The Diversity/Inclusivity Controversy

Joseph Epstein notes:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tyranny-of-diversity-11609347729   
“In contemporary higher education, diversity competes with intellectual authority, based on scholarly and scientific accomplishment. These days, diversity is all but victorious and intellectual authority well in retreat. This leaves no one in a position to set or determine educational standards. University presidents, once educational leaders, now focus on fundraising and public relations. The heads of academic departments tend to accept their jobs not out of a desire for intellectual leadership but to reduce their teaching loads. Because of this want of intellectual authority, universities have now been on the slide for many years”.

Profile of the controversial Joseph Epstein
https://www.chronicle.com/article/joseph-epstein-is-not-a-fan-of-the-modern-university

Will “Dogs of the Dow” Strategy Work in 2021?

Dogs of the Dow Stock-Picking Strategy Didn’t Work This Year. It Could in 2021.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-2021-dogs-of-the-dow-51608121800

Related:
These are the 20 worst-performing S&P 500 stocks of 2020 — analysts see double-digit rebounds for 6 of them in 2021
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-are-the-20-worst-performing-sp-500-stocks-of-2020-analysts-see-double-digit-rebounds-for-6-of-them-in-2021-2020-12-29

The Future of Silicon Valley

California May Lose Some of Its Stars. But Silicon Valley Is Forever.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/opinion/silicon-valley-exodus.html 

Stanford Scientists Create a Billionaire Factory
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-29/stanford-scientists-create-a-billionaire-factory-from-quantumscape-batteries

The Stampede from Silicon Valley
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/silicon-valley-tech-exodus-causes-and-solutions-by-john-taylor-5-2020-12

How Texas Can Become the Next Silicon Valley
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-30/how-texas-can-become-the-next-silicon-valley

China and the World

China beat back covid-19. Then it really flexed its muscles at home and abroad.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/28/china-2020-major-stories/
 
Pushback on Xi’s Vision for China Spreads Beyond U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pushback-xi-china-europe-germany-beyond-u-s-11609176287
 
How to Get U.S. Companies to Leave China
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-29/u-s-should-give-manufacturers-incentive-to-leave-china
“First and foremost, that means inking new trade and investment pacts with China’s competitors to encourage U.S. companies to shift supply chains to friendly countries, if not back home. Several nations in Asia, including Vietnam and India, are making great efforts to attract such business, with some success. Deals to decrease the costs of doing business with these countries could caffeinate the ongoing shift” 

Dave Barry on 2020

Humorist Dave Barry on 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/12/27/dave-barrys-year-review-2020/
“In the past, writing these annual reviews, we have said harsh things about previous years. We owe those years an apology. Compared to 2020, all previous years, even the Disco Era, were the golden age of human existence.
This was a year of nonstop awfulness, a year when we kept saying it couldn’t possibly get worse, and it always did. This was a year in which our only moments of genuine, unadulterated happiness were when we were able to buy toilet paper”. 

Assessing Covid-19 Impact

 

The year of the Great Humbling
https://www.newstatesman.com/international/places/2020/12/year-great-humbling
John Gray notes:
“The most fundamental effect of the pandemic – and for many the most disturbing – is that it has pricked the bubble of human supremacy. We are told we live in the Anthropocene, a geological epoch defined by the transformative impact of the human species on the planet. If it refers to climate change and mass extinction, the Anthropocene is a concept that reflects reality. If it means humans are in control of the Earth, it is nonsense. The neglected lesson of science is that the planet belongs to the microbes. We can use our growing knowledge to protect ourselves from the dangers of the natural world, but we cannot rule over it …
 
The cognitive disorder of our times is a pitiable need for certainty. Under the pressure of tumultuous events, this need has mutated into a cult of wilful subjectivity. The virus reveals that our entire way of life is mortal, and for many it seems an intolerable vision”. 

Ten Ways Covid-19 Has Changed the World Economy Forever
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-30/ten-ways-covid-19-has-changed-the-world-economy-forever

China's Tibet Policy

China’s atrocities in Tibet are growing too big to ignore
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/chinas-atrocities-in-tibet-are-growing-too-big-to-ignore/2020/12/24/ba9d5c4e-4624-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html

How China’s strategy of repression has led to decades of violence in Tibet

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2020/09/how-china-s-strategy-repression-has-led-decades-violence-tibet

Tibet - The ordeals of a powerless but spiritual people suffering under Chinese rule—and protesting their fate dramatically.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/eat-the-buddha-review-the-harrowing-of-a-homeland-11597099255

Two books penetrate the mystery and evoke the tragedy of Tibet

https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/07/25/two-books-penetrate-the-mystery-and-evoke-the-tragedy-of-tibet 

A powerful account of Tibet during China’s Cultural Revolution

https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/09/04/a-powerful-account-of-tibet-during-chinas-cultural-revolution

State Capacity and the Covid Crisis

The CDC’s failed race against covid-19: A threat underestimated and a test overcomplicated
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/cdc-covid/2020/12/25/c2b418ae-4206-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html
 
There’s No Trade-Off Between Lives and the Economy
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-22/there-s-no-trade-off-between-lives-and-the-economy

Game Theory Application

‘The Pandemic Is a Prisoner’s Dilemma Game’
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/health/virus-vaccine-game-theory.html 

China’s Economy Set to Overtake US

China's Economy Set to Overtake U.S. Earlier Due to Covid Fallout
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-26/covid-fallout-means-china-to-overtake-u-s-economy-earlier
 
China Is Now the World’s Largest Economy. We Shouldn’t Be Shocked.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/china-now-world’s-largest-economy-we-shouldn’t-be-shocked-170719 

--

INTERNATIONAL GDP COMPARISON:

In order to compare the GDP figures of two countries it is first necessary to convert them to a common unit of account (say, the US dollar). A fundamentally important question that arises when one tries to convert local currency GDP values into their US dollar equivalent values is the following: 
What exchange rate do we use to make the conversion – market exchange rates or purchasing power parity (PPP) based exchange rates?

Using market exchange rates is problematic for several reasons:

• Under floating exchange rates, currency values fluctuate considerably, even over a short period of time.
• Using market exchange rates will result in a failure to account for the vast differences in the prices of many services and non-traded goods between rich and poor countries.

Hence, PPP-based exchange rate is often used for converting GDP data:

https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2008/12/basics.htm

“GDP is measured in the currency of the country in question. That requires adjustment when trying to compare the value of output in two countries using different currencies. The usual method is to convert the value of GDP of each country into U.S. dollars and then compare them. Conversion to dollars can be done either using market exchange rates—those that prevail in the foreign exchange market—or purchasing-power-parity (PPP) exchange rates. The PPP exchange rate is the rate at which the currency of one country would have to be converted into that of another to purchase the same amount of goods and services in each country (see "Back to Basics" in the March 2007 issue of Finance & Development). There is a large gap between market and PPP-based exchange rates in emerging market and developing countries. For most emerging market and developing countries, the ratio of the market and PPP U.S. dollar exchange rates is between 2 and 4. This is because nontraded goods and services tend to be cheaper in low-income than in high-income countries—for example, a haircut in New York is more expensive than in Bishkek—even when the cost of making tradable goods, such as machinery, across two countries is the same. For advanced countries, market and PPP exchange rates tend to be much closer. These differences mean that emerging market and developing countries have a higher estimated dollar GDP when the PPP exchange rate is used”.

Here is a brief introduction to PPP exchange rates from the IMF:

https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/ppp.htm

International Economic Development

West Africa and the Global Textile Industry
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/23/coronavirus-trade-self-reliance-ghana/
 
Egypt’s Military Companies Aren’t Going Anywhere
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-24/egypt-s-military-companies-aren-t-going-anywhere
 
Saudi Arabia Chases a Mirage
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/saudi-arabia-chases-a-mirage
 
China to overtake US economy by 2028-29 in COVID's wake: JCER
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/China-to-overtake-US-economy-by-2028-29-in-COVID-s-wake-JCER

Shape of US Economic Recovery

The Shape of the Recovery May End Up Coming from Another Alphabet
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-23/economic-recovery-what-does-a-baa-shaped-recovery-look-like
 
The Pandemic Recession Has Given Way to a K-Shaped U.S. Economic Recovery
https://www.ut.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Business/Economics/Tampabayeconomy_fall2020.pdf
 
How a ‘K-Shaped’ Recovery Is Widening U.S. Inequality
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-10/how-a-k-shaped-recovery-is-widening-u-s-inequality-quicktake 

Pork Barrel Politics

Buried in Pandemic Aid Bill: Billions to Soothe the Richest
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/whats-in-the-covid-relief-bill.html
 
Tucked into Congress’s massive stimulus bill: Tens of billions in special-interest tax giveaways
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/22/congress-tax-breaks-stimulus/
 
Why Airlines Outrank Restaurants in Relief Money
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-22/relief-bill-why-airlines-outrank-restaurants-for-aid 

Fixing US Education System

The pandemic showed us that education was broken. It also showed us how to fix it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/opinion/covid-schools-vaccine.html 

Corporate Pay and Trickle Down Economics

GE's Curious Case of a $47 Million CEO Bonus
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-22/ge-ceo-s-47-million-payday-leaves-unanswered-questions
 
Trickle-Down Economics Fails a Sophisticated Statistical Test
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-21/trickle-down-economics-fails-a-sophisticated-statistical-test 

‘Trickle-down’ tax cuts make the rich richer but are of no value to overall economy, study finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/tax-cuts-rich-trickle-down/

Year-End Portfolio Tweaks

Year-End Portfolio Tweaks for an Unusual Year
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-21/personal-finance-year-end-portfolio-tweaks-for-an-unusual-year 

The craziest, creepiest year for financial markets I’ve seen in half a century
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/stock-market-unemployment-trump-coronavirus/

Moral and Political Philosophy

John Rawls: can liberalism's great philosopher come to the west's rescue again?
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2020/dec/20/john-rawls-can-liberalisms-great-philosopher-come-to-the-wests-rescue-again
 
The crisis of liberalism: why centrist politics can no longer explain the world
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/18/crisis-in-liberalism-katrina-forrester
 
On Amartya Sen and "The Idea of Justice"
https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/journal/24_3/review_essays/001
 
The economist manifesto
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2010/04/economist-manifesto 

India - Resource Constraints and Farming

India's young water experts quench thirst of parched communities
https://www.dw.com/en/indias-young-water-experts-quench-thirst-of-parched-communities/a-55949569 

Education Level of Elected Representatives

95 Percent of Representatives Have a Degree. Look Where That’s Got Us.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/opinion/politicians-college-degrees.html
 
What Good Is a College Degree? Education and Leader Quality Reconsidered
http://www.noamlupu.com/leader_education.pdf 

Virus Mutation

The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/health/coronavirus-britain-variant.html 

Related:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-new-strain-of-sars-cov-2-what-we-know

As E.U. nations cut ties to Britain over virus mutation, fears mount over supply chain disruptions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-eu-coronavirus-flight-ban-supply/2020/12/21/01c99254-435f-11eb-ac2a-3ac0f2b8ceeb_story.html

The Fed and the Stimulus Debate

The Fed’s surprise role in stimulus talks, explained
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/12/19/22191140/stimulus-bill-federal-reserve-pat-toomey
 
What Is 13-3? Why a Debate Over the Fed Is Holding Up Stimulus Talks
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/business/economy/fed-13-3-stimulus.html 

Accounting and Fiscal Space

A more complete view of a country’s fiscal health can help governments build public trust, generate revenues and even save lives.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-19/pandemic-recovery-depends-on-better-government-accounting 

College Freshman Experience During the Pandemic

For college freshmen, pandemic results in a first-year experience unlike any other
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/college-freshmen-pandemic/2020/12/17/b7a5cb00-3659-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html 

2021 Stock Market Outlook

Clueless About 2020, Wall Street Forecasters Are at It Again for 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/business/stock-market-forecasts-wall-street.html
 
The S&P 500 Could Gain Another 10% Next Year, Experts Say
Will the Stock Market Continue to Recover in 2021? Expect Gains, Barron’s Experts Say. | Barron's
 
All the Good News Is Already Baked into Stocks. How to Stay Safe.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/2021-isnt-here-yet-but-investors-already-are-devouring-its-promise-51608314143 

A Speculative Frenzy Is Sweeping Wall Street and World Markets
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-19/a-speculative-frenzy-is-sweeping-wall-street-and-world-markets

Here’s a Market Forecast: 2021 Will Be Hard to Predict
https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-a-market-forecast-2021-will-be-hard-to-predict-11608392924

Emergence of a New International Alliance

An emerging new alliance of democracies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/18/an-emerging-new-alliance-democracies/ 

Some U.S. Colleges Cut Tuition

Some U.S. Colleges Cut Tuition, Ending Relentless Price Spiral
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-18/some-u-s-colleges-cut-tuition-ending-relentless-price-spiral 

Philanthropy Done Right

The historic MacKenzie Scott gifts to historically Black colleges and others: Which schools got how much
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/12/18/mackenzie-scott-college-donation-list-hbcus/
‘I Was Stunned’: Big Gifts to Small Colleges from an Unexpected Source
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/mackenzie-scott-college-donations.html
MacKenzie Scott Gives Away $4.2 Billion in Four Months
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-15/mackenzie-scott-gives-away-4-2-billion-within-four-months  

5 ways MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 billion commitment to social and economic justice is a model for other donors
https://theconversation.com/5-ways-mackenzie-scotts-5-8-billion-commitment-to-social-and-economic-justice-is-a-model-for-other-donors-152206 

Capital Gains and State Tax Revenue

Why Some States Are Predicting Higher Revenue Amid Job Losses
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/upshot/pandemic-surprising-state-revenue.html 

WFH - Cost of Living and Tax Considerations

What Happens When the 1% Go Remote
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/what-happens-when-the-1-move-to-miami-and-austin
 
The Work-From-Home Boom Is Here to Stay. Get Ready for Pay Cuts
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-17/work-from-home-tech-companies-cut-pay-of-workers-moving-out-of-big-cities
 
Moving for Cheaper Housing Won’t Necessarily Save You Money
https://www.barrons.com/articles/moving-for-cheaper-housing-wont-necessarily-save-you-money-51608129001

Corporate Performance and Market Outlook

How Markets Can Defy Gravity Again in 2021
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-17/how-markets-can-defy-gravity-again-in-2021-in-10-charts
 
America’s biggest companies are flourishing during the pandemic and putting thousands of people out of work
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/50-biggest-companies-coronavirus-layoffs/

Double-Dip Recession?

U.S. Retail Sales Tumble in Sign Economic Rebound Is Sputtering
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-16/u-s-retail-sales-tumble-in-sign-economic-rebound-is-sputtering 

U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Jump to Highest in Three Months
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-jump-to-highest-in-three-months
 
How the Economy Is Actually Doing, in 9 Charts
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/17/business/economy/economic-indicator-charts-measures.html

Every State in U.S. Saw Personal Incomes Drop in Third Quarter
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-17/every-state-in-u-s-saw-personal-incomes-drop-in-third-quarter

Social Media, Political Polarization, and the Spread of Misinformation

Facebook Is a Doomsday Machine
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/12/facebook-doomsday-machine/617384/
Adrienne LaFrance notes:
“The social web is doing exactly what it was built for. Facebook does not exist to seek truth and report it, or to improve civic health, or to hold the powerful to account, or to represent the interests of its users, though these phenomena may be occasional by-products of its existence. The company’s early mission was to “give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” Instead, it took the concept of “community” and sapped it of all moral meaning. The rise of QAnon, for example, is one of the social web’s logical conclusions. That’s because Facebook—along with Google and YouTube—is perfect for amplifying and spreading disinformation at lightning speed to global audiences. Facebook is an agent of government propaganda, targeted harassment, terrorist recruitment, emotional manipulation, and genocide—a world-historic weapon that lives not underground, but in a Disneyland-inspired campus in Menlo Park, California”.
 
From Voter Fraud to Vaccine Lies: Misinformation Peddlers Shift Gears
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/technology/from-voter-fraud-to-vaccine-lies-misinformation-peddlers-shift-gears.html
 
Welcome to the ‘Turbulent Twenties’
https://www.noemamag.com/welcome-to-the-turbulent-twenties/ 

The Unemployment Insurance Debate

Business comes around on unemployment insurance as pandemic endures
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/15/finance-202-business-comes-around-unemployment-insurance-pandemic-endures/
 
What Happens to the Unemployed When the Checks Run Out
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/business/economy/unemployment-benefits-economy.html 

International Affairs - Interesting Items

Global trade is booming — just without the U.S.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/10/china-trade-regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership/
 
Xi’s China is preparing for a new world order
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/15/xi-china-new-order-trump/
 
The World’s Most Important Body of Water
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/12/south-china-sea-us-ghosts-strategic-tensions/617380/
More than most, four men shaped the oft-cited “strategic tensions” over the South China Sea.

Inflation Debate

After the pandemic, will inflation return?
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/12/12/after-the-pandemic-will-inflation-return

A surge in inflation looks unlikely
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/12/12/a-surge-in-inflation-looks-unlikely 

How Science Beat the Virus

How Science Beat the Virus: And what it lost in the process
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/science-covid-19-manhattan-project/617262/ 

Indian Weddings in the Pandemic Era

The big, fat Indian wedding has shrunk in the pandemic — but hasn’t lost its sheen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/india-coronavirus-weddings/2020/12/13/02c6a506-3415-11eb-9699-00d311f13d2d_story.html 

Honorifics

The Professor and the Madman
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/jill-biden-and-joseph-epstein/617377/ 

US Style Corporate Lobbying Heads to Europe

Big Tech Turns Its Lobbyists Loose on Europe, Alarming Regulators
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/technology/big-tech-lobbying-europe.html

Weekend Read - Work and Happiness

What can hunter-gatherer societies teach us about work, time, and happiness?
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/james-suzman-work/617266/ 

Should There be an Age Limit for Political Leaders?

Seven senators are at least 80 years old. Is it time for them to exit?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-age-grassley-mecconnell-feinstein/2020/12/11/1f33b60a-3bd3-11eb-9276-ae0ca72729be_story.html 

Dianne Feinstein’s Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/dianne-feinsteins-missteps-raise-a-painful-age-question-among-senate-democrats

Financial Midlife Crisis

Covid-19 Is Creating a New Kind of Financial Midlife Crisis
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/covid-news-pandemic-creates-new-kind-of-financial-midlife-crisis 

Undertaking Market Reforms - Real World Challenges

Modi Needs One More Farm Law to End Crisis
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-12/modi-needs-to-fix-india-s-farm-crisis-or-risk-post-covid-recovery

Agricultural reforms should start with our land policy
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/agricultural-reforms-should-start-with-our-land-policy-11607355593182.html

Reforming India’s Agriculture Sector
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-03/india-s-protesting-farmers-need-another-kind-of-government-support

Covid-19 Rules - Will Common Sense Prevail?

American Elites Still Don’t Understand How COVID-19 Works
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/12/americas-bipartisan-covid-19-illiteracy/617368/
Derek Thompson notes:
“The SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads most efficiently among unmasked adult speakers who spend time together in close, unventilated indoor spaces. The virus can also spread through nonverbal activities. Sneezing and coughing obviously produce virus-encased globs of spit, and even heavy breathing—especially during a run or a set of pull-ups—can spray aerosolized droplets that can linger in the air before slipping inside a person’s nose or mouth. The virus does not seem to spread reliably via surfaces. Put simply, COVID-19 is mostly a talking disease—one that could be brought to heel with universal mask wearing, a national campaign that emphasizes quiet in public spaces, and harsh laws about indoor gatherings”.

Skip the Useless Covid-19 Rules, Please

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-06/which-covid-19-rules-are-useless-too-many-of-them

The Logic of Pandemic Restrictions Is Falling Apart

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/11/pandemic-restrictions-no-logic/617204/ 

Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society
https://theconversation.com/masks-and-mandates-how-individual-rights-and-government-regulation-are-both-necessary-for-a-free-society-150819

Those who tell us what to do during the pandemic must earn our trust
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/26/pandemic-earn-trust-facts-vital-covid
 
Rick Santelli and the Dangers of Flouting Covid-19 Facts
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-07/rick-santelli-of-cnbc-embodies-danger-of-flouting-covid-19-facts 

Powell’s Fed and US Monetary Policy

Powell Wins a Place in Pantheon of Fed Chiefs Alongside Volcker
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/jerome-powell-could-be-one-of-federal-reserve-s-most-transformational-chairmen
 
The appointments Biden needs to prioritize to revitalize the economy
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22163440/joe-biden-fed-board-governors-build-back-better 
 
The economic challenges facing the Yellen-Powell policy duo
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/528693-the-economic-challenges-facing-the-yellen-powell-policy-duo  

A Victory for Academic Free Speech

Cambridge University Draws a Line on Free Speech
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-16/cambridge-university-draws-a-line-on-free-speech-and-culture-wars

Cambridge scholars force through free speech policy changes
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cambridge-scholars-force-through-free-speech-policy-changes
Related:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/09/cambridge-university-rejects-proposal-it-be-respectful-of-all-views
 
Background:
https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2020/11/free-speech-versus-cancel-culture.html 

Ergodicity and Expected Utility Theory

Attention Grabbing Headline:
Everything We’ve Learned About Modern Economic Theory Is Wrong
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/everything-we-ve-learned-about-modern-economic-theory-is-wrong
 
The ergodicity problem in economics
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0732-0

Ergodicity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodicity

The Future of Exxon Mobil

‘Is Exxon a Survivor?’ The Oil Giant Is at a Crossroads.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/business/energy-environment/exxon-mobil-pandemic-energy-transition.html
 
Meet the Creator of Lithium Ion Batteries: Exxon Mobil
https://www.barrons.com/articles/meet-the-creator-of-lithium-ion-batteries-exxon-mobil-51607605202 

Economists and Politics

Send in the Economists?
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/send-in-the-economists

Celebrating W. Arthur Lewis

Who is Sir W. Arthur Lewis? Google Doodle Honors Pioneering Economist
https://www.newsweek.com/sir-w-arthur-lewis-google-doodle-pioneering-economist-1553736

DoorDash Billionaires

DoorDash Trio Worth Up to $2.8 Billion Each as IPO Soars
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-09/doordash-ipo-delivers-billions-to-its-stanford-founders
 
Related:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2020/12/09/doordash-ipo-delivers-three-billionaires-as-wall-street-ignores-a-menu-of-losses/ 

MBAs and Corporate Management

Elon Musk decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America
https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-decries-m-b-a-ization-of-america-11607548589
 
The MBA Myth and the Cult of the CEO
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1db3jy3201d38/The-MBA-Myth-and-the-Cult-of-the-CEO

Democracy in America

Why Getting the Most Votes Matters
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/opinion/electoral-college-trump-election.html

What Really Saved the Republic from Trump?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/opinion/trump-constitution-norms.html
 
Trump shows that we need to reform U.S. democracy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-shows-that-we-need-to-reform-us-democracy/2020/12/03/437b5da2-35ab-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html 

Republicans Are Going Down a Dangerous Road
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/12/gops-anti-democratic-bid-overturn-election/617358/

Trump Is Growing the GOP’s ‘Anti–Rule of Law’ Wing

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/12/pa-gop-letter-anti-mask-protests-oath-keepers.html

Rising Popularity of Options Trading

 

China's Bullying Tactics Likely to Backfire

How China’s bullying could backfire
https://www.economist.com/china/2020/12/05/how-chinas-bullying-could-backfire 

How Xi Jinping Blew It
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/11/chinas-missed-opportunity/617136/ 

Democracies must team up to take on China in the technosphere
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/11/19/democracies-must-team-up-to-take-on-china-in-the-technosphere

China’s Bullying of Australia Will Backfire
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-11-19/china-s-trade-pressure-on-australia-will-likely-fail

Naval drills in the Indian Ocean give bite to the anti-China “Quad”

https://www.economist.com/international/2020/11/17/naval-drills-in-the-indian-ocean-give-bite-to-the-anti-china-quad 

Small Business - Impact of the Pandemic

Pandemic Closures Devastate Restaurant Industry’s Middle Class
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/business/pandemic-restaurant-middle-class.html
 
How Pandemic Aid Attracted Hordes of Gleeful and Gutsy Scammers
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/business/ppp-fraud-paycheck-protection-program.html 

Precocious Talent

Undergraduate Math Student Pushes Frontier of Graph Theory
https://www.quantamagazine.org/mit-undergraduate-math-student-pushes-frontier-of-graph-theory-20201130/
 
Meet TIME's First-Ever Kid of the Year
https://time.com/5916772/kid-of-the-year-2020/ 

Physics - Interesting Developments

Life as We Know It Hinges on One Very Small Decimal
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/the-magic-number-that-shapes-the-universe/617288/
Physicists Nail Down the ‘Magic Number’ That Shapes the Universe
https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-measure-the-magic-fine-structure-constant-20201202/
 
A New Theorem Maps Out the Limits of Quantum Physics
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-theorem-maps-out-the-limits-of-quantum-physics-20201203/ 

Profile of a Strange Billionaire

A Tycoon’s Deep-State Conspiracy Dive
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/14/a-tycoons-deep-state-conspiracy-dive 

Reforming the Indian Economy

Agricultural reforms should start with our land policy
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/agricultural-reforms-should-start-with-our-land-policy-11607355593182.html

Reforming India’s Agriculture Sector
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-03/india-s-protesting-farmers-need-another-kind-of-government-support
 
It's time to truly end the British Raj
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/it-s-time-to-truly-end-the-british-raj-11607334769105.html
 
Indian Banking & Finance 2.0
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/opinion-indian-banking-finance-2-0-11607314694344.html 

 

This is no Time for India to Turn Away from Trade
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-11-16/after-rcep-withdrawal-india-shouldn-t-turn-away-from-trade

An In-depth Examination of India’s Economic Challenges
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-opinion-india-and-modi-are-losing-china-battle/
India’s Path to the Big Leagues
https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/09/09/india-s-path-to-big-leagues-pub-82470 

India Plots Smartphone Dominance Amid U.S.-China Trade War
https://www.wsj.com/video/india-plots-smartphone-dominance-amid-us-china-trade-war/12EAC04C-A49B-42C7-8869-36025A80BD0D.html

China's Booming Exports

China’s Exports Surge in Year-End Rush as Pandemic Fuels Demand
China’s Exports Surge in Year-End Rush as Pandemic Fuels Demand - Bloomberg

China’s Record Exports Are the Flipside of the Pandemic in the U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-record-exports-are-the-flipside-of-the-pandemic-in-the-u-s-11607332782

Why did the US trade deficit sharply deteriorate during the pandemic?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/521640-why-did-the-us-trade-deficit-sharply-deteriorate-during-the-pandemic 

Is Goldman Sachs Really Moving to Florida?

Goldman Plots Florida Base for Asset Management in a Blow to New York
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-06/goldman-plots-florida-base-for-asset-management-in-a-blow-to-nyc 

Core Goldman Sachs Won't Flee New York for Florida
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-07/core-goldman-sachs-won-t-flee-new-york-for-florida
 
Goldman in Florida. Hewlett in Houston. Who's Next?
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-08/goldman-in-florida-hewlett-in-houston-who-s-next

Pandemic is Forcing Millennials to Move Back Home

Coronavirus Update

A gamble pays off in ‘spectacular success’: How the leading coronavirus vaccines made it to the finish line
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/06/covid-vaccine-messenger-rna/

Europe is starting to beat the pandemic’s surge. The U.S. is not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/12/07/europe-coronavirus-united-states/

The exponential rise in Covid-19 hospitalizations, in one chart
https://www.vox.com/2020/11/12/21560902/covid-19-risk-hospitalizations-chart-texas-illinois
 
The True Shape of the Covid-19 Pandemic May Surprise You
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-01/undetected-covid-cases-change-the-true-shape-of-the-pandemic  

The Fed and the US Stock Market

Thank the Fed for the Stock Market’s Run—And the Plodding Pace to Come
https://www.wsj.com/articles/thank-the-fed-for-the-stock-markets-runand-the-plodding-pace-to-come-11607256000
The economic challenges facing the Yellen-Powell policy duo
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/528693-the-economic-challenges-facing-the-yellen-powell-policy-duo 

UK - Worst Performing G-7 Economy

Why was the UK hit harder than any other G7 economy?
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2020/12/year-shook-economy 

Potential Wild Card for 2021 Projections - Financial Crisis in China

China's Lehman Brothers moment
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-s-Lehman-Brothers-moment
 
How property-hungry Chinese millennials and shadow banking could fuel a financial crisis
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3111911/how-property-hungry-chinese-millennials-and-shadow-banking-could
 
Bad debts in China
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/11/28/bad-debts-in-china 

Fiscal and Monetary Policy in the Pandemic Era

The economic challenges facing the Yellen-Powell policy duo
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/528693-the-economic-challenges-facing-the-yellen-powell-policy-duo

Covid Relief Makes Sense for Republicans, Too
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-04/covid-relief-bill-the-politics-now-make-sense-for-republicans

Jobs Data Was ‘Perfect Miss’ for Fed and Fiscal Stimulus
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-04/jobs-report-was-perfect-miss-for-fed-and-fiscal-stimulus

Fiscal Policy During and Beyond the Covid Crisis by Mervyn King

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-04/mervyn-king-on-covid-fiscal-policy-and-the-recession
What Yellen Must Do by Joe Stiglitz
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/yellen-us-economic-recovery-after-covid-pandemic-by-joseph-e-stiglitz-2020-12
Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Debt by Paul Krugman
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/opinion/biden-republicans-debt.html
Federal Deficits Don't Work Like Credit Cards by Noah Smith
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-04/federal-deficits-don-t-work-like-credit-cards 

The Puzzle of Low Interest Rates by Greg Mankiw
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/business/low-interest-rates-puzzle.html

Pandemic Disrupts the Labor Market

Covid Shrinks the Labor Market, Pushing Out Women and Baby Boomers
https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-shrinks-the-labor-market-pushing-out-women-and-baby-boomers-11607022074
 
In Blue States and Red, Pandemic Upends Public Services and Jobs
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/business/economy/state-local-finances.html
 
Our long, cold winter is already here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/our-long-cold-winter-is-already-here/2020/12/03/bc3697a6-35a2-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html 

What is a Human Life Worth?

COVID Goes to College
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/07/covid-goes-to-college
 
Related:
https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2020/05/covid-19-shock-trade-offs-and-costs.html

Skills and Earnings

Up to 30 Million in U.S. Have the Skills to Earn 70% More, Researchers Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/technology/work-skills-upward-mobility.html
 
WORK EXPERIENCE AS A JOB MARKET SIGNAL FOR WORKERS WITHOUT BACHELOR'S DEGREES
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26844/w26844.pdf

How Latin America’s Messy Politics Affects US Elections

Miami Trumps Biden
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/how-trump-won-with-venezuela-in-miami-by-ricardo-hausmann-and-jos-morales-arilla-2020-12  

Miami-Dade Hispanics helped sink Biden in Florida

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-miami-dade-vote-drop/2020/11/04/ec06f13e-1ebd-11eb-ba21-f2f001f0554b_story.html

Florida was always the cynical goal behind Trump’s disastrous Latin America policies

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/04/florida-was-always-cynical-goal-behind-trumps-disastrous-latin-america-policies/

A Florida Latina wants to give Donald Trump 4 more years

https://www.dw.com/en/a-florida-latina-wants-to-give-donald-trump-4-more-years/a-55378721

What Liberals Don’t Understand About Pro-Trump Latinos
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/10/trump-latinos-biden-2020/616901/

US Foreign Policy Under Biden

A Return to Decency
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/opinion/a-return-to-decency.html
Biden Wants America to Lead the World. It Shouldn’t.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/opinion/biden-foreign-policy.html 

Team Biden says America is back. But is Asia ready to welcome it?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Team-Biden-says-America-is-back.-But-is-Asia-ready-to-welcome-it

US Housing Market Boom

Explaining the Frenzy in the Housing Market
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/upshot/home-prices-explaining-frenzy.html 

Homebuyers Brace for Pain in a Post-Pandemic Market
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-01/homebuyers-brace-for-pain-in-a-post-vaccine-housing-market 

Democracy in Hong Kong – RIP

An Ominous Milestone in Hong Kong’s Democratic Descent
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/12/hong-kong-joshua-wong/617276/ 

Political Leaning and Consumer Confidence

Polling shows that Republicans have turned bearish on the outlook for their family finances since the election, while Democratic optimism is rising.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/business/economy/economy-survey.html 

Was the PPP Aid Program Badly Designed?

P.P.P. Loan Data Shows How a Sliver of Borrowers Got Much of the Help
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/business/paycheck-protection-program-coronavirus.html
Just 1 percent of borrowers received more than a quarter of the money given out in the form of forgivable loans.
 
More than half of emergency small-business funds went to larger businesses, new data shows
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/01/ppp-sba-data/ 

2021 Admissions to MBA Programs

M.B.A. Applicants, Brace for ‘Most Competitive Year Ever’
https://www.wsj.com/articles/m-b-a-applicants-brace-for-most-competitive-year-ever-11606924882
Business schools are expected to be more selective, as applications surge after programs granted record deferrals earlier in pandemic 

Challenges Facing the Biden Economic Team

The Biggest Challenge Facing Joe Biden’s New Economic Team
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-biggest-challenge-facing-joe-bidens-new-economic-team 

Asia Leads the Global Economic Recovery

Asian manufacturing boom offers hope for swifter global recovery from Covid
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/01/asian-manufacturing-boom-offers-hope-for-swifter-global-recovery-from-covid
 
South Korea’s Economic Recovery Hints at Global Trade Resilience
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-01/korea-s-exports-rise-in-november-despite-worsening-pandemic
 
‘The Zoom Boom’: Asia Leads the World in Covid-19 Economic Recovery
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-zoom-boom-asia-leads-the-world-in-covid-19-economic-recovery-11605445200
 
Why German industry is looking past China to the rest of Asia
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Why-German-industry-is-looking-past-China-to-the-rest-of-Asia
 
Nippon Steel and ArcelorMittal plot Indian expansion blitz
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Materials/Nippon-Steel-and-ArcelorMittal-plot-Indian-expansion-blitz
 
Why the West failed to contain Covid-19
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2020/11/why-west-failed-contain-covid-19 

US Stock Market - 2021 Outlook

The Stock Markets have a Steep Hill to Climb in 2021
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2020/11/30/the-stock-markets-have-a-steep-hill-to-climb-in-2021/ 

The Bull Market Rotates Away from Tech-Driven Mega-Companies
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-02/stock-market-bulls-rotate-away-from-tech-to-cheap-small-stocks

Stock Market’s Rally Is Finally Widening
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-stock-markets-rally-is-finally-widening-11606732202 

A Bridge for Animals

India builds bridge to help reptiles cross road
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55099112 

The Pandemic Shock – Short and Long-Run Economic Effects

The Pandemic Recession Has Given Way to a K-Shaped U.S. Economic Recovery

https://www.ut.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Business/Economics/Tampabayeconomy_fall2020.pdf

Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales disappoint, another sign the economic recovery is stumbling
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/01/black-friday-cyber-monday-spending/ 

These ‘Little Land Mines’ Could Prevent a Summertime Boom
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/upshot/economic-boom-possible-covid.html
 
Reinventing Workers for the Post-Covid Economy
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/business/economy/workers-jobs-training.html
 
A New Setback for Big Cities as Return to the Office Fades
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-new-setback-for-big-cities-as-return-to-the-office-fades-11606818601  

Global Oil Market

Even Exxon Mobil Is Capitulating to Peak Oil Demand
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-01/exxon-mobil-capitulates-to-peak-oil-demand-with-huge-writedown
 
Related:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-peak-oil-era-is-suddenly-upon-us/