“CBO estimates that about two-thirds of the difference between the growth in real GDP in the current recovery and the average for other recoveries can be attributed to sluggish growth in potential GDP.”
Guest Contribution: Gridlock in Europe
The Rise and Fall of the IMF’s Reputation
Today we are fortunate to have as a guest contributor Joseph Joyce, Professor of Economics at Wellesley College, and author of the new book, The IMF and Global Financial Crises: Phoenix Rising? (Cambridge University Press).
The Republican Joint Economic Committee Does Public Finance
Or, “Just because you can’t prove that the top marginal tax rate has a large impact on economic growth doesn’t mean that it doesn’t: just have faith!”
2012 World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency
On Monday the IEA released its World Energy Outlook 2012. This includes an optimistic assessment of the situation in the United States:
The United States is projected to become the largest global oil producer before 2020,
exceeding Saudi Arabia until the mid-2020s. At the same time, new fuel-efficiency measures in
transport begin to curb US oil demand. The result is a continued fall in US oil imports, to the
extent that North America becomes a net oil exporter around 2030.
Maximizing GDP Growth with Minimal Budgetary Cost in the Face of the Fiscal Slope/Cliff
We can maintain momentum, while moving toward budget sustainability, by allowing the Bush tax rate cuts for incomes above $250,000 to expire
National Research Council: “Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis”
”There is compelling reason to presume that specific failures of adaptation [to climate change] will occur with consequences more severe than any yet experienced, severe enough to compel more extensive international engagement than has yet been anticipated or organized.”
Links for 2012-11-10
A few links to some items I found of interest.
The Fiscal Cliff: International Implications
Most of the discussion has focused on the domestic repercussions of going off the fiscal cliff (or as my former colleague Chad Stone calls it, the “fiscal slope”). I think it important to remember that, as the single largest economy, policy in the US has profound implications for economic developments overseas. This is particularly true with the eurozone still in a fragile state, and China growing (relatively) slowly.
Finding compromise
President Obama won a second term in office yesterday, receiving 50.3% of the popular vote But the Republicans held control of the House of Representatives and Americans remain deeply divided. Historically, the party in control of the White House loses some congressional seats in the midterm elections. That means that any legislation passed into law over the next two years, and likely the next four years, is going to have to be agreed to by both a Democratic President and a Republican House.
The Choice: Math vs. Anti-Math in Fiscal Policy
Over a hundred and fifty years ago, the “Know Nothing Movement” rose to prominence in American politics. The “Know Nothings” were thusly known not because they were ignorant, but because they denied being adherents of a xenophobic, nativist party. But I think this time around, it is appropriate to characterize one group as being a true “Know Nothing” party in the sense that they reject the gifts of the Enlightenment.