Archive for November, 2009
« Previous EntriesAn Idiosyncratic Perspective on the Economy and Economics
Submitted by unsettling economics
I have completed the last part of my lecture and have edited it. I still hope to incorporate data on the defunding of higher education.
An Idiosyncratic Perspective on the Economy and Economics
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
Thoughts on the hacked climate change e-mail
Submitted by unsettling economics
One of the problems is that science has become politicized. Industries hire hacks (including scientists) to attack any science that does not meet their needs. Think of the Chamber of Commerce’s recent call for economists to write a paper that will attack health care.
Under constant attack, scientists may feel the need to [...]
HISTORICAL RHYMES
Submitted by The Capital Spectator
The debt crisis in Dubai is probably overblown in the media in terms of global economic consequences, but the fear that the problems will spill over into other markets is certainly real enough. But if this sounds like deja vu all over again, you’re right.
Been there, done that, you might say. [...]
From VoxEU: The Great Trade Collapse
Submitted by Econbrowser
Causes, Consequences and Prospects, edited by Richard Baldwin
From Baldwin’s introductory chapter:
World trade experienced a sudden, severe and synchronised collapse in late 2008 — the sharpest in recorded history and deepest since WWII. This Ebook — written for the world’s trade ministers gathering for the WTO’s Trade Ministerial in Geneva — presents the economics [...]
Cash for appliances
Submitted by Econbrowser
From the folks who brought you Cash for Clunkers.
Here is the description of the program from the Energy Department (hat tip: King Banaian):
In late 2009 or early 2010, you may be eligible to receive rebates from your state or territory for the purchase of new ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances.
These rebates are being funded with [...]
When It Rains in Cuba: Leaky Roofs, No Umbrellas
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
One might think that in a tropical country life is organized taking the climate into account, and that along with our light clothing we always have umbrellas and raincoats at hand. Not so. Leaking roofs are common, especially in the construction of the last fifty years; homes, offices, schools and hospitals, and [...]
The Greatest Scientific Scandal of Our Age
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Here’s a good summary of why Climategate is the greatest scientific scandal of our generation:
There are three threads in particular in the leaked documents which have sent a shock wave through informed observers across the world.
1. Perhaps the most obvious, as lucidly put together by Willis Eschenbach (see McIntyre’s blog Climate Audit [...]
First 2-Month Restaurant Index Gain (%) in 3 Years
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
The outlook for the restaurant industry improved somewhat in October, as the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity registered its first gain in three months. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry stood at 98.0 [...]
Online Black Friday Spending Up By 11% vs. 2008
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 27 days of the November – December 2009 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $10.57 billion has been spent online, marking a 3-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Black Friday (November 27) [...]
The Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor Are Getting Richer; The Good Old Days Are Now
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Click to enlarge.Steve Horwitz at the Austrian Economists blog has a good post based on Census Bureau data that were recently released on “Living Conditions in the United States, 2005.” The chart above (click to enlarge) shows the percentage of all U.S. households owning various household appliances in 1971 and 2005, and [...]
Another V-Sign: Manufacturing Overtime Hours
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Scott Grannis writes about another V-sign of the economic recovery: the rebound in real personal consumption expenditures:
The turnaround has nothing to do with cash-for-clunkers, since that washed out of the numbers by the end of October (i.e., some spending was accelerated, followed by some payback). On balance, real spending increased in [...]
Elite Ignorance on Health Care?
Submitted by unsettling economics
Jonathan Gruber is a health economist from MIT — an expert, no doubt. David Leonhardt quotes his favorable comment on the Senate health care bill: “I can’t think of a thing to try that they didn’t try.”
Leonhardt, apparently, never bothered to ask him about single payer.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our [...]
Blogonomics: Some Random Thoughts
Submitted by Econbrowser
Back in late October, I was invited to a Bank of Canada workshop (organized by Brigitte Desroches and James Rossiter), entitled “Understanding economic outcomes in uncertain times”. I was flattered (and a little surprised) to be asked to participate in a panel discussion on “blogonomics”, chaired by David Wolf of the Bank of [...]
Yes the future deficits are worrisome
Submitted by Econbrowser
Paul Krugman ([1], [2], [3]) has been arguing vigorously that U.S. budget deficits are no cause for concern. I see things differently.
One of the arguments that Krugman makes is that, although the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to double over a short period, the higher level would still be substantially below those currently [...]
Fattened Up Over Time: Turkeys and Americans
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
THE ECONOMIST - Between 1960 and 2008, turkeys bulked up by around 11 pounds to 29 pounds, an increase of 64%. Coincidentally, in that same period the average American man gained 28 pounds (166.3 pounds to 194.3 pounds, a 16.8% increase), almost the equivalent of a turkey (see chart above).
Visit 1800blogger [...]
What If Food Shopping Worked Like Health Care?
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Watch the video.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
Help Wanted: No Real World Experience Required
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Great post and graph on the Enterprise blog from my friend and colleague at the American Enterprise Institute Nick Schulz.
Visit 1800blogger to see all of our industry leading blogs.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
The Marvel and Mystery of the World
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that [...]
First Retail Clinic Opens in DC 2 Miles from Capitol
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
FOX BUSINESS NEWS – MinuteClinic, the pioneer and largest provider of retail-based health care in the United States, has opened its first retail health care center in Washington, D.C. inside a CVS/pharmacy store on Bladensburg Road. The clinic is open seven days a week and will serve patients in Northeast neighborhoods, including [...]
New Home Sales Highest in a Year, Inventory Measure of New Homes Lowest Since 2006
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
WASH POST –Sales of newly built homes rose to the highest level in more than a year while the supply of these homes dropped to new lows, according to government data released on Wednesday.
Purchases of single-family homes rose 6.2% in October from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000, the [...]
Giving Thanks for Capitalism, The Invisible Hand, the Miracle of the Free Market and No Turkey Czars
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Like in previous years, you probably didn’t call your local supermarket ahead of time and order your Thanksgiving turkey this year. Why not? Because you automatically assumed that a turkey would be there when you showed up, and it probably was there when you showed up “unannounced” at the grocery store to [...]
Michael Perelman Needs Help ASAP
Submitted by unsettling economics
The school invited me to give the annual lecture on December 8. I’m trying to copyedit The Invisible Handcuffs, finish two articles before a December 1 deadline, and grade papers before school starts next week.
My idea is to show how ideas evolve with my books, paralleled with both the course of the [...]
WAITING (HOPING) FOR CLARITY
Submitted by The Capital Spectator
“We have to be sure that the recovery is final, that domestic demand is self-sustaining and the peak in unemployment is on the foreseeable horizon,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF, said yesterday in London yesterday in connection with a speech he gave at a British industry conference.
The topic of [...]
IN DEBT WE TRUST?
Submitted by The Capital Spectator
Is it time to consider more radical strategies for repairing the U.S. economy? Perhaps, although as a recent essay from the Levy Economics Institute argues, it’s also clear that the old game of trying to reflate bubbles isn’t going to work this time.
“Like the Bush administration before it, the Obama team [...]
DOWNSIZING THE FIRST ESTIMATE OF Q3 GDP
Submitted by The Capital Spectator
Today’s release of second estimate of third-quarter GDP reveals that the economy expanded at a slower pace than originally reported. The initial 3.5% annualized real growth in the U.S. for Q3 was, we’re now told, just 2.8%.
Meantime, corporate profits skyrocketed in Q3. As companies shed payrolls, the cost saving flowed to [...]
