Real-World Economics Review

from Asad Zaman The previous post (Three Mega-Events Which Shape Our Minds) explains the importance of history in shaping the world we live in. Historical events (facts) by themselves are not meaningful until they are linked together into a coherent narrative. The mortar which connects the facts must be supplied by our minds, and can never be asserted with certainty. The fact that we can never be certain about the narratives which connect and explain history has led to two polar mistakes....

from Dean Baker I have long been a big fan of a vacant property tax. As the old saying goes, you tax what you want less, and why would we want vacant properties. This is especially likely to be relevant in many high-priced cities where the demand for commercial real estate is likely to go through the floor due to an increase in telecommuting. As cities mull many types of tax increases to deal with pandemic caused budget shortfalls, a vacant property tax should stand out as a productive...

from David Ruccio Before he was killed, George Floyd worked as a truck, a bouncer, and a security guard. Ahmaud Arbery worked at his father’s car wash and landscaping business, and previously held a job at McDonald’s. Breonna Taylor was a certified Emergency Medical Technician who had two jobs at hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky. Eric Garner worked as a mechanic and then in New York City’s horticulture department for several years before health problems, including asthma, sleep apnea,...

from Lars Syll The most expedient population and data generation model to adopt is one in wh ich the population is regarded as a realization of an infinite super population. This setup is the standard perspective in mathematical statistics, in which random variables are assumed to exist with fixed moments for an uncountable and unspecified universe of events … This perspective is tantamount to assuming a population machine that spawns individuals forever (i.e., the analog to a coin that...

from Ikonoclast (originally posted as a comment) There is clearly a strong correlation between science denialism and COVID-19 case rates in developed and semi-developed countries. Capitalism has an ambivalent relationship with science. Capitalists love production science and technology, including of course mining, industrial, consumerist, military, security, control and persuasion techs but they hate impact science. The impact sciences of course measure the impacts of science and...

from Norbert Häring From March 2021 people with an “I’ve got nothing to hide” attitude will be able to get around border and ticket controls at St Pancras International Station in London on their way to the Continent via the Eurostar, All they will have to do is upload a suitable portrait photo and a copy of their identity document to a government server. Then, instead of standing in a queue, they can walk down a camera-tagged “biometric corridor” without having to show a document. The...

The June issue of The New Republic included a feature by Dean Baker, “Building An Economy That Works Again – A Practical Blueprint for Reform in the Wake of the Coronavirus Shutdown”. TNR talks with Baker about the inevitable contraction of our economy and politically feasible policies he puts forth in his article that we could undertake to build a prosperous and equitable economic future. Featuring: Dean Baker – Senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and a...

The June issue of The New Republic included a feature by Dean Baker, “Building An Economy That Works Again – A Practical Blueprint for Reform in the Wake of the Coronavirus Shutdown”. TNR talks with Baker about the inevitable contraction of our economy and politically feasible policies he puts forth in his article that we could undertake to build a prosperous and equitable economic future. Featuring: Dean Baker – Senior economist at the Center for Economic and...