I pour the morning cup of mud, schlep out to the stoop to get my paper, and open my WSJ to learn that the yield curve is awfully flat (i.e., the difference between the interest rates of bonds of different maturities is low). In fact, the yield on the 10-yr–1.367% yesterday–is the lowest on record…. Read more
Archive for the ‘Economic Growth’ Category
Productivity mismeasurement: it goes both ways
Many economists, myself included, argue that among our greatest concerns is the slowdown in productivity growth, as the growth of output per hour (that’s how productivity is measured) is a key determinant of living standards (yes, the distribution of productivity growth is another key determinant; in our age of inequality, growth is necessary but not… Read more
Brexit and austerity: they’re connected
As I discuss in today’s WaPo, Brexit was a function of many factors: –PM David Cameron’s reckless, opportunistic political gambit: calling for the referendum back in 2013 to assuage his far right Euro-skeptics in time for the upcoming election. –Strong anti-immigration and anti-globalization sentiments. The unleashed xenophobia, surely linked to the refugee crisis, is to… Read more
UK to EU: We Out. Scattered thoughts on Brexit
No time to organize thoughts, so here are a few synaptic firings. –I was disappointed by the outcome but not surprised. As I’ve written, this was in no small part a referendum on immigration, and the timing of the vote interacted with rising anger about this and other impacts of globalization. –The structure of the EU–a common… Read more
Do economists understand economies?
Consider: –The economist Greg Mankiw had an essay in the NYT last week on five theories as to why growth has been so sluggish for so long (Greg’s focus was on the US, but it could have applied to Europe as well). Mankiw, a Harvard professor and writer of widely used textbooks, has long been… Read more