John Fund, in National Review Online, writes of:
“…an ever-expanding government that chokes off economic opportunities for the middle class and those who aspire to it.
Links for 2014-08-03
Quick links to a few items I found interesting.
Parsing the Employment and GDP Releases
The employment release reported a 209,000 net increase in nonfarm payroll (NFP) employment was below consensus, but still represented the sixth straight month of +200K net job creation. The net change in private NFP was 198,000. Here I want to note (1) the household survey based alternate measure of nonfarm payroll employment also continues to rise; (2) revisions in NFP and private NFP have typically been positive in recent months; (3) the 2014Q1 drop in GDP seems a little out of line with labor input.
Anti-Intellectualism in American Blogging
With apologies to Richard Hofstadter.
On reading “New Classical Kansas”, James Sexton comments:
Guest Contribution: How Janet Yellen Might Have Responded to the Policy Rules Legislation
Today, we’re fortunate to have Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, Assistant Professor of Economics at Lehigh University, David Papell and Ruxandra Prodan, respectively Professor and Clinical Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Houston, as Guest Contributors
Finally, some economic growth!
The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that U.S. real GDP grew at a 4.0% annual rate in the second quarter. Hopefully that’s the start of something good; but so far, it’s only a start.
New Classical Kansas?
Two years ago, Governor Brownback asserted:
Our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy.
“The Costs of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change”
From a CEA report written under the leadership of James Stock, released today:
China’s financial risk
Three years ago I called attention to the NYU Stern Volatility Laboratory. Since then it’s grown into an even more amazing resource, giving anyone access to constantly updated information about financial conditions in dozens of countries around the globe. Of particular interest are recent changes in their measure of the systemic risk posed by financial institutions.
Russia Raises the Policy Rate
From BBC:
Russia’s central bank has unexpectedly raised its key bank interest rate over concerns about inflation and “geopolitical tension”.