Time to emulate the media’s “year in review” pieces, with my own take on the most outrageous, nonsensical assertions presented in the guise of analysis. Here are my ten most hilariously deluded excursions into the fantasy world from my postings to Econbrowser. The inspirations range from (once again) the Heritage Foundation’s analyses (where have you gone, Bill Beach!) to the ongoing search for hyperinflation/crowding out.
Author Archives: Menzie Chinn
Metrics for the “Ever Expanding Government”
The latest in a series examining persistent macroeconomic myths [1]
Dragged to the Fiscal Slope
Implications of “I am not a member of an organized political party. I am a Republican.” (with apologies to Will Rogers)
Confusion in the Anti-Keynesian Ranks
Some people think that if one takes into account intertemporal dynamics, policy must necessarily be ineffective
Guest Contribution: “An assessment of the US jobless recovery through a non-linear Okun’s law”
Today, we are fortunate to have a guest contribution written by Laurent Ferrara (EconomiX-CNRS, University Paris West) and
and Valérie Mignon (EconomiX-CNRS, University Paris West and CEPII).
Heritage on Gun Control
From their website:
The wake of a violent tragedy is an appropriate time for reflection, investigation, prayer, and the promotion of healing. It is a particularly inappropriate time for political opportunism. …
Heritage at the Cutting Edge
The Heritage Foundation’s blog criticizes my recent post thusly:
[Chinn] ignores the fact that Heritage Foundation economists, like most academic macroeconomists, have put away the old Keynesian model in favor of modern alternatives.
I thought it useful to see some of this advanced analysis in action at Heritage. From Heritage Foundation’s Ron Utt — admittedly a long time ago (2008!):
Guest Contribution: “Inflation Responses to Commodity Price Shocks – How and Why Do Countries Differ?”
Today, we are fortunate to have a guest contribution from Gaston Gelos, Advisor in the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development, and Yulia Ustyugova, Economist in the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department.
Conditional Inflation Targeting in Effect
Nearly a year ago, Jeffry Frieden and I called for Conditional Inflation Targeting. Today, policy seems to have turned toward that direction. From today’s statement from the FOMC:
The Slow Growth in Investment
One of the puzzles of the post-crisis period is why investment has been so slow. Some would want to resort to stories of uncertainty. Is there something to this idea? Figure 1 depicts the gross investment to net capital stock.