Pages

Monday, September 26, 2011

What are the side costs of trade with China? — Marginal Revolution

This is an important new paper which challenges trade theory.

What are the side costs of trade with China? — Marginal Revolution

For You, a 40 Point Stock Checklist.

For You, a 40 Point Stock Checklist.

The Capital Spectator: Tactical ETF Review: 9.26.2011

The Capital Spectator: Tactical ETF Review: 9.26.2011

Learning from Solyndra

Learning from Solyndra | Capital Gains and Games


It is better policy to have the government's involvement at the macro level -- setting the price -- rather than at the micro level -- picking the winners.� The Solyndra scandal is a good example of why.

Bits and Pieces: The Freshman Pledge

Bits and Pieces: The Freshman Pledge

"Confidence Men"


things could have been much worse

Review of Ron Suskind's "Confidence Men":

The Trillion Dollar War of Choice, and the Constraints on Macro Policy

Econbrowser: The Trillion Dollar War of Choice, and the Constraints on Macro Policy

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The most powerful AD denier of all

TheMoneyIllusion � The most powerful AD denier of all:

So for 200 year rapid productivity growth didn’t cause any serious unemployment problems in America, but now, right after NGDP collapses, we are to believe it is producing mass unemployment, even though recent productivity gains have been rather low.� I’m at a loss for words.� We elected a Luddite as President of the United States.

The wisdom of crowds

It is all about designing the right game and the right question.

TheMoneyIllusion � The wisdom of crowds

Res Politica versus Res Economica

Good piece for college students contemplating a major.

Res Politica versus Res Economica | The Big Picture

Cynical about Confidence

Overconfidence is a force so powerful that can be used for either good or evil.

Cynical about Confidence, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty

Your lying eyes

Seeing is Hearing: The McGurk Effect — Marginal Revolution

Obama's experience

Steve Sailer's iSteve Blog: Obama's experience

This is not class warfare. It's math

A Few Important Views on the President’s Budget Plan | Jared Bernstein | On the Economy:


This is not class warfare.� It’s math.� The money is going to have to come from someplace.� And if we’re not willing to ask those who’ve done extraordinarily well to help America close the deficit and we are trying to reach that same target of $4 trillion, then the logic, the math says everybody else has to do a whole lot more:� We’ve got to put the entire burden on the middle class and the poor.� We’ve got to scale back on the investments that have always helped our economy grow.� We’ve got to settle for second-rate roads and second-rate bridges and second-rate airports, and schools that are crumbling.

The world must insist that Europe act - FT.com

The world must insist that Europe act - FT.com:

Great paragraph by Larry Summers. Also a good summary for his most recent term in office.

It was simply this: policymakers acted without illusion. At every juncture they made the minimum commitments necessary to avoid imminent disaster – offering optimistic rhetoric, but never taking the steps that even they believed could offer the prospect of decisive victory. They were tragically caught in a kind of no-man’s-land – unable to reverse a course to which they had committed so much, but also unable to generate the political will to take forward steps that gave any realistic prospect of success. Ultimately, after years of needless suffering, their policy collapsed around them.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Noahpinion: Great Stagnation...or Great Relocation?

Why is America stagnating? There is no great stagnation, just relocation of production to where the people are.

Noahpinion: Great Stagnation...or Great Relocation?

And a counter from the economist.

If transport costs are low, there is no need to be close to population to be a producer.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Asians pulling away in SAT scores

Except my asians...

Steve Sailer's iSteve Blog: Asians pulling away in SAT scores

Why Perry Might Win

Oh it’s going to be a “fun” year | Firedoglake: -Perry leads Romney only 27-23 among GOP voters opposed to ending Medicare. But with the 12% who do support eliminating it Perry leads Romney 43-5, accounting for much of his overall lead…

-Romney leads Perry 23-18 among GOP voters who believe in global warming…but that’s only 27% of them. With the 62% who don’t believe in it Perry’s up 38-14. One interesting note on those numbers- Perry’s favorability with Republicans who believe in global warming is 37/50. Are those folks going to vote for him in the general election if he ends up as the nominee?

System Failure

Daniel Carpenter for Democracy Journal: System Failure

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Making of an Infographic: Visualizing US/China Trade

The Making of an Infographic: Visualizing US/China Trade

The late American jobs machine

The late American jobs machine � Consider the Evidence:

The following paragraph sums up the problem. Management has more leverage versus employees.

What caused this collapse of the American jobs machine? I think the most convincing explanation is a shift in management’s incentives and in its leverage relative to employees. According to Robert Gordon, this has its origins in the 1980s and 1990s but emerged in full force in the early 2000s:

Saturday, September 10, 2011

EconoSpeak: Political Economy and Financialization

An explanation of why corporations now act as they do. They do not act for the benefit of the country in which they reside. Nor do they act for the benefit of the corporation. They are driven for what benefits the personal portfolio of the CEO.


EconoSpeak: Political Economy and Financialization:

That is, the top tier of ownership and control is vested in individuals who act in their self interest and in accordance with their intellectual perspective—usually related. �General Electric, for instance, may benefit as a corporate entity from lower health care costs, but those who own and run it are not tied to that firm, or its current facilities, markets or organizational hierarchies, for life. �At the highest levels, individuals see their economic interest as that of maximizing the value of their personal portfolios.

American Exceptionalism |

American Exceptionalism | Truthout:

the highest poverty rate, both generally and for children;

the greatest inequality of incomes;

the lowest government spending as a percentage of GDP on social programs for the disadvantaged;

the lowest number of paid holiday, annual and maternity leaves;

the lowest score on the United Nations' index of "material well-being of children";

the worst score on the United Nations' gender inequality index;

the lowest social mobility;

the highest public and private expenditure on health care as a portion of GDP;

the highest infant mortality rate; prevalence of mental health problems; obesity rate; portion of people going without health care due to cost; low-birth-weight children per capita (except for Japan); consumption of antidepressants per capita;

the shortest life expectancy at birth (except for Denmark and Portugal);

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

The Secrets of High Frequency Trading

Nothing new. No secrets, but a good summary.

The Secrets of High Frequency Trading | AllAboutAlpha: Hedge Fund Trends & Alternative Investment Analysis

Fears of America’s Decline Since 9/11 : The New Yorker

Conservatives and libertarians "hate fast trains and efficient airports for the same reason that seventeenth century Protestants hate the beautiful Baroque churches of Rome when they saw them: they were luxurious symbols of an earthly power that they despised... We don't have a better infrastructure or decent elementary education exactly because any people are willing to sacrifice faster movement between our great cities or better informed children, in support of their belief that the government should always be given as little money as possible."


Fears of America’s Decline Since 9/11 : The New Yorker

Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, The Imperial Mentality and 9/11 | TomDispatch

As we think about 9-11, it is important to remember the havoc it caused in the rest of the world. Caused by US response to the act, not the act itself.

Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, The Imperial Mentality and 9/11 | TomDispatch