Attention Economy


Sunday, October 31, 2021

Risk of a Wage-Price Spiral


My Take:

at
Labels: , , , , ,

Incentives Matter: Economics of Policing in America

The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-money-funding.html
Busted taillights, missing plates, tinted windows: Across the U.S., ticket revenue funds towns — and the police responsible for finding violations. 

at
Labels:

Cancel Culture in Academics

M.I.T.’s Choice of Lecturer Ignited Criticism. So Did Its Decision to Cancel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/us/dorian-abbot-mit.html
Why the Latest Campus Cancellation is Different
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/why-latest-campus-cancellation-different/620352/
The Views That Made Me Persona Non Grata at MIT
https://www.wsj.com/articles/cancel-culture-college-mit-dorian-abbot-university-chicago-representation-equity-equality-11635516316
The Diversity Problem on Campus
https://www.newsweek.com/diversity-problem-campus-opinion-1618419
 
University of Florida bars faculty members from testifying in voting rights lawsuit against DeSantis administration
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/30/florida-voting-rights-desantis-lawsuit/ 

Interview with Christopher Eisgruber (the head of Princeton):
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/10/princeton-president-racism-inequality/620340/
Eisgruber: Right now, everybody insists on dividing free speech and inclusivity from one another. They insist on a version of the free-speech ideal that is just about unconstrained expression. But we are not here just to have unfettered expression. We are a part of a truth-seeking enterprise. We try to make a difference in the world by, among other things, distinguishing better and worse arguments. We should want people not only talking at one another, hurling insults, and never learning a thing. That would be fully consistent with the demands of free speech, but it would not do anything in terms of what this university seeks to achieve. We need people communicating in ways that respect one another and learn from one another across differences, both of opinion and background.

Related:

at
Labels: ,

Does Tesla's Stock Valuation Make Sense?


WELCOME TO THE STONK MARKET
https://www.theverge.com/22744728/money-fandom-cryptocurrency-retail-trades-stocks
Is finance just another meme?

Related:
Toyota in hot pursuit of Tesla, unveiling EV with 500 km range

China’s Popular Electric Vehicles Have Put Europe’s Automakers on Notice
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/business/electric-cars-china-europe.html
at
Labels: , , ,

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Space Wars

at
Labels:

Rewriting the Rules for Global Cities

Singapore Is Rewriting the Rules for Global Cities
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-30/singapore-is-rewriting-the-rules-for-global-cities
The role model for Dubai and other economic hubs wants to achieve a new balance between foreign and local workers. 

at
Labels: ,

India's Growth Prospects Improve

Why India is on the cusp of a virtuous cycle
https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/why-india-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-virtuous-cycle-1044718.html
 
Under Narendra Modi, India will lead global economic recovery
https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/under-narendra-modi-india-will-lead-global-economic-recovery-1.83263583
 
Global bond market indices still exclude India, but the country could take its place in the benchmark in 2022—with far-reaching implications for bonds and beyond.
https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/india-global-bond-indices 

at
Labels: , , ,

Goldman Sachs – Mea Culpa on Rate Hike Forecasts

Goldman Now Sees Fed Hiking Rates in July as Inflation Lingers
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-30/goldman-now-sees-fed-hiking-rates-in-july-as-inflation-lingers
 
Goldman’s Hatzius Sees No Fed Hike Next Year as Growth Slows
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-11/goldman-s-hatzius-sees-no-fed-hike-next-year-as-growth-slows
 
This is what I wrote in May, 2021:
Should the Fed be less complacent about inflation risks?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/554058-should-the-fed-be-less-complacent-about-inflation-risks
“The Fed should also abandon its commitment to maintaining near-zero policy rates until the end of 2023 and be open to an interest rate hike in 2022 if inflationary pressures become entrenched. Persistently high inflation is a slippery slope that may lead to rising inflation expectations, which may necessitate a painful monetary contraction in the future”. 

at
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, October 29, 2021

Political Polarization - Causes and Consequences

How tech platforms fuel U.S. political polarization and what government can do about it
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/09/27/how-tech-platforms-fuel-u-s-political-polarization-and-what-government-can-do-about-it/
 
How to Fix Social Media
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-fix-social-media-11635526928
Twelve leading figures from tech, government and academia —including Nick Clegg, Amy Klobuchar, Josh Hawley and David French—discuss how to deal with the problems posed by the biggest social media sites.

The House of Representatives Is Failing American Democracy
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/house-representatives-congress-filibuster-democracy/620275/
By fleeing to the political extremes, a co-equal House of Congress is abdicating its lawmaking power. 

It’s Not Misinformation. It’s Amplified Propaganda.

David Shor Is Telling Democrats What They Don’t Want to Hear
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/opinion/democrats-david-shor-education-polarization.html
Ezra Klein notes:
“I want to stop here and say I believe, as does Shor, that educational polarization is serving here as a crude measure of class polarization. We tend to think of class as driven by income, but in terms of how it’s formed and practiced in America right now, education tracks facets that paychecks miss. A high school dropout who owns a successful pest extermination company in the Houston exurbs might have an income that looks a lot like a software engineer’s at Google, while an adjunct professor’s will look more like an apprentice plumber’s. But in terms of class experience — who they know, what they believe, where they’ve lived, what they watch, who they marry and how they vote, act and protest — the software engineer is more like the adjunct professor”.

Will America Remain a Stable Country?

at
Labels: , , ,

Are Women Better Investors than Men?

Women May Be Better Investors Than Men. Let Me Mansplain Why.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/your-money/women-investing-stocks.html
Overconfidence is bad, and women are less likely to fall victim to it. 

Related:
Why are investors so cocky? They often have a biased memory – and selectively forget their money-losing stocks
https://theconversation.com/why-are-investors-so-cocky-they-often-have-a-biased-memory-and-selectively-forget-their-money-losing-stocks-170020

at
Labels: ,

African Migration

African odyssey: Many more Africans are migrating within their own continent than to Europe
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/10/30/many-more-africans-are-migrating-within-africa-than-to-europe 

at
Labels: , , ,

Post-Soviet Russia

Three decades after the Soviet era, this street echoes what was and hints where Russia is heading
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/russia-soviet-30-anniversary-tverskaya/ 

at
Labels: ,

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Delta Variant and Supply Constraints Limit 2021Q3 GDP Growth

U.S. economic growth lagged in the third quarter, but hopeful signs abound for the rest of 2021
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/28/gdp-q3-economy-delta/

at
Labels: ,

Facebook Goes Meta

at
Labels: ,

Gen Z in the Workplace

The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them
Twenty-somethings rolling their eyes at the habits of their elders is a longstanding trend, but many employers said there’s a new boldness in the way Gen Z dictates taste.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/business/gen-z-workplace-culture.html 

at
Labels: ,

Beware of Asset Bubbles

 It's Becoming Tempting to Try Timing the Bubble Again
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-27/stock-bubble-timing-entices-again-with-tesla-topping-1-trillion
John Authers notes:
U.S. stock indexes are at all-time highs again. A Bitcoin will still cost more than $60,000. Tesla Inc. (likely revenue for this year: $51.1 billion) is worth $1 trillion. There’s a mighty plausible case that we have a bubble on our hands. So what?
 

No one seems worried about a housing bubble. Just like last time the bubble burst
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/27/economy/housing-bubble-risk/index.html

Is this a Bitcoin bubble? The debate is roiling some of Wall Street’s most seasoned investors
https://fortune.com/2021/10/21/is-this-a-bitcoin-bubble-the-debate-is-roiling-some-of-wall-streets-most-seasoned-investors/
All Those Silly Crypto Ads Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-28/crypto-ads-on-london-tube-paris-metro-subway-obscure-risks-of-bitcoin-doge
Viral economic narratives around crypto are designed to offer easy answers to a complicated world.
 
The Godfather, $700 Billion, and a Crazy Game of Chicken
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-28/chip-shortages-the-godfather-700-billion-and-a-game-of-chicken

at
Labels: , ,

Cost of Higher Inflation

Higher Food Prices Hit the Poor and Those Who Help Them
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/business/economy/food-prices-us.html 

at
Labels:

WSJ - The Battle to Uphold Journalistic Standards

Wall Street Journal reporters object while opinion section prints Trump's letter to the editor
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/27/media/wall-street-journal-trump-reliable-sources/index.html
Brian Stelter:
The Journal's opinion operation is separate from the newsroom and sometimes downright oppositional. But both are part of Rupert Murdoch's cherished newspaper, which is a key part of the News Corp portfolio.
Several Journal reporters grumbled about the letter after it came out on Wednesday, but none were surprised it was published, given the Opinion section's right-wing and contrarian bent.
"I think it's very disappointing that our opinion section continues to publish misinformation that our news side works so hard to debunk," one of the reporters said. "They should hold themselves to the same standards we do!"
 
Related:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/27/14-things-you-need-know-about-trumps-letter-wall-street-journal/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/10/27/trump-letter-wall-street-journal-election/

at
Labels:

China’s Economic Challenges and Long-Term Growth Prospects

Analysis: Xi's new tax threatens China's invincible housing market
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Xi-s-new-tax-threatens-China-s-invincible-housing-market

The rise and fall of Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/China-debt-crunch/The-rise-and-fall-of-Evergrande-founder-Xu-Jiayin 

How China's energy crisis has sent commodity markets reeling
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Market-Spotlight/How-China-s-energy-crisis-has-sent-commodity-markets-reeling 

China crackdown: How much pain can the economy take?
https://www.dw.com/en/china-crackdown-how-much-pain-can-the-economy-take/a-59441137
 
The End of a ‘Gilded Age’: China Is Bringing Business to Heel
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/business/china-businesses.html 
 
Why Wall Street Cheers China, Despite Growing Business Unease
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/business/china-business-wall-street.html 


BIG PICTURE:

What China's economic permabears keep getting wrong


As China Boomed, It Didn’t Take Climate Change into Account. Now it Must.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/asia/china-climate-change.html 

at
Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

A Fantastic Combo Grad Degree Program

The dual degree between the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics will allow students to gain two distinct and complementary degrees – a Master of Global Affairs (MGA) from Toronto and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the London School of Economics — in two years rather than the four years otherwise required to complete these degrees consecutively.
https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/mga/dual-degree-with-lse 

at
Labels: ,

Reading the Bond Market Tea Leaves

The Bond Market Says Inflation Will Last. You Should Be Listening.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/business/inflation-interest-rates-treasury-bonds.html
 
Hedge Fund Superstars Can’t Master Yield Curves
Billionaire Chris Rokos’s $14.5 billion macro fund lost 11% this month as rates fluctuated wildly. And he’s probably not alone
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-27/hedge-fund-superstars-like-chris-rokos-can-t-master-yield-curves
 
My piece from July 30:
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/565660-is-the-recent-dip-in-treasury-yields-a-cause-for-concern
“It is hard to justify today’s ultra-low yields on long-dated Treasuries based on fundamentals unless we are headed for a period of dramatically weaker growth that is accompanied by extremely low inflation, an outcome that appears unlikely. Rationally, we should expect yields to rise going forward”. 

at
Labels: , , ,

Anthony Downs and the Theory of Rational Ignorance

Anthony Downs, who viewed politics and traffic through the lens of economics, dies at 90
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/anthony-downs-dead/2021/10/27/ebff5d5a-3679-11ec-8be3-e14aaacfa8ac_story.html
“Whether buying a car, purchasing household items or voting for a candidate, Dr. Downs wrote, most people make their choices largely on the basis of self-interest. As politicians compete for attention, the voters, in turn, base their decisions on what will give them the greatest benefit or utility, to borrow a term from economics. Paradoxically, Dr. Downs concluded, one of those choices is to not vote at all.
This idea, which became known as the theory of “rational ignorance,” suggests that many potential voters decide that the investment of time and mental energy to learn about political candidates and issues is not worth the effort — particularly in elections in which their votes are unlikely to affect the outcome.
In other words, if voting were subjected to a cost-benefit analysis, many people would decide that doing something else — working, playing, studying — is more important than casting a ballot”. 

at
Labels: ,

Living Under Extreme Heat Conditions

Life at 50C: Surviving in Kuwait's 'unbearable' heat
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-59054893 

at
Labels:

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

E-Bikes and the Future of Urban Transportation

Author Lionel Shriver on E-Bikes:
How tech revolutions happen
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/e-everything-is-heading-your-way 

at
Labels:

Reexamining History

CHURCHILL’S SHADOW: The Life and Afterlife of Winston Churchill by Geoffrey Wheatcroft
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324002765/about-the-book/reviews
 
Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W French
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/26/born-in-blackness-howard-w-french-review-africa-africans-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world 

at
Labels: ,

Economics and Politics

Rising Prices, Once Seen as Temporary, Threaten Biden’s Agenda
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/business/economy/biden-inflation.html
 
Proposed Tax on Billionaires Raises Question: What’s Income?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/upshot/biden-tax-billionaires.html 

at
Labels: , , , ,

Tech and Extremist Politics

HOW FACEBOOK FAILS 90 PERCENT OF ITS USERS
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-failed-the-world/620479/
 
Thousands of pages of internal documents offer the clearest picture yet of how Facebook endangers American democracy—and show that the company’s own employees know it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-papers-democracy-election-zuckerberg/620478/
 
DeSantis Elevates Vaccine Antics to Theater of the Absurd
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-26/mandates-desantis-elevates-vaccine-antics-to-theater-of-the-absurd 

at
Labels: ,

Monday, October 25, 2021

Legacy Admissions


As elite college applications soar, legacy admissions still give wealthy and connected students an edge
https://hechingerreport.org/column-as-elite-college-applications-soar-legacy-admissions-still-give-wealthy-and-connected-students-an-edge/ 

The Economist chart shows that Harvard favors "athletes and legacies with poor grades over regular applicants with top marks"
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/10/04/does-harvard-accept-its-cleverest-applicants

A new paper provides stark evidence that Harvard gives preferential treatment to affluent white applicants through legacy preferences and sports recruitment
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/harvard-university-and-scandal-sports-recruitment/599248/

GMU economist Tyler Cowen notes:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-09-23/harvard-s-legacies-are-nothing-to-be-proud-of
“Non-meritocratic admissions not only corrode the ideals of those who want to become part of supposedly great American institutions. They also give the rest of us less faith in the institutions that supposedly make America great.”

at
Labels: ,

Evolution of the Novel

Is Amazon Changing the Novel?
In the new literary landscape, readers are customers, writers are service providers, and books are expected to offer instant gratification.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/11/01/is-amazon-changing-the-novel-everything-and-less 

at
Labels:

Signs of Market Froth?

Is Tesla Really Worth $1 Trillion?
Tesla Touches Trillion Dollar Mark as EVs Go Mainstream
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-25/tesla-races-toward-trillion-dollar-value-as-evs-go-mainstream

Is this a Bitcoin bubble? The debate is roiling some of Wall Street’s most seasoned investors
https://fortune.com/2021/10/21/is-this-a-bitcoin-bubble-the-debate-is-roiling-some-of-wall-streets-most-seasoned-investors/
 
Trump Takes Advantage of Wall Street Fad to Bankroll New Venture
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/business/media/trump-spac-social-media-venture.html
 
Cheap Money’s Lifting Just About Everything. Enjoy It While It Lasts.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/metaverse-facebook-tech-stocks-51634943295
 
The 1929 Stock Market Crash Caught Nearly Everyone Off Guard. Are We Headed for a Similar Fate?
https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-crash-1929-51634717700 

at
Labels: ,

Some Thoughts on US Labor Market Conditions

MY TAKE: Is the robust job market masking underlying labor market risks?

Related:

at
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Energy Economics


The wild ride to come by Adam Tooze
https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2021/10/the-wild-ride-to-come
Why the so-called “energy crisis” is both a threat and an opportunity.

at
Labels: , , ,

Rising Inflation Expectations, Yield Spikes, and Bond Market Risks

Bondholders Risk $2.6 Trillion Hit on Even a Modest Yield Rise
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-23/bondholders-risk-2-6-trillion-hit-on-even-a-modest-yield-rise
“After a wild week on Wall Street that saw inflation expectations reach decade highs, portfolio managers are staring down an ever-more dangerous prospect: A modest rise in yields that inflicts trillions of dollars in losses.
It’s a result of investors’ exposure to duration, a key gauge of risk for bondholders that’s near record highs. Even a half-percentage point jump in yields from here, to roughly the pre-pandemic average in 2019, would be enough to ravage funds of all stripes. It’s a threat with implications across asset classes, from emerging markets to high-flying tech shares”.

at
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Italy - A Hot Property Investment Destination

at
Labels: ,

Declining Institutional Quality and the Future of the West

Afghanistan shows the American dream of remaking the world is over
https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2021/10/afghanistan-shows-the-american-dream-of-remaking-the-world-is-over
John Gray observes:
“… the liberal mode of government is decaying in the countries where it originated. The US in particular shows many of the signs of a state in disrepair. An American cultural revolution has transformed the country out of recognition. Police forces are being defunded, and some cities, such as Portland, are not far from becoming ungoverned spaces. A combination of ultra-progressive social policies and neoliberal capitalism is turning others, such as San Francisco, into drug-sodden shanty towns, but without the informal communities that preserve some semblance of order in developing countries. Superficially at odds, neoliberalism and the prevailing progressivism have a common root in the privileging of individual choice over other human values. Together, they erode the social bonds that individuals need in order to make meaningful decisions. The result is an acute form of anomie”. 

at
Labels: , ,

The States versus Markets (Keynes vs. Hayek) Debate Revisited


Price and Prejudice: Another Kind of Fundamentalism
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/price-and-prejudice

DOCUMENTARY - Commanding Heights: The Battle of Ideas - Episode One
https://youtu.be/gfRTpoYpHfw

How austerity broke Britain – and how we can recover by ROBERT SKIDELSKY 
Prof. Skidelsky surveys the post-WW II evolution of macroeconomics and considers the rise and fall of Keynesian economics.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/10/how-austerity-broke-britain-and-how-we-can-recover

The Economist on John Maynard Keynes
https://www.economist.com/schools-brief/2018/08/18/was-john-maynard-keynes-a-liberal
Richard A. Posner’s 2009 piece on Keynes:
https://newrepublic.com/article/69601/how-i-became-keynesian

Hayek, Popper and Schumpeter formulated a response to tyranny
https://www.economist.com/schools-brief/2018/08/25/hayek-popper-and-schumpeter-formulated-a-response-to-tyranny

--
US Fiscal Policy Debates
A new problem for Democrats: Americans suddenly want smaller government after all
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/14/new-problem-democrats-americans-suddenly-want-smaller-government-after-all/ 
As House and Senate leaders continue to negotiate over their signature legislation, they should focus on what the federal government does best.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-23/biden-agenda-key-to-democrats-success-is-big-government

The Conservative Caricature of Keynesianism
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/07/11/we-are-all-illiterate-about-what-keynesianism-means/
Daniel W. Drezner notes:
“You can say a lot of things about the Trump administration’s domestic economic agenda, but you know what word best describes it? Keynesian. In the past 18 months, this administration has signed off on a massive tax cut and a massive increase in government expenditures. As Vox’s Tara Golshan summarized it, “The deal lifts funding for domestic programs by $128 billion and hikes defense budgets by $160 billion.”
That is a classic example of expansionary fiscal policy. Consistent with previous cases of Keynesian fiscal expansions, it leans heavily on tax cuts and boosts in military spending. This has happened so often, in fact (early 1960s, early 1980s, early 2000s), that Thomas Oatley labels it “military Keynesianism,” and he is right.”
Related:
https://www.aier.org/article/conservatives-and-laffer-curve-ugly-love-affair
at
Labels: , , , , , ,

Friday, October 22, 2021

WFH versus RTO

To Get Ahead at Work, Lawyers Find It Helps to Actually Be at Work
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/business/economy/law-firm-return-to-office.html 

at
Labels: ,

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Is it Time to Cut Back on Shopping?

It’s time for Americans to buy less stuff
Thanks to the supply chain crisis, holiday shopping won’t be easy this year — even if you buy early.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22725031/buying-less-supply-chain-holiday-shopping 

at
Labels: ,

Real-Time Data and the Future of Macroeconomics

at
Labels:

American Right's Love Affair with Hungary

How the American Right Fell in Love with Hungary
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/magazine/viktor-orban-rod-dreher.html 

at
Labels: ,

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The Case Against Economic Sanctions

The Case Against Economic Sanctions
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/the-case-against-economic-sanctions-by-robert-skidelsky-2021-10
It is highly doubtful whether the increasing use of economic sanctions in international politics is just, expedient, or effective. And when proponents of these punitive measures claim that commerce is possible only between civilized people, they ignore the civilizing effect of commerce itself. 

at
Labels: , ,

Supply Shortages, Rising Wages and Labor Supply

Boris Johnson Claims a Positive in Britain’s Shortages. Economists Disagree.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/business/boris-johnson-shortages-britain.html 

The Economic Rebound Is Still Waiting for Workers
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/business/economy/us-economy.html 

at
Labels: , , ,

China’s Bullying Tactics Will Backfire

at
Labels:

Monday, October 18, 2021

Controversy Surrounding World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ Index

Scandal involving World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ index exposes problems in using sports-like rankings to guide development goals
https://theconversation.com/scandal-involving-world-banks-doing-business-index-exposes-problems-in-using-sportslike-rankings-to-guide-development-goals-169691 

at
Labels: , , ,

Hikvision- China's Surveillance Tech Firm Goes Global

With generous state support at home and low-cost sales abroad, Hikvision has become a world heavyweight.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/china-america-surveillance-hikvision/620404/

at
Labels: , , ,

What is Driving the Latest Bitcoin Surge?

Bitcoin's Super-Swift Rebound May Have Been Made in China
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-18/bitcoin-s-record-testing-rebound-may-have-been-made-in-china
The most convincing explanation for the cryptocurrency’s record-testing rally may be its resilience in the face of a clampdown by Beijing.

Related:

at
Labels: , , ,

Is the US Housing Market Starting to Cool?

Zillow’s House Flipping Hits a Snag as the Red-Hot U.S. Housing Market Shows Signs It’s Cooling
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-18/zillow-s-flipping-snag-spotlights-risk-in-cooling-housing-market 

at
Labels: , , ,

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Salah – The Egyptian Magician

Liverpool’s Mo Salah may be the best player in the world.

at
Labels:

Japan Keeps its Elderly Employed and Active

How Japan keeps its elderly employed and active
https://www.dw.com/en/how-japan-keeps-its-elderly-employed-and-active/a-59516633
Instead of using retirement to relax, many Japanese prefer to put their skills and knowledge to the best use for society, and have gone back to work. They say that staying at work keeps them mentally and physically fit.

at
Labels: , ,

Political Gerrymandering – Can Math Solve the Problem?


at
Labels: ,

Bailouts and Moral Hazard

China Won’t Save Evergrande for Many Good Reasons
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-15/china-won-t-save-evergrande-to-prove-who-s-boss-to-its-reckless-developers
Many of the country’s debt-laden developers believe they are immortal because Beijing hasn’t proven that it’s serious about reforms.
 
My take:
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/573971-chinas-future-hinges-on-xis-radical-economic-reforms
China’s dangerous reliance on its vast real estate sector to sustain growth and the resultant excesses of the property sector forced the country’s leadership to deal with the growing economic and financial distortions. Chinese authorities introduced the “three red lines” campaign in August 2020 to force deleveraging in the real estate sector.
Evergrande appears to be one of the major casualties of the campaign. The Chinese idiom “kill the chicken to scare the monkey” may explain the reluctance of authorities to bailout Evergrande as they attempt to signal the seriousness of their push to transition to a new growth model.

at
Labels: , , ,

Friday, October 15, 2021

'The Great Resignation' and the US Labor Market

A record number of Americans are quitting their jobs. Here’s how they make money after they quit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/14/getting-by-financially-quitting-job/
 
The Great Resignation Is Accelerating
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/great-resignation-accelerating/620382/

During the ‘Great Resignation,’ workers refuse to accept the unacceptable

at
Labels: , ,

Economics of Healthcare

Drug Prices by Committee: One Way Biden Could Lower Costs
Many countries use independent review boards to balance innovation and profit.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/upshot/biden-drug-prices.html
 
Drug Innovation: When Patents Work (and When They Don’t)
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/drug-innovation-when-patents-work
In recent years, drug makers have developed a host of dazzling products, including some based on cutting-edge gene therapy technology. Given the difficulties (scientific, financial and regulatory) of developing these new technologies and bringing them to market, pharmas argue that strong patent protection is essential if we expect innovation to continue at the current pace. Or maybe not. Fundamental shifts in the technology behind drug development suggest there are alternative ways for ensuring that successful innovators recoup their investments. And in light of the societal costs that are part and parcel of protecting intellectual property with patents, it’s worth asking whether this form of protection sometimes does more harm than good.
 
Our patent system is broken. And it could be stifling innovation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/08/08/our-patent-system-is-broken-it-could-be-stifling-innovation/
 
Are drug patents worth it? | The Economist
https://www.economist.com/business/2021/05/15/are-drug-patents-worth-it

--

at
Labels: , , ,

Will High Inflation Persist?

Uncomfortable inflation is here, and it’s changing the economy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/15/us-economy-inflation-uncomfortable/

Rising Rents Are Fueling Inflation, Posing Trouble for the Fed
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/business/economy/rent-inflation.html
 
Inflation in the economy today is different. Here are four charts that can explain why.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/14/inflation-prices-supply-chain/
 
Tight Labor Market, Supply Constraints Point to Persistent Inflation
https://www.wsj.com/articles/weekly-jobless-claims-10-14-2021-11634156061
4.3 million Workers Are Missing. Where Did They Go?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-shortage-missing-workers-jobs-pay-raises-economy-11634224519 

at
Labels: , , , ,

Institutional Decline in America

Good Enough for Government Work?
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/good-enough-for-government-work
Cliff Winston:
Do we really know why government policies seem so inefficient, and why they are rarely reformed? For centuries, economists have been cataloguing sources of the systemic failure of markets to achieve efficient outcomes and then offering government policy fixes. By contrast, little has been written with much analytical depth about the sources of persistent government inefficiencies. The well-known political economy models of government stress the importance of organized special interests, including people in government, who engage in rent-seeking and distort policy formation and implementation or (the flip side) resist efficient policy changes. But as we shall see, the evidence of what’s really going on is weak even if one includes both the conventional “demanders” of policy, who try to purchase influence through lobbying and campaign contributions, and the “suppliers” of policy — government employees and elected officials who are influenced by their personal characteristics and the environment in which they work. The important implication is that it is exceedingly difficult to infer how government can overcome its failures and improve its policies. In contrast, markets have the incentive and ability to correct their own failures over time. 

at
Labels: , ,

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Recent Developments in the Crypto World

Putin Says He Accepts Crypto’s Role in Making Payments
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-14/putin-defends-cryptocurrencies-amid-global-regulation-push
 
U.S. overtakes China to become world’s largest bitcoin mining hub, report finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/14/us-leads-china-bitcoin-mining-largest/

at
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Inflation Debate: Transitory is a Bad Word

The Current Inflation Episode: Have We Met Our FAIT?
Raphael Bostic, President of Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, states:
You'll notice I brought a prop to the lectern. It's a jar with the word "transitory" written on it. This has become a swear word to my staff and me over the past few months. Say "transitory" and you have to put a dollar in the jar. 

at
Labels: , , ,

Natural Resource Curse – The Case of Mongolia

at
Labels: ,

Seattle is Booming

As Big Tech Grows in the Pandemic, Seattle Grows with It
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/business/seattle-real-estate-coronavirus.html 

at
Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

US and Global Economic Conditions - Oct 2021 Update


Prices were up 5.4 percent in September over last year, as delta holds back economic recovery
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/13/september-inflation-cpi-fed/
 
A record number of workers are quitting their jobs, empowered by new leverage
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/12/jolts-workers-quitting-august-pandemic/
 
A Stock Market Malaise with the Shadow of ’70s-Style Stagflation
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/business/stocks-inflation-stagflation.html

at
Labels: , , , ,

AI and Deep Fakes

 How synthetic media, or deep fakes, could soon change our world


at
Labels:

Western Institutions and Global Corruption


The City of London Is Hiding the World’s Stolen Money
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/opinion/pandora-papers-britain-london.html

FOREIGN MONEY SECRETLY FLOODS U.S. TAX HAVENS. SOME OF IT IS TAINTED.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/booming-us-tax-haven-industry/
 
How money has flowed from the sugar fields of the Dominican Republic to the burgeoning tax haven of South Dakota
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/central-romana-tax-haven-south-dakota/

The United States of Dirty Money
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/how-south-dakota-became-haven-dirty-money/620298/
How landlocked South Dakota became one of the world’s hottest destinations for offshore funds.

at
Labels: , , , ,

Property Values and Household Wealth - The Case of China


at
Labels: , , , ,

Monday, October 11, 2021

Will US Defend Taiwan Against Chinese Aggression?

Saving Taiwan
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/us-defend-taiwan-from-chinese-invasion-by-brahma-chellaney-2021-10
Chinese President Xi Jinping seems eager for Taiwan to go the way of once-autonomous Tibet, which was gobbled up by Mao Zedong’s regime in the early 1950s. This would constitute the biggest threat to world peace in a generation, and the United States cannot afford to allow it.

‘Starting a Fire’: U.S. and China Enter Dangerous Territory over Taiwan
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/09/world/asia/united-states-china-taiwan.html

The moment of truth over Taiwan is getting closer
https://www.ft.com/content/9833d499-07ce-40eb-84e7-436023c6eb8b


at
Labels: , ,

Shadow Inflation

There Is Shadow Inflation Taking Place All Around Us
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/10/upshot/shadow-inflation-analysis.html
Some companies haven’t been raising prices. Instead, they’ve been cutting back customer services and conveniences, but how should that be measured? 

at
Labels: , ,

2021 Nobel Prize Winners in Economics

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2021/prize-announcement/
David Card, born 1956 in Guelph, Canada. Ph.D. 1983 from Princeton
University, USA. Class of 1950 Professor of Economics, University of
California, Berkeley, USA.
Joshua D. Angrist, born 1960 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Ph.D. 1989 from
Princeton University, USA. Ford Professor of Economics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA.
Guido W. Imbens, born 1963 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Ph.D. 1991 from
Brown University, Providence, USA. The Applied Econometrics Professor
and Professor of Economics, Stanford University, USA.
 
Popular science background: Natural experiments help answer important questions (pdf)
Scientific Background: Answering causal questions using observational data (pdf) 

David Card on THE CAUSAL EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON EARNINGS:
http://cpi.stanford.edu/_media/pdf/Reference%20Media/Card_1999_Education.pdf

at
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)