Real-World Economics Review

from Peter Radford What isn’t said is often more telling than what is.  The silence denotes either a disrespect for thorough analysis or an ignorance of issues beyond the ken of the speaker.  Then, of course, a third option arises: that those issues are an embarrassment to the point being made and are thus best left unmentioned. For some reason stock buybacks appear to fall into such a zone of silence.  There is some controversy currently about the topic because of the recent proposal to...

Competition isn't for everyone. The salaries of high-end professionals are often artificially protected by public policy, without benefit to the public. In this fifth episode of #UnfckAmerica, Dean Baker reviews the issue of employment and wage disparity. Over the past forty years, US trade deals have been negotiated to expose manufacturing workers to international competition and put downward pressure on their wages, while protecting high end professionals from both domestic and foreign...

WEA CommentariesVolume 12, Issue 2 download the whole issue Can university education in economics contribute to strengthened democracy and peace? Peter Söderbaum The Irish anomaly. Rethinking the concept and operationalization of ‘Gross Fixed Capital Formation’ Merijn Knibbe Benefits of fathers caring for children remain underestimatedin several European contexts Mitja Stefancic The WEA Textbook Commentaries Project What’s Capitalism got to do with it? David F Ruccio Please click...

from Lars Syll If you can’t devise an experiment that answers your question in a world where anything goes, then the odds of generating useful results with a modest budget and nonexperimental survey data seem pretty slim. The description of an ideal experiment also helps you formulate causal questions precisely. The mechanics of an ideal experiment highlight the forces you’d like to manipulate and the factors you’d like to hold constant. Research questions that cannot be answered by any...

The financial sector produces a lot of wealth... and waste. Dean Baker explains why it's bloated and broken. Since the 1980s, the financial sector has been permitted to expand greatly, with deregulation and practically no taxes. This was all done in the hope of improving efficiency in the allocation of capital and the economy overall. But Dr. Baker shows that while the financial sector has grown, it has not fulfilled its promise - it has not improved productivity, it ties up and wastes a...

from Lars Syll Tax cuts for the wealthy were supposed to stimulate growth and make everyone better off. There was dispute about this within the profession, but there were also many economists who provided intellectual support for the claim that tax cuts will create growth and widespread prosperity. The evidence from the Bush and Reagan tax cuts does not support this claim, but it is still made by some economists and this gives those who are serving wealthy interests or who want to force...

After reading her contemporary Alfred Marshall, reading Rosa Luxemburg (born in Poland, 1871-1919) is a joy. The clarity of the prose, the consistence of the arguments, the sheer knowledge of events and facts. She backed an anti-imperialist socialist agenda coupled with – no, based upon – differences of view and discussion in combination with cultural and linguistic diversity. In my view, she would have backed the growth of international food supply chains binding Ukraine, Russia, Turkey...

Movington.com, CEO Dean Baker on a mountain in Las Vegas, NV. Dean is saying don’t take one of those online “quick cash sales” and under value your home. Give Movington.com a opportunity to get the most money for your home.

from Dean Baker The Inflation Reduction Act includes a remarkable innovation. Share buybacks will be taxed at a 1% rate. This is a huge deal, not only because it taxes money that was often escaping taxation at the individual level, but it is a move away from basing the corporate income tax on profits, which can be easily manipulated, to taxing returns to shareholders. It is time for a major and simple overhaul of the corporate income tax system. The main problem with the current system is...

from Peter Radford Taking a short break from my crusade to get information taken more seriously in economics … Yesterday’s Financial Times includes, on page 9 of the print edition, one of its regular “Market Insights” columns.  This is the space the FT allocates to sundry financial market types to opine on subjects of general interest to other financial market types.  It’s always a good read if you want to gain insight into how our magnificent financiers talk to themselves whilst...