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...
Read More »Open thread Sept. 6, 2022
Econometric FUQs
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...
Read More »The Bitcoin Monster, updated
A little while ago, I wrote about the impending shift of the Ethereum cryptocurrency from “proof of work” to “proof of stake”, with an energy saving of 99 percent. I’ve now expanded that post into an article for The Conversation, which has just come out. Read and enjoy (or skip, if you’ve heard enough about crypto). Share this:Like this:Like Loading...
Read More »Employment, durable goods orders
No recession here either: Asymptotically approaching pre-Covid levels: Wage growth continues to lag (not cause) the growth rate of the CPI: Government had more employees under President Trump vs Presidents Obama and Biden? ;) This doesn’t look like a recession either:
Read More »Open thread Sept. 2, 2022
JOLTS, ISM manufacturing, fed funds rate
No recession yet, at least partially due to the increased federal deficit spending on interest payments as the Fed hikes rates: With debt/GDP the rate hikes have had the effect of about $500 billion/year of additional (highly regressive) federal deficit spending:
Read More »How the West betrayed Mikhail Gorbachev and seeded the Ukraine conflict
Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022. Since then, praises have flowed from Western leaders. Those praises obscure how the West betrayed Gorbachev after he fell from power, and how that betrayal seeded the Ukraine conflict. The story is complicated because Gorbachev’s fall was triggered by Communist Party hardliners, so the troubles which befell Russia […]
Read More »Open thread August 30, 2022
Economics as ideology
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...
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