Inflation & Unemployment

David Leonhardt has a good column in today's New York Times about the sputtering economy - the slow sluggish jobless recovery. In it he has this good graph of unemployment and inflation that points to the reality that unemployment, not inflation, is the big problem in the economy.

75 Years of American Finance: A Graphic Presentation 1861-1935

FRASER, the Federal Reserves Archival System for Research, has a great old time graphical presentation of American Finance done in 1936. It is basically a really complex timeline of historical events that effect American history. It is the kind of thing that could suck up hours of reading. Below is a snap shot image.

Economic Growth and Life Expectancy

David Leonhardt in the New York Times has a great article about the nuances of economic growth - specifically the improvement of life expectancy and economic growth. He notes that while Africa is still far behind the rest of the world, it is getting better. The article also had this great graphic showing GDP per capita growth and improvements in life expectancy.

Cleveland Fed's Interactive Balance Sheet

Here is a great teaching tool from the Cleveland Fed that shows all of the balance sheet tools the Fed has used in addressing the economic crisis. Check it out.

Blindspots on Left and Right

David Leonhardt has a good post in the New York Times Economix blog comparing the economic blind spots of non-economist liberals and conservatives. It is an interesting list and could be useful in opening discussions with students about economics and politics.

Best Economics Blogs

Time Magazine has published a list of the best economics blogs. It is a good list. I follow many of these blogs, but alas do not have time for all of them. Anybody wishing to stay on top of economics thinking should follow as many of these as possible (On a side note, the blog "Economist's View" has a good summary of the posts on many of these blogs and can be a good jumping off point to these other blogs). The Time Magazine list also has a good description of each of the 25 blogs it lists.