Rate Hike Possibilities

Why the Fed’s Next Rate Move Could Be a Hike
https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/why-the-feds-next-rate-move-could-be-a-hike-81e22988
A rate increase, once unthinkable, has become thinkable thanks to stubborn inflation, Iran and a resilient economy. 

Economists Debate the Effect of Minimum Wage

The 30-Year Debate Over the Minimum Wage Is Still Not Settled
https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/minimum-wage-jobs-cost-debate-card-krueger-63b21af2
A 1994 paper blew up the consensus that minimum-wage increases kill jobs. Economists have been at each other’s throats ever since. 

How high is too high?
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/11/20/economists-get-cold-feet-about-high-minimum-wages
Economists get cold feet about high minimum wages.

Minimum Wages in the 21st Century

https://www.nber.org/papers/w32878   

Dube, Arindrajit, and Attila Lindner. 2021. "City Limits: What Do Local-Area Minimum Wages Do?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 35 (1): 27–50.
https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.35.1.27

The Effects of Minimum Wages on (Almost) Everything? A Review of Recent Evidence on Health and Related Behaviors
https://www.nber.org/papers/w31191  

Related:

https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2024/09/monopsony-power.html

Affordability Crisis Facing the Middle Class

The Middle-Class Suburbanites Who Sell Their Blood Plasma to Get By
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/business/middle-class-sell-their-plasma.html
Across the United States, plasma centers are opening in wealthier areas as more people struggle with the high cost of housing, groceries and health care. 

Impact of the 2026 Energy Shock

The U.S. Economy Is Insulated from High Oil Prices. Americans Aren’t.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/business/us-economy-oil-prices-inflation-iran-war-americans.html
The overall economy has proved resilient in recent years, even as many households have struggled. The war with Iran is following the same pattern. 

America may be a petrostate. But the energy shock still hurts

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/03/19/america-may-be-a-petrostate-but-the-energy-shock-still-hurts 

 
If You Want to Know What Happens in an Oil Crisis, Look at Asia
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/business/oil-jetfuel-asia.html
As China and other major suppliers of refined oil in the region restrict exports, import-dependent countries are desperate to secure fuel supplies. 

The Iran War’s Economic Threat to Europe and Asia
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/business/iran-war-fiscal-spending-debt.html
Inflation and its consequences for growth are a growing concern for countries where memories of the 2022 energy crisis are fresh.   

Iran war fallout lands hardest on Europe's most gas‑dependent nations
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/iran-war-fallout-lands-hardest-europes-most-gasdependent-nations-2026-03-19/

History Lessons: Wars and Unintended Consequences

This Is How the Iran War Goes Global
https://www.thefp.com/p/niall-ferguson-this-is-how-the-iran
 
Before Waging War, Consult Historians First
https://www.noemamag.com/before-waging-war-consult-historians-first/
The Iran war fits into a long list of predictable miscalculations. 

Trump's Foreign Policy

An interesting take on Trump's foreign policy: 
The end of Trumpism
https://spectator.com/article/the-iran-war-is-likely-to-mark-the-end-of-trumpism/?edition=us 

The Secret to Happiness

A Nordic nation is the world’s happiest country for the ninth year in a row
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/18/travel/worlds-happiest-countries-2026-wellness
 
What makes the Nordic nations so happy?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/what-makes-the-nordic-nations-so-happy/
Access to space is the obvious answer. It’s no coincidence that these are some of the least densely populated countries on the continent. Iceland has an average of four people living per square kilometer, while trees in Finland outnumber residents by 4,500 to one.
At a political level, a generous social welfare system – nicknamed the “Nordic Model” – promises free healthcare, education and up to a year’s paid parental leave in Denmark. Yes, the taxes are high, but when the money is well spent, and levels of economic inequality are far lower than the global average, who can complain? 

Related:

The Finnish Secret to Happiness? Knowing When You Have Enough.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/world/europe/finland-happiness-optimism.html
The Nordic nation has been ranked the happiest country on earth for six consecutive years. But when you talk to individual Finns, the reality is a bit more complicated. 

Are We Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts?
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/why-life-has-gotten-more-comfortable-less-happy/616807/
As society gets richer, people chase the wrong things.