Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Macroeconomics on Jan 30th, 2012
Germane to our post earlier today, this new paper by Valerie Ramey (she’s found similar results in the past, something I will write about later on) finds that government spending multipliers are less than one (i.e. for every dollar of government spending, less than $1 of new economic activity is created) and that while government […]
Posted in Macroeconomics, Price System on Jan 10th, 2012
Something of a blogosphere explosion occurred last week. What caused it? A largely correct post by Paul Krugman that had the gist of arguing that the amount of US federal government debt is a misleading indicator of how serious the US debt problem is. Here is my colleague Steve Landburg illuminating and buttressing the point. […]
Posted in Extended Order, Macroeconomics on Nov 25th, 2011
While my wife makes her way through the stores today to cash in one some deals we’d otherwise not take advantage of (for example, it’s a great day to get your new linens and bath towels – while everyone is fighting over the latest toy, these sorts of mundane household items are often on sale […]
Posted in Macroeconomics, Methodology on Nov 19th, 2011
If my wife and I gave birth to a third child, the average GDP per person in our household would fall by 20%. If, instead, on that same day, someone bestowed upon us a gift of a cow, the average GDP of our home would increase.
Posted in Employment, Macroeconomics on Nov 16th, 2011
The ever interesting and keen Kent Gardner reports on how the Rochester economy has fared in recent years as compared to the rest of NY and the country. The answer? Surprisingly, perhaps, is really well! Click through for some data – the important lesson is that unlike in the past, modern Rochester is a well […]
Posted in Macroeconomics on Nov 12th, 2011
Via Warren Meyer:
Posted in Environment, Macroeconomics on Oct 22nd, 2011
Tucked deeply in this interesting Wall Street Journal piece about consumers getting their household finances in order: The debts include $4,000 in credit cards, $30,000 for student loans and an $8,000 loan for energy-efficient windows for his home. The windows, he said, were a mistake. Mr. Jacobs also hopes to shave enough off his $139,000 […]
Posted in Macroeconomics, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Sep 30th, 2011
In a few posts, we’ll begin digging through the evidence on taxation and economic growth. In the meantime, I just wanted to ask if you were familiar with: An Empirical Characterization of the Dynamic Effects of Changes in Government Spending and Taxes on Output? by Blanchard and Perotti? The Macroeconomic Effects of Tax Changes: Estimates […]
Posted in Government Gone Wild, Macroeconomics, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Sep 5th, 2011
In the second quarter of this year, US nominal GDP crossed the $15 trillion mark. According to Recovery.gov, the individuals who work for the federal government have spent 93% of the dedicated stimulus funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This means $731.9 billion has been spent. According to the macroeconomists at the […]
Posted in Macroeconomics on Jul 17th, 2011
The United States Government has been at war for nearly eight straight years now, beginning with Afghanistan and Iraq, and now extending into Pakistan and Libya and lord knows where else. Imagine just how much worse the economy would have been during the reign of Barack OBush if we hadn’t had all that wartime spending […]