Global Bond Markets Signal a Slowdown
How Has Germany’s Economy Been Affected by the Recent Surge in Immigration?
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
The Continuing Relevance of John Kenneth Galbraith
Old economists can teach us new tricks
John Kenneth Galbraith quotes:
“I react pragmatically. Where the market works, I’m for that. Where the government is necessary, I’m for that. I’m deeply suspicious of somebody who says, ‘I’m in favour of privatisation,’ or ‘I’m deeply in favour of public ownership’. I’m in favour of whatever works in the particular case.” [C-Span [1994] Interview ]
“The modern conservative is not even especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of manʼs oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor. The man who has struck it rich in minerals, oil, or other bounties of nature is found explaining the debilitating effect of unearned income from the state. The corporate executive who is a superlative success as an organization man weighs in on the evils of bureaucracy. Federal aid to education is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forgo this danger, and by people whose children are in public schools. Socialized medicine is condemned by men emerging from Walter Reed
Hospital. Social Security is viewed with alarm by those who have the comfortable cushion of an inherited income. Those who are immediately threatened by public efforts to meet their needs — whether widows, small farmers, hospitalized veterans, or the unemployed — are almost always oblivious to the danger.”
Biography:
John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics by Richard Parker
Trade War Miscalculations
Trump’s Trade-War Miscalculation
Why the Trade Arithmetic Favors China
Trump Makes America Irresponsible Again
Trump’s Tariffs Could Nullify Tax Cut, Clouding Economic Picture
Impact of US-China Trade Conflict on Third Parties
Trade Blocs and Trade Wars during the Interwar Period
ABSTRACT
What precisely were the causes and consequences of the trade wars in the 1930s? Were there perhaps deeper forces at work in reorienting global trade prior to the outbreak of World War II? And what lessons may this particular historical episode provide for the present day? To answer these questions, we distinguish between long-run secular trends in the period from 1920 to 1939 related to the formation of trade blocs (in particular, the British Commonwealth) and short-run disruptions associated with the trade wars of the 1930s (in particular, large and widespread declines in bilateral trade, the narrowing of trade imbalances, and sharp drops in average traded distances). We argue that the trade wars mainly served to intensify pre-existing efforts towards the formation of trade blocs which dated from at least 1920. More speculatively, we argue that the trade wars of the present day may serve a similar purpose as those in the 1930s, that is, the intensification of China- and US-centric trade blocs.
Bloomberg notes:
“Republicans who claim to stand for free trade — a longstanding party principle — have lacked the courage of their convictions. And those who complained bitterly about presidential overreach by Barack Obama have been awfully quiet about this president’s flagrant abuse of executive authority. They should stop quivering and start legislating”.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Teaching Undergrad Macro
N. Gregory Mankiw (2019): Six guidelines for teaching
intermediate macroeconomics, The Journal of Economic Education
Related:
The Carried Interest Tax Loophole
One of the Most Hated Tax Breaks in America Just
Won't Die
Related:
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Significance of Social Infrastructure
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life
“Eric Klinenberg: Social infrastructure is the set of physical places that shape our interactions. The most democratic and accessible social infrastructure are classic public goods, such as libraries, schools, parks, and playgrounds. Community organisations and commercial gathering places can be social infrastructure, but if they are exclusive, they tend to foster divisiveness by promoting in-group solidarity rather than collective wellbeing.”
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