Economics

Let us start with honesty about budget deficits and government debt. There is no honest economic argument against running budget deficits when the economy is below full employment. While we can debate about which programs government ought…

When multiplier relationships are recognized, the conclusion is that the U.S. did not have enough population to produce what it has been consuming.

This is the excellent video of Edward Hugh at the London School of Economics this past Monday speaking about the intersection of finance, macroeconomics, housing and sovereign debt in the Credit Crisis. (hat tip afoe). The topic is on how…

This is a wonkish post, but bear with me, because it's important. Randall Wray's last post sparked a thought regarding trade deficits and budget deficits which I wanted to run by you. Randy said: We see from the chart that the…

by L. Randall Wray In recent months, the nation's pundits have been whipping up deficit hysteria in a mass public mis-education campaign funded by billionaire Pete Peterson. In this blog I will explain why we should not be misled. First,…

By Rick Bookstaber A few months ago I discussed the failing of econophysics, and more generally, the economic paradigm that treats people like computers and views economic dynamics like physics. The natural follow up question is, “What can…

I have written a post or two offering the opinion that Barack Obama faces an economy more akin to Herbert Hoover's than Franklin Roosevelt. See "Barack Obama as Herbert Hoover" where posited the following: My intent here is…

I caught this video along with the Keynes video I just profiled. Look at this as a rebuttal to some of the themes Lord Skidelsky went through in that previous video. Lawrence White explains the genesis of the Austrian Theory of Boom and…

By Edward Harrison Randall Wray wrote a paper on "The Fall of the New Monetary Consensus" which we posted at Credit Writedowns last week. Randy took on the theoretical underpinnings that guided policy makers through the most…

by Annaly Capital Management An interesting recent piece by Reuven Glick and Kevin J. Lansing of the San Francisco Fed looks to explain changes in the savings rate over time. On an aggregate level, the authors point out that the savings…