, mercenary, soldier of fortune, gangster, and Western government is after that oil.  Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Wednesday that a large oil refinery suffered a “terrorist attack” as his government struggles to provide domestic fuel to the nation amid a historic political and economic crisis. Venezuela was once a wealthy oil nation, but its broken refineries fail to produce enough fuel for drivers to fuel up their cars....

 ZH posted the full interview of Stephanie Kelton by Erik Townsend of MacroVision. This interview was linked to here at MNE previously, so this is note for the record that ZH picked it up and reproduced it and without any of its typical commentary dissing MMT. If you missed it the first time around, here it is again. It is a good interview by an MMT skeptic. The comments are as one would expect at ZH however.Zero HedgeStephanie Kelton On MMT & Blurring The Lines Between Debt And...

List of references on the CCC.Thoughts On EconomicsNoah Smith Claims To Have A View On The Cambridge Capital ControversyRobert Vienneau

 This is something different, and quite interesting, I thought. Brian Rose is a conspiracist who teamed up with David Icke for a while. He's a con artist, but is Donald Trump something similar?[embedded content]

 No expense is spared in China, but the money is well spent as the economy is getting back on steam. Days after a 17-year-old girl tested positive for COVID-19 in a remote part of western China last week, health authorities said they had tested over 4.7 million people in the region.China's strict formula of immediate lockdowns and mass testing even at the first signs of infection has been vital to its success in controlling the disease, allowing its economy to quickly recover from the...