Paul Krugman's Blog, page 633
June 9, 2009
A British bounce?
Weird politics here in London, with Gordon Brown desperately unpopular even (or maybe especially) among those who surely share his general ideological outlook. And yet …
British economic policies in this crisis have been more aggressive than those of the rest of Europe - and the fall in the pound has given Britain a [...:]
British economic policies in this crisis have been more aggressive than those of the rest of Europe - and the fall in the pound has given Britain a [...:]
Dismal hours
No green shoots here
Jeff Frankel points out, correctly, that if you look at hours worked, the US data don't even show stabilization, let alone recovery.
Update: Brad Setser also brings us some disappointing news from Korea, which "reports its trade data faster than anyone", making it a sort of leading indicator.
Jeff Frankel points out, correctly, that if you look at hours worked, the US data don't even show stabilization, let alone recovery.
Update: Brad Setser also brings us some disappointing news from Korea, which "reports its trade data faster than anyone", making it a sort of leading indicator.
Eschatology of lost decades
Slides for second Robbins lecture here.
Story line: background to the global Minsky moment. The growing tendency of recessions not to end when they end. The uselessness of the textbook case for self-correcting economy. Private deleveraging, public leveraging?
Story line: background to the global Minsky moment. The growing tendency of recessions not to end when they end. The uselessness of the textbook case for self-correcting economy. Private deleveraging, public leveraging?
June 7, 2009
Sum of all fears
Slides for Robbins lecture number 1 here (pdf).
Shared sacrifices
A senior official in the Obama administration
Newt Gingrich:
"I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history," Gingrich said. "We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism."
That's ridiculous. Now, please excuse me while I go prepare the victim young heifer for sacrifice.
Newt Gingrich:
"I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history," Gingrich said. "We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism."
That's ridiculous. Now, please excuse me while I go prepare the victim young heifer for sacrifice.
June 6, 2009
They think we're idiots
By and large I've long been inured to the deliberate stupidity of much political discourse. But for some reason the vision of Republicans whining, "where are those 3.5 million jobs Obama promised" - less than four months after the stimulus bill was signed, and with hardly any funds disbursed - got to me.
Where's the money coming from?
The huge borrowing by major governments, the U.S. government in particular, has confused many people - and not just Niall Ferguson. What I hear again and again is either the assertion that all this borrowing must drive up interest rates, or worries that the Chinese won't be willing to lend us the money.
We know as [...:]
We know as [...:]
Turing England
Sorry about the limited posting. We're in London, and trying to do a few human things before the lecture series starts. Since it was D-Day, we visited Bletchley Park.
And that, all you crypto-buffs, is an Enigma machine.
And that, all you crypto-buffs, is an Enigma machine.
June 3, 2009
Feldstein on global warming
Ugh. Martin Feldstein has been making sense on macro issues, but this is a really bad column, on multiple levels.
On the most basic level: Waxman-Markey eventually calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent, so looking only at the 10-year target, for about a 15 percent reduction is deeply misleading.
Beyond [...:]
On the most basic level: Waxman-Markey eventually calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent, so looking only at the 10-year target, for about a 15 percent reduction is deeply misleading.
Beyond [...:]
The stagflation myth
Via Dean Baker, Robert Samuelson declares - as a simple fact - that
Johnson's economic policies, inherited from Kennedy, proved disastrous; they led to the 1970s' "stagflation."
Wow. I didn't know that. Neither, as far as I know, did any economist who has actually studied the issue.
Seriously, this is a standard bit of conservative [...:]
Johnson's economic policies, inherited from Kennedy, proved disastrous; they led to the 1970s' "stagflation."
Wow. I didn't know that. Neither, as far as I know, did any economist who has actually studied the issue.
Seriously, this is a standard bit of conservative [...:]
