I recently prepared an entry on the macroeconomic effects of oil shocks for the new edition of the Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Here I sketch some of the material from that essay and explore the implications for where the economy may be headed next.
Category Archives: Katrina
Oil prices coming down
Oil prices have been coming down significantly this week. Is that good economic news?
HR 3893
Having discovered that this summer’s behemoth energy bill in fact did nothing to help with the problems uncovered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Congress is ready to try again with HR 3893, which was reported out of committee last week. This one actually has some good ideas in it.
Responding to supply shocks
It seems pretty clear to me that a monetary contraction isn’t the appropriate policy response to a supply shock. Apparently there are those within the Federal Reserve who see things differently.
Economic effects of Rita
A lot of people are bracing for huge effects of the latest Gulf storm on energy markets. I see reasons for hoping things won’t be that bad.
Consumer confidence plunges
Yet another key leading indicator turns gloomy. How much can the stock market and the Fed shrug off?
Pop quiz on the deficit
Here’s a pop quiz for macroeconomic students from Economist’s View on how to deal with the deficit.
Gasoline demand plummets
By Monday, oil and gasoline futures prices had given up all of the gain they’d experienced since Katrina. Today we learned that U.S. gasoline demand has plummeted. Both developments were pretty surprising, but are surely related.
Hurricane? What hurricane?
Amazingly, gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange today ended back where they were before Hurricane Katrina struck with all its fury. Retail prices will likely follow that lead. But what about the Fed?
The question about refining
Has environmental regulation been responsible for leaving the U.S. with inadequate gasoline refining capacity? The story is not as simple as some have suggested.