The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) sponsored a series of talks on the election and economic issues. Yesterday’s talk was by Princeton’s Alan Blinder (former CEA member, former Fed Vice Chair). His talk with Q&A is here (YouTube). Other visitors included Lee Ohanian, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Casey Mulligan and Brian Riedl (Manhattan […]
A common problem in economics is that most of the variables we study have trends. Even the simplest statistics like the mean and variance aren’t meaningful descriptions of such variables. One popular approach is to remove the trend using the Hodrick-Prescott filter. I’ve just finished a new research paper highlighting the problems with this approach […]
Social anthropologist David Graeber claims that barter economies never operate the way that economists assume.
James Kahn and Robert Rich worry that the U.S. has entered a phase of weak productivity growth.
Matt O’Brien
(hat tip: Mark Thoma) wonders why Republicans have become so hostile towards the Federal Reserve.
Hal Cole and Lee Ohanian debate Paul Krugman on the recovery from the Great Depression.
I see a pattern. For some people, the answer to every question is…a tax cut! From WSJ on 29 January:
There’s a serious debate in this country as to how best to end the recession. The average recession will last five to 11 months; the average recovery will last six years. Recessions will end on their own if they’re left alone. What can make the recession worse is the wrong kind of government intervention.
Or…Salt Water/Fresh Water Redux!
From Greg Mankiw’s blog, an argument against the policies of the New Deal.
I was honored to be included among those interviewed for East Carolina Professor Randy Parker’s new book, Economics of the Great Depression.
Like the folks writing at Mahalanobis, Marginal Revolution and Free Exchange, I was rather surprised to see Berkeley Professor Brad DeLong claim, “A normal person would not argue that the New Deal prolonged the Great Depression.” Since Brad is a smart guy, I think it might be time for me to acknowledge my freakiness.