18 Nov 2015

Potpourri

Nick Rowe, Potpourri, Tom Woods, Tyler Cowen 18 Comments

==> Tom Woods has had a bunch of interesting episodes lately at his podcast. You know, the one that has 50% fewer hosts and is 50% as cool.

==> Second only to his posts that transformed my understanding of government debt burdens, this is my favorite work by Nick Rowe.

==> Cliff Asness is really interesting; read his interview with Tyler Cowen.

==> Josiah Neeley linked me to this analysis, which (if correct) shows that actually the men have nothing to do with it: apparently the death rate is up for non-Hispanic white women younger than 52. Note that I have no idea if this guy is right, but he seems competent and honest.

==> Von Pepe sent me this panel discussion about the Chicago School.

==> Remember that time when RBC theorists said the Great Depression was caused by shocks to total factor productivity, and the Keynesians laughed at their “Great Vacation” explanation? Awwwwkward.

==> Gene Callahan is developing into an absolutely perfect crotchety old man.

18 Responses to “Potpourri”

  1. E. Harding says:

    “Secular stagnation means the main constraint on the economy is inadequate demand, not a lack of supply.”

    -File this under “stuff that doesn’t happen”, especially when NGDP is growing at 3% per year or higher more or less consistently.

  2. E. Harding says:

    “In the context of a worldwide problem of secular stagnation,”

    -Which Russia, Belarus’, Brasil, and Argentina have also experienced. None of these suffer from inadequate demand.

  3. E. Harding says:

    “If we can’t find ways to boost demand, then we can look for ways to reduce supply. ”

    -All right, kids, let’s break some windows.

  4. guest says:

    If Paul Krugman writes about the buzz concerning the possible December rate hike, could you maybe use that as an excuse to have both Peter Schiff and Robert Wenzel on to “discuss Krugman’s article”?

    😀

    #TeamPeter

    • Tel says:

      I expect Krugman is too careful to stick his neck out on a short term prediction that can easily be tested.

      Personally, I strongly doubt there will be a rate rise this year, while commodity prices are looking so low and the USD remains strong. I am kind of amazed just how strong the USD has been lately, mostly I suppose because other nations are busy doing their best to destroy their own currencies.

      Schiff expects the USD to snap back at some stage, I think he underestimates just how determined the Japanese can be with ensuring the evisceration of the Yen. As for the ECB and Greece, well those Southern European dominos are just starting to fall.

      • guest says:

        Oh, and someone tell Wenzel that Schiff didn’t change his mind to “It’s possible” – he always understood that a rate hike was *possible*:

        Fed Fears Bursting Bubble “Too Big to Pop”
        [Duration: 04:30]
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBhq6ncsV3o
        03/19/2015

  5. Grane Peer says:

    Is Gene reminiscing his days spent in a hovel or did he just forget there was a radiator in each room just like a modern vent?

  6. Grane Peer says:

    Bob, since you have been a frequent guest on Tom’s podcast I would like to see the data you are using to come up with your 50% as cool number.

  7. Craw says:

    Are we going to debate whether a scalding radiator is evidence of recent attempts to cool the room?

  8. guest says:

    Must see:

    Time stamped
    PicturePhone: How Bell Telephone lost a half billion, but nearly created the internet
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzdCKBZP4Jo#t=3m20s

    “The root of the problem lies in Bell’s monopoly powers: It could not cross-subsidize the Picturephone – introduce it at a low rate to build demand – because this would leave them open to charges of monopoly abuse.”

  9. Levi Russell says:

    Good for Nick. Smith is a clown.

  10. Bob Roddis says:

    I saw that Twitter thing and wondered if Prof. Rowe had ever lived in the Detroit-influenced area of SW Ontario. Lo and behold he went to Western Ontario in London which at various times has had a Detroit Tigers radio presence. Those people tend to be good at trash talk.

  11. baconbacon says:

    “Tom Woods has had a bunch of interesting episodes lately at his podcast. You know, the one that has 50% fewer hosts and is 50% as cool.”

    So you and Tom Woods are exactly as cool as each other? That seems unlikely.

    • Tel says:

      It’s all about specialization: the main element of Tom Wood’s coolness is the ability to bring guests onto his show and chat with them.

  12. Tel says:

    I won’t admit in public to listening to NPR but maybe there’s a few exceptions to every rule, and just by total chance I found their stick price episode kind of interesting.

    http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/11/18/456410327/episode-416-why-the-price-of-coke-didnt-change-for-70-years

  13. Transformer says:

    On Callahan, my favorite recent example of his descent into reactionaryism was (in relation to the terror attack on Paris):

    “Meanwhile, French abortionists kill over 500 would-be French citizens every day of the year, year after year, and far from protecting these victims, the French government subsidizes their deaths. When a civilization is wiping itself out that fast, it is a little fatuous to put the blame on opportunistic parasites who are invading its dying body.”

Leave a Reply to E. Harding

Cancel Reply