Graphic History of Debt

The New York Times DealBook blog has a good graphic history of debt showing how it has been around since the ancient world and how its structure has changed over time.

Population Growth - Result of Nitrogen Fertilizer

The New Yorker has an interesting article on the development of nitrogen fertilizer and human population growth in the twentieth century.

Policy Damage - Lack of Aggregate Demand Pulling Down Potential GDP

John Cassidy in the New Yorker has a good summary of the recent Fed paper (presented at the IMF Conference) on how the week aggregate demand in the wake of the financial crisis has resulted in a weakening potential GDP.  It included this graph showing the problem.

Economist Blog Postings on the Great Divergence

Good read, good stats & good graphs.

First Post

Second Post

Third Post

New Fed View - The Need for Inflation

The New York Times has an article on the view that inflation may be a good thing - and that it is now too low.

The Economist also weighs in on the issue of inflation in an article describing the current situation and in the Free Exchange column.

Interviews with Robert Shiller and Eugene Fama

The New York Times has interviews with Robert Shiller and Eugene Fama about winning the Nobel Prize and that they are sharing it with each other.

This is Robert Shiller's column in the New York Times on the sharing the Nobel with Fama.

This is the Free Exchange column from the Economist on this year's Nobel Prize winners

Raj Chetty - Economics is a Science

Raj Chetty has an editorial in the New York Times arguing the Economics is a Science.

Internet Changing How Economists Work

Mark Thoma has a piece in the Fiscal Times describing how the Internet has changed the way Economists work.

Economist Lawrence Klein Dies

The New York Times has an article on Lawrence Klein, an economist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on macroeconomic statistics and modeling.

Gap Between Education and Schooling

The New York Time's Economix blog has an article on Lant Pritchett and his book on the gap between education and schooling - basically, why students even though they are going to school in greater numbers around the world are not actually becoming more educated.  This introduction to his book is here.

Capturing Price Differences

The New Yorker's Currency blog has a post on the Premise that hires people around the world to record prices on their smartphones so as to capture and report out price discrepencies.  It is another example of using modern technology to provide real-time economic data.

Good teaching and Students' Lifetime Incomes

The Economist has a good article on how good teaching significantly raises the lifetime earning of their students and how to use good teachers to have the maximum effect on students.

Brainwaves to test prices

The magazine Spiegel has an article about a German scientist who is using brainwave studies to determine optimal prices for coffee - his evidence indicates that Starbucks is charging too little and that customers would be willing to pay more.  Interesting behavioral economics application.

Thanks,

Rich

The Risk of the Slow Bleed after the Debt Crisis

Adam Davidson has a good article in the New York Times about the risk of the long term loss of faith in United States government debt following a debt ceiling crisis.

The Unreformed Repo Market

Gretchen Morganson has a column in the New York Times that explains how important the repo market is to the financial system and how the lack of reform there makes it still vulnerable to crisis.

Rule of Thumb Macro - Legacy of Wynne Godley

The New York Times has an article on Wynne Godley, who built macro models based on the idea that people follow rules of thumb in behavior (rather than be maximizes). Paul Krugman weighed on the topic and how it fits into the development of macoeconomic thought as "Hydraulic Keynesianism".

As an interesting history of economic thought connection, William Phillips (who developed the Phillips Curve) also built a model of the economy using literally the idea of Hydraulic Keynesianism to build the MONIAC.

Long View Charts of Economic Crisis

Business Week has a good sent of charts showing how parts of the economy have progressed since the 2008 Crisis.

Economic History Through the Dow Industrial Index

The New Yorker has an interesting article that discusses how the history of the American economy can be tracked through the company listings on the Dow.  This is not a new idea, but the graph below would be a good discussion piece.

Estimate of the Cost of the Financial Crisis

The Dallas Fed has a good paper with the cost of the 2008 Crisis - slightly less than a full year of GDP, assuming the economy returns to trend by the early 2020's.  This is the graph showing that per capita is output is 12% less than previous recessions:

Ronald Coase is Dead

Ronald Coase, Nobel Prize winner who is immortalized by the Coase Theory explaining the conditions under which private individuals could resolve the problem of externalities without government action, died on September 2nd at 102.  The story of him first presenting his Coase Theorem to the Economics Faculty at the University of Chicago in which he used the force of argument to rethink their initial rejection of his work and recognize that it was correct, is the stuff of legends.  The Free Exchange column in the Economist had an remembrance of his work and impact on economics.  Robert Frank has a column in the New York Times that explains how important Ronald Coase's work is and what it says about the role of government regulation - which is different than how most people think about it.

Origins of the Financial Crisis

The Economist has started to run a five part series on the origin of the 2008 financial crisis in a section called the Schools Brief.  The Schools Brief is a long running occasional series in which the writers of the Economist break down an issue for use in schools - originally to help British students do well on their "leaving exams".  Keep an eye on the Economist web site for the other four parts of the series.

This is the link for part two on the Dangers of Debt.

This is the link for part three on how the crisis changed Central Banking.

This is the link for part four on the debate between Stimulus and Austerity.

This is the link for part five on how Making Banks Safe.

Mankiw on the Carbon Tax

Greg Mankiw has an column in the New York Times about the benefits of a carbon tax and how it could be made into a tax that America could live with - by using the revenue to off-set the corporate or income tax.

Simon Johnson on the Temperament of the Next Fed Chairman

Simon Johnson has an article in Project Syndicate about the leadership temperament that the next Fed Chairman should have - more Bernanke and less Greenspan.

Whose Central Bank?

Brad DeLong has a short article in Project Syndicate laying out the two sides of the view on the purpose of Central Banks - this could be a good article for students.

Ranking of Economics Blogs

This is a ranking of the top economics blogs.

Timeline of 2008 Financial Crisis

The New York Times has an interactive timeline showing the key events in the 2008 Financial Crisis - seeing the way the dates compress in the crisis gives a way seeing how the crisis accelerated in the fall of 2008.

Central Bank Tool Kit - An Analysis

The Economist has a good article about how unconventional monetary policy works and the impact it has had.

Bernanke - Audacious Pragmatist

The New York Times has an article that reviews Bernanke's time as Fed Chairman.

The Curious Price of Lobster - Luxury Good

James Surowiecki has an interesting column in the New Yorker about how the restaurant price of lobster has stayed high despite a glut in the supply of lobster - it gets into how the pricing of luxury goods works.

How Economic Diversity Saves Cities

The Economist Free Exchange column has an article about the role of economic diversity and how it can save cities from decline.  It shows how both Pittsburgh and Baltimore escaped Detroit's fate because their urban economies were not based on one industry.  The article describes why it is hard to reverse a decline once it begins.

Wasting the Financial Crisis

Adam Davidson has a good short article in the New York Times about the debate over regulation of financial institutions in the wake of the 2008 crisis.  It would be a good introductory article that lays out the basic points of the debate about financial regulation.

Difficulty in Measuring Productivity

Adam Davidson has a good article in the New York Times about the difficulty in measuring productivity in the knowledge economy - it starts with discussing how some accountants are turning away from the billable hour model to a service fee model that is better for difficult, interesting and valuable projects.

The New York Times has another piece by Jared Bernstein and Dean Baker on changes in how the Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates GDP to reflect intellectual property that can continue to produce income into the future.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has put together a short video that explains both GDP and the recent changes to GDP.  The Atlantic Monthly article, "The Lady Gaga Fix" describes what the change in GDP means and doesn't mean - along with the criticism of the move.  The Free Exchange column at the Economist also has a good description of the change.  

Hamilton Jobs Calculator

The Hamilton Project has a interactive graph in which you can enter the number of jobs created in a month and the amount of time it will take to close the jobs gap (return to the number of jobs in 2008).  It is an interesting way to play around with numbers.

Debate - Who Should Be the Next Fed Chair

The New York Times has a good debate over who President Obama should choose as the next chair of the Federal Reserve.  The participants in the debate reflect a wide range of perspectives that champion Yellen, Summers or a person with different expertise.

Eminent Domain Being Used to Save Homes

The New York Times has an interesting article on cities using eminent domain laws to take over houses to keep people from losing their homes.  In the program, cities buy the outstanding loans on houses for partial value (based on the current value of the house) and then lets the owners refinance based on the current value.  Basically, the owners of the loans are forced to take the loss.  The cities justify the action as saying that they are saving the homes from becoming blighted.  There are a lot of good policy arguments to be had over this article.

The Inverse Relationship of Bond Prices and Interest Rates

The New York Times has good article that explains the inverse relationship between bond prices and interest rates.  It also points out that, with an expected rise in interest rates over the next few years, many investors who have moved their money to the "safety" of bonds, stand to lose as bond prices drop.  The article also includes information (and a link) by Finra Investor Education Foundation about how little most people know about basic financial issues - like bond prices and interest rates.  The report was based on questions, like in the quiz below.  Take it yourself and find out how you do:

Future Battle Over Wealth Taxes

Tyler Cowen has a good column in the New York Times over the future prospect of wealth taxes and that the reality that some highly indebted countries are actually very wealthy, despite their current economic troubles.  This can explain why bond rates are so low on Japanese bonds.  It also talks about how Italy (in relation of debt to wealth) is wealthier than Germany - which has some implications about the future of eurozone "bailouts" and the demands of countries like Germany to demand wealth taxes to go along with bailouts.  However, as Cowen notes, this type of tax can have a big impact on future growth because it could discourage investment.

Review of the History of QE

Floyd Norris has a short history in the New York Times of the argument over Quantitative Easing and it shows how some economists got it really wrong what the price for this will be has yet to be seen.

Mankiw - Friendship beyond Economics

Greg Mankiw has a New York Times article about how friendship can go above and beyond economic and political differences.  A reminder of the relationship between Keynes and Hayek.  I wonder if Mankiw would say the same we of Krugman?

Tyler Cowen - Cookbook Economics

Tyler Cowen has an article in Foreign Policy about cookbooks and economics.  From A foodie like Cowen it should be an interesting read.

Short History of the Founding of the Federal Reserve

Roger Lowenstein has an article in the New York Times about the founding of the Federal Reserve and the views the founders had about the role the Fed should have in the economy - which is was quite different from how it has turned out.

Tyler Cowen on Causes for Economic Slowdown in Emerging Economies

Tyler Cowen has a good column in the New York Times about the causes of the economic slowdown in the emerging market economies.  This would be a good article to use with economic growth or with international trade.

Krugman on Globalization and Macroeconomics - Good Graph

Paul Krugman has a good post on the effects of globalization and macroeconomics - some interesting points - it has this good graph showing the size of world trade going back to 1900.  Note the breaks for the World Wars and the way trade declined from before World War One until after World War Two.

Price Fixing and the Market for Potatoes

Potatoes seem to be a great example of a purely competitive market - identical product, many producers, ease of entry and so forth.  But maybe not.  The Week has a short article about a court case over price fixing by limiting supply.

Power of Failure and Doubt

Malcolm Gladwell has a good article in the New Yorker on the life of Albert Hirschman, a development economist who wrote about the importance of adversity in economic growth.

Economic Inequality & Rock Stars

Alan Kreuger has a presentation comparing economic inequality to rock stars.

Marketplace - Little Known Economic Indicators

The Radio program Marketplace has an article on its webpage about 10 little known economic indicators and what they show about the economy - it might be interesting to ask students to develop their own indicators.

Issues with Aggregate Supply - Aggregate Demand in Econ Blogs

Mark Thoma, in the blog Economist's View, collects the posts from different blogs about why the Aggregate Supply-Aggregate Demand (AS-AD) is not used by Economics Bloggers - and  confronts the issue of why if economists don't use it in discussions, they why is it taught to students.  Economists use complex Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models in analysis.  But these models are too complex to introduce to students.  So, the debated point is whether it is a useful model to teaching students how to "think like economists" or if it is just a "place holder" until students get to high level courses.

Ending Poverty and Driving Globalization

The forces of globalization have done a lot to reduce poverty around the world.

The Economist has a cover story about the success of bringing global poverty (living on less than $1.25 a day) down to one billion people and speculation of pushing that down even more.  Over the past twenty years, more than a billion people have been lifted out of poverty - largely because of increases in global trade.  However, it notes the last billion will be harder than the previous billion.

The New York Times has an article that follows the same story about the reduction of global poverty.

The Economist has a good article about the development of the shipping container and the economic evidence about how it drove globalization more than free trade agreements.

History Shows Limits of Macroprudential Regulation

One of the hopes for policymakers to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis has been to give the Federal Reserve "macroprudential" supervision powers.  The Economist Free Exchange column takes a look at the history of Fed and these types of powers and why macroprudential powers do not always have the intended results.

Economist Summary of the Austerity Debate

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of attacks back and forth between Paul Krugman and Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart over their statement that a debt to GDP ratio of 90% slows economic growth and the effect that has had on economic policy.  The Economist has an article that sums up the exchange between the two sides and concludes that the two sides are much closer to each other than they would most likely admit, and their exchange has by in large missed the larger issues that policy makers need to be hearing.

Mankiw on Picking Stocks

Greg Mankiw has a good short article in the New York Times that sums up economists thoughts on picking stocks in a short format that is good for students.  His suggestion was a vanguard global stock fund.

Economic Growth Based on Technology Adoption

The Economix Blog at the New York Times has a good post, and related chart, on how the rate of technology adoption by developing countries explains the differences between rich and poor countries - basically they do not fully or quickly adopt technologies.

Economic Development and Poor Working Conditions

Adam Davidson has a good short article in the New York Times on how to view the Bangladesh Factory disaster in the light of economic development.  It is similar to the much older article "In Praise of Cheap Labor" by Paul Krugman.

Dani Rodrik - Use of Economists?

Dani Rodrik has a good article in Project Syndicate asking the question, "What Use are Economists".

Andrew Ross Sorkin on Bob Diamond

Andres Ross Sorkin has a piece in the New York Times about Bob Diamond.

Larry Summers vs. Glenn Hubbard

Adam Davidson has a good piece in the New York Times about the economic differences between Larry Summers and Glenn Hubbard about the different views of the U.S. economy  what ails it and what policies should be implemented.  It does not give a lot of theory, but it does provide a good supplementary read to support learning about macro theory and its relation to policy.

There is a good "behind the story" post that provides interesting insights on Summers and Hubbard as well as the way they carry themselves in public debates.

NPR's Planet Money on Reinhart-Rogoff

NPR's Planet Money podcast has a good piece on the revelation of the Reinhart-Rogoff excel error that has weakened their claim that 90% debt/GDP is the tipping point for slower economic growth.  The piece also asks the bigger philosophical question about whether macroeconomics is getting better, or even if it is good at all.  Here it is:

On-line Inflation Data

The radio program Marketplace has a good short story on the way inflation is calculated and how the Billion Prices Project is changing it.

How Close is Oligopoly to Monopoly?

The New Yorker looks at how Oligopoly pricing is similar to monopoly in how wireless pricing works.

Bitcoin - Is it money or is it a commodity - or both?

The rise (and fall) or Bitcoin has gained a lot of attention.  Will it succeed as a new digital currency is one one big open question.  This article from the New Yorker explains the origins of Bitcoin and how it will work as a currency.  However, there are problems with it being able to work as a currency if there is no central bank and a limited supply - it is a commodity more like gold - argues this article from the Atlantic.  

Krugman's Babysitting Co-op and Monetary Policy

This is the link to the classic Slate article with Krugman's analogy between monetary policy and a babysitting co-op.

The Mystery of Declining Productivity

John Cassidy of the New Yorker has a good blog post/short article about the mystery and debate about the decline in productivity and what it might mean for the real benefits of the Internet on economic growth.  However, that does not mean that the the Internet has not brought real tangible benefits.  The Free Exchange column at the Economist describes the way economists have been trying to calculate the real value in consumer surplus created by the Internet.

Debate Within the Fed Goes Public

The New York Times has a great article about the public debate between top Fed officials Charles L. Evans and Jeffrey M. Lacker.  
 

New Area of Study - History of Capitalism

The New York Times has a good short article (with lots of embedded links) about the rising popularity of teaching the history of capitalism.