An interesting piece - Our Driverless Future by Sue Halpern:
“All economies have
winners and losers. It does not take a sophisticated algorithm to figure out
that the winners in the decades ahead are going to be those who own the robots,
for they will have vanquished labor with their capital. In the case of
autonomous vehicles, a few companies are now poised to control a necessary
public good, the transportation of people to and from work, school, shopping,
recreation, and other vital activities. This salient fact is often lost in the
almost unanimously positive reception of the coming “mobility revolution,” as
Bill Ford calls it.”
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Lin vs. Zhang – The Chinese Version of Keynes vs. Hayek
The Economist notes –
“IT IS not quite
Keynes-Hayek, but Lin-Zhang is a marvel in its own right. …Justin Lin, a former
chief economist of the World Bank, who leans to Keynesian faith in public
spending, has squared off against Zhang Weiying, a self-professed Hayekian who
doubts bureaucrats can ever beat the free market.
Like their
predecessors, Mr Lin and Mr Zhang have been sparring over two decades. And
whereas Keynes and Hayek were down the road from each other (respectively, in
Cambridge and London), the Chinese professors are now only a few paces apart,
both at the prestigious Peking University. Their latest debate has been one of
their fiercest, becoming a talking point for the domestic press, other
academics and even officials.
At issue is one of
the big questions facing China’s economy: does industrial policy work? The idea
that the government can champion specific industries is central to Chinese
policy. Officials have long favoured different sectors, from textiles in the
1980s to renewable energy this decade. China’s growth record would seem to
vindicate this. But critics disagree, arguing that favoured companies produce
little innovation.”
--
Meanwhile, Xi Jinping is consolidating his power
“China’s leader, Xi
Jinping, already general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, president,
and commander of the country’s military forces has been given another new title
– “core” of the party leadership”
Dalrymple – Writings on Indian Art, Culture and History
The Beautiful,
Magical World of Rajput Art by William Dalrymple
The Great & Beautiful Lost Kingdoms by William
Dalrymple
Under the Spell of
Yoga by William Dalrymple
Related:
http://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2015/07/william-dalrymple-on-india.html
William Dalrymple's family ties to India
Post-Brexit Britain - Not a Magnet for Global Talent
Brexit Is Jeopardizing Britain's
Intellectual Legacy by LINDA KINSTLER
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/11/britain-brexit-cambridge-eu-theresa-may/506501/Political Institutions and Economic Growth
WHY AMERICA IS RICH, AT LEAST FOR NOW by Adam Davidson
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/more-jobs-a-strong-economy-and-a-threat-to-institutions
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/more-jobs-a-strong-economy-and-a-threat-to-institutions
A thought-provoking piece from Germany’s influential news
magazine - Der Spiegel:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/us-presidential-campaign-concludes-in-farce-a-1119830.html
“For the last year,
American democracy has become a circus, one in which the most outlandish gag
gets the most applause. And it won't be without consequences: The country will
have to live with the scars of this ugly campaign for quite some time to come.
Make no mistake: When the advances of civilization are set aside, even if only
temporarily, fractures are the result and they aren't easy to repair. When
arguments don't count and lies are accepted as truth, when politicians have
entire teams working to spread disinformation, democracy as we understand it
ceases to exist.
Clinton and Trump have managed to drag US politics -- already not the purest of spectacles -- into the muck. With the help of the hysterical media, they have transformed the race into a soap opera, and this time, reality has far exceeded even our wildest imaginations”
Clinton and Trump have managed to drag US politics -- already not the purest of spectacles -- into the muck. With the help of the hysterical media, they have transformed the race into a soap opera, and this time, reality has far exceeded even our wildest imaginations”
Economic Experiments on the American West Coast
Interesting policy choices confront the West Coast:
“The new West Coast
Model is higher taxes on the rich, higher spending by the state and wide-scale
efforts to lift the working poor, all in the pursuit of stronger and more
evenly shared growth. It is on the ballot in three states: Californians are set
to essentially make permanent an income tax surcharge on millionaires in order
to fund education. Washington voters appear likely to raise their minimum wage
statewide to $13.25 an hour, and to mandate paid sick leave for workers.
In Oregon, it will be
a down-to-the-wire battle to see if voters will bolster their state budget by
taxing large corporations….
“Nationally, we’ve had a real experiment over the years on slashing corporate taxes, and even slashing taxes on the wealthy,” said Martin Hart-Landsberg, a professor emeritus of economics at Lewis and Clark College, who supports the tax measure currently before Oregon voters. “The argument was, this was going to go into higher profits, which was going to turn into more investment, and we were all going to gain. That hasn’t happened.””
Related:
“Nationally, we’ve had a real experiment over the years on slashing corporate taxes, and even slashing taxes on the wealthy,” said Martin Hart-Landsberg, a professor emeritus of economics at Lewis and Clark College, who supports the tax measure currently before Oregon voters. “The argument was, this was going to go into higher profits, which was going to turn into more investment, and we were all going to gain. That hasn’t happened.””
Related:
Readings on the Minimum-Wage Debate:
http://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-minimum-wage-debate-microeconomics.html
http://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-minimum-wage-debate.html
http://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-minimum-wage-debate.html
Saturday, November 5, 2016
The Inequality Debate
My short piece on factors driving income and wealth
inequality:
Why is Income and Wealth Inequality Worsening?
A popular political response to rising inequality: send more people to college.
The solution is not that simple. See:
Should Everyone Go To College? By Stephanie Owen and Isabel V. Sawhill
The solution is not that simple. See:
Should Everyone Go To College? By Stephanie Owen and Isabel V. Sawhill
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