Economics

Archive for Economics

Potpourri

==> The latest Contra Krugman tackles Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). ==> Wendy McElroy writes about privacy and the (modern) connection to cryptocurrencies. ==> A few people on Twitter were giving me a high-five for my old article on trade deficits and fiat currency. I re-read it and thought, “I agree. That *was* a good article.” […]

Scott Sumner Slips

Long-time readers know that I am not a fan of Scott Sumner’s signature idea, namely that the Great Recession was caused by Ben Bernanke’s tight monetary policy. However, if you’re really an expert on my writings, you’ll know that I’ve said Sumner would be a very formidable debating opponent–much more than Krugman. Indeed, when I […]

Murphy Triple Play

==> In the Washington Examiner I argue that Pope Francis “has it wrong on global poverty and its cure” (their title). ==> At IER, I argue for road privatization, rather than a gas tax. ==> In a follow-up piece, I explain that the gas tax is already quite high, when we factor in taxes at […]

Jeff Deist Interviews Michael Malice About North Korea

This is a short but informative interview.

Currency Devaluation, Export Advantage, and Commodity Prices

I am mostly doing this as a placeholder. I wrote this article for Mises back in late 2010. A lot of it is standard stuff, but I got into the step-by-step adjustment to a currency devaluation, showing the sense in which it would shower benefits on certain groups. I vaguely remember that it took me […]

A Numerical Example on Corporate Tax Cuts and Wage Increases

In my last post I mentioned that a lot of economists are puzzled that corporations are announcing wage hikes right when the tax cut goes through. I’ve now jotted down some numbers to show exactly what I mean. But before I dive in, let me say what I think the fundamental problem is: The way […]

Are Economists Overthinking Tax Cuts and Wages?

In the wake of companies announcing pay hikes after the tax cut package, lots of economists are weighing in on whether the two can be related. Krugman is quite sure they have nothing to do with each other, and John Cochrane basically agrees with him (even though the tone is miles apart, the underlying analysis […]

I Push Back Against the Anti-Mercantilists

Don’t worry kids, I’m not angling for a spot in the Trump Administration. But lately I’ve been uncomfortable with some of the standard rhetoric “my side” puts out, regarding free trade and in particular in their critiques of mercantilism. From p. 279 of Larry White’s (excellent) book The Clash of Economic Ideas, we have this quote […]