Dean Baker's Blog, page 312

Counterfeits and Unauthorized Copies

For some reason the NYT continues to have problems distinguishing between the concept of a counterfeit item and an unauthorized copy. The confusion appears in a column by Yu Hua which uses the term "counterfeit" and "pirated" interchangeably.

The distinction between the two terms is simple and important. A counterfeit item is one where the seller misrepresented its origins to the consumer. In this case the consumer has been ripped off by the seller. By contrast, an unauthorized copy may viola...

The NYT Is Worried That It Might Become Hard to Find Good Help in Tehran

That is the impression that readers of a piece on low birth rates in Iran might be led to believe. The piece told readers that Iran's government wants to raise the country's birth rate from its current 1.3 per couple. According to the piece, the government wants a higher birth rate to increase the power of Iran in the world and the power of its Shiite population in the Islamic world.

Towards the end the piece tells readers:

"Experts say that while birthrates in Iran are very low, there is no...

Frank Bruni Is Angry That the Government Pays 1000 Times as Much to Peter Peterson as It Does to the Average Kid

Actually he is not angry about how much money the government pays to Peter Peterson but if he were consistent in his logic he would be. Bruni wrote an apology from older generations to millennials, and one of the central themes is that we are supposed to feel bad about all the money that we get for Social Security and Medicare:

"The Urban Institute released a report in 2012 that looked at figures from 2008 for the combined local, state and federal spending that directly benefited Americans 65...

The WAPO Still Has Not Heard About the Housing Bubble

It is amazing that the country has not taken everyone involved with economics -- academic economists, policy economists, economics reporters, and investment advisers -- and thrown them in prison or at least exiled them to some ungodly place where we (I'll go too) could never do any harm again. Look, the housing bubble was incredibly easy to see. I took arithmetic in third grade, apparently I'm the only economist who remembers it.

The housing bubble sent construction and consumption demand soa...

Is the Recovery Leading to More Job Polarization?

That's what the Washington Post told readers.

"Unemployment fell from 3.3 to 3.2 percent for people with a bachelor's degree or more, and from 5.7 to 5.5 percent for those with some college. But it actually rose from 6.3 to 6.5 percent for people with only a high school diploma, and from 8.9 to 9.1 percent for those without one.

"In other words, our polarized labor market isn't getting any less so. The Cleveland Fed points out that routine jobs disappeared during the Great Recession, and hav...

The Question on People Leaving the Labor Force is 41-Year-Olds, Not 61-Year-Olds

In his discussion of today's employment report Neil Irwin notes that the unemployment rate is considerably lower than would otherwise be the case because so many people have simply given up looking for work and are therefore not counted as being unemployed. Irwin then adds that the big question is that if the economy eventually recovers is:

"How many of the 61-year-olds who gave up looking for a job in the last few years are going to return to the labor force when they smell opportunity, and...

If Employers Can't Find Workers With the Right Skills Why Don't They Try Raising Wages?

John Ydstie concluded a mostly good piece giving a preview of the May employment report being released today by saying that one reason employment is not growing more rapidly is due to a skills mismatch. According to this story, employers would be hiring more workers if they could find workers who have the skills they need.

While employers and many economists often make this claim the evidence doesn't seem to support this position. If employers were actually having difficulty finding workers w...

Economic Collapse Gives Russians Some Reason to be Unhappy With Boris Yeltsin

The NYT ran an article on the construction of a monument to former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The piece notes that Yeltsin is not very popular, and therefore there is little interest in the monument, however it never gives much explanation for his unpopularity.

Russia's economy suffered one of the worst collapses in history during the Yeltsin years. According to the Penn World Tables, Russia's economy contracted by more than 40 percent between 1990 and 1998, the years in which Yeltsin h...

Is Our Economists Learning? The Case of Deflation

It was gratifying to see the following in the Washington Post:

"It's called 'lowflation,' and it's crippling Europe. It's, simply enough, inflation that's well below target. Now, there's a common misconception that low, positive inflation is alright, but low, negative inflation is the end of the world. As the IMF points out, though, these are continuum of the same problem. See, it doesn't really matter whether prices aren't rising enough or are actually falling. In either case, it's hard...

Contrary to What You Read in the NYT, Economics Says That Rising Imports Are Bad for Growth

The NYT decided to turn the standard textbook economics on its head and told readers that the higher imports reported for April is good news for the economy. An article headlined, "Data readings converge to show an economy regaining momentum," told readers:

"'Rising imports are not a sign of economic weakness,' said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist for MFR Inc. 'To the contrary, it’s a sign of economic demand.'"

Okay, let's get out the detective hat and glasses. Imports can rise...