Always, but always, plot your data. Remember that data quality is at least as important as data quantity. Always ask yourself, “Do these results make economic/common sense”? Check whether your “statistically significant” results are also “numerically/economically significant”. Be sure that you know exactly what assumptions are used/needed to obtain the results relating to the properties of any estimator or test that you use. Just because someone else has used a particular...

Dirk Ehnts über Staatsschulden & MMT .[embedded content] Dieses Interview ist wirklich hörenswert. Yours truly schätze Dirk Ehnts’ eher pragmatische Haltung gegenüber MMT und der Frage des Umgangs mit Staatsschulden. Er warnt davor, die MMT-Theorie als eine Art Allheilmittel zu betrachten. Er betont die Notwendigkeit, die Anwendung der MMT-Prinzipien an die spezifischen Gegebenheiten eines Landes anzupassen. Zudem weist er darauf hin, dass hohe...

Maybe you have noticed this and maybe you have not? The USPS or the United States Postal Service does not sell stamps at a huge discount. You may get a few bucks off at Costco. It is not going to be 25% or 50% off what they are sold for as shown here: Lower left-hand corner of the first roll of stamps. Imagine that! The USPS selling 1st class mail stamps for 16.99 cents a stamp? Yeah, right. Facebook allows this advertising scheme of cheap...

.[embedded content] Many economists — yours truly included — are highly sceptical of the ability of mainstream economics to deliver useful models. Some of us even question the ‘modern’ insistence on modelling — “if it’s not in a model, it’s not economics.” Even if we accept the limitation of only being able to say something about (some kind of) average treatment effects when using instrumental-variables designs, a significant and major problem is that researchers who use these...

Sustainable Shift Too Little, Too Late?

Driven by frozen inventory, repeat home prices continue to increase, but downward pressure on shelter inflation remains  – by New Deal democrat Our last piece of important housing information for the month was released this morning; namely repeat home sale prices as measured by the FHFA and Case Shiller. The former increased by 0.6%, and the latter by 0.3%, continuing their increases since the beginning of this year: On a YoY basis, the...

Buy or rent Housing in 2023? Cost of buying has surpassed the cost of renting in 2023. Blame high house prices and soaring mortgage rates. Since 2020 nominal house prices have climbed by roughly 40%. In the same period the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 3.1% to 7.3%, lifting the mortgage repayments on a typical house by more than 50%.  Is it cheaper to rent or buy property? economist,...

from Dean Baker Like many self-imagined “free-traders,” the Washington Post editorial board cannot even conceive of free trade when it comes to prescription drugs. They demonstrated this fact yet again in discussing ways to deal with the high price of effective weight-loss drugs like Wegovy. These drugs carry price tags of more than $1,000 a month, making them costly for insurers, governments, or individuals who have to pick up the tab themselves. The Post throws out a couple of ideas...

Blog The windfall tax was supposed to rein in fossil fuel profits. Instead it has saved corporations billions Loophole in energy profits levy will hand oil and gas companies up to £18bn over next three years By Alex Chapman 28 November 2023 Last...

Flows are accelerating. Thanks to fed rate hikes. Yes, fed rate hikes.