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.