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Many of us are inconsistent in our economic desires. I would like the price of my home to rise, because it increases my wealth, but I would also like the prices of all other homes to fall, so that I could sell my house and buy an even nicer house. Also, I would like to … Continue reading I Would Like the Value of My Ho
When economists think about how much utility is gained from additional economic resources the basic assumption is that an additional amount of income or wealth increases utility, but by a diminishing amount–because additional income or wealth has diminishing marginal returns. However, there’s also a long-standing tradi
For some people, their pulse beats faster when their favorite sports team wins, or their favorite musician drops a new album. For others, pulse and respiration accelerate when confronted with “Spending, Taxes, and Deficits: A Book of Charts.” If you (like me) are in this second category, Jessica Riedl has got your back
Amidst all the policy proposals, claims, and counterclaims about energy use and carbon emissions, it’s useful to touch base from time to time with basic current facts. One of my starting points is the Statistical Review of World Energy, published annually (free registration needed to download the report). The report is
Adam Smith’s 1776 book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, is often described in casual conversation (at least by noneconomists) as a manifesto for the benefits and power of free markets. That’s a part of it, to be sure. But Smith was a profound thinker, not a pamphleteer, and … Continue re
Aquaculture refers to farming the water: that is, growing fish or shrimp or other aquatic animals in a controlled space, rather than capturing them in open water. I’ve tended to think of aquaculture as an interesting sideline to standard capture-style fishing, but apparently that view is so 1995. The UN Food and Agricu
The basic patterns of US manufacturing jobs are fairly well-known. Here’s a figure showing total US manufacturing jobs over the last half-century or so: more-or-less flat from the 1970s up through 2000, then a decline from 2000 to about 2010, and more-or-less flat since then. Part of what happened in the early 2000s wa
I sometimes struggle, when teaching about unemployment, to explain just why work matters. It’s straightforward enough to note that elevated unemployment leads to loss of economic output, lower tax payments, and greater need for government welfare benefits. I can refer to evidence on how unemployment is connected to soc
The price of candy has risen considerably, and when a price goes up, there are always two school of thought. One argument is that greed and “big candy” has jacked up the price in pursuit of higher profits. The challenge for this explanation is to explain why big greedy companied had not already raised prices … Continue
Each year, the White House Council of Economic Advisers publishes the Economic Report of the President. The CEA is led by politically appointed academics, and thus you need to take it as given that the annual report will be supportive of the presidential administration. On the other side, the academic economists are th
Each year, more than half of the total or gross investment by US firms just makes up for depreciation in older equipment and knowledge. in recent year, it’s more like 75% of current year investment just offsets depreciation. Here are the figures from the ever-useful FRED website run by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. …
Maybe my perceptions are incorrect on this point, but my sense is that a lot of people believe that the US economy is making strong progress toward clean non-carbon energy, driven by increases in solar and wind power. I don’t see it that way. My own reading of the evidence is that the solar/wind presence … Continue rea
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