Earlier today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released updated GDP figures, estimating that the economy contracted at a 0.7% pace in the second quarter. The BEA’s well-named “third estimate” thus indicated that the decline in the second quarter was somewhat slower than the 1.0% BEA had previously estimated. As I mentioned a couple of months [...]
Archive for September, 2009
Still Broad Weakness in Q2 GDP
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on September 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
More TIPS to Finance Our Growing Debt?
Posted in Budget, Finance, tagged Budget, Debt, GAO, Inflation, TIPS on September 29, 2009 | 13 Comments »
As you may noticed, the U.S. needs to borrow vast amounts of money. Which raises an interesting question: how should we finance that debt? The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has taken note of this question and has begun a series of reports on debt management. In its first report, released today, the GAO provides a [...]
Netflix Avoids the Sunk Cost Fallacy
Posted in Business, Internet, Technology, tagged Business, Netflix, Wired on September 28, 2009 | 5 Comments »
The highlight of this month’s Wired magazine is a profile of Netflix and its CEO, Reed Hastings. The theme is Netflix’s strategy to thrive even as their business model changes (e.g., as on-line streaming replaces DVDs by mail). The opening paragraphs document an impressive willingness to change course: It had taken the better part of [...]
Human Organs, Behavioral Economics, and Insurance Mandates
Posted in Behavioral Economics, Health, Teaching, tagged Behavioral Economics, Health, Kidneys on September 27, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Like the minimum wage and rent control, the market for human organs is a classic topic when teaching the basics of supply and demand. Organ markets are largely outlawed and, as a result, the demand for organs greatly outstrips the supply. For example, according to some estimates, as many as 4,000 people in the United [...]
IMF: The Lasting Effects of Financial Crises
Posted in Economy, Finance, International, Macroeconomics, tagged Economics, Finance, IMF, International, Macroeconomics on September 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Earlier this week, the IMF released a key chapter from the upcoming World Economic Outlook: Chapter 4: What’s the Damage? Medium-Term Output Dynamics After Financial Crises. As noted in the much pithier summary, the report concludes that: The global financial crisis is likely to leave long-lasting scars on the world economy, but governments can act to [...]
Answer: When It’s a Fine
Posted in Budget, Health, Politics, tagged Health, Taxes on September 24, 2009 | 17 Comments »
Readers have provided many thoughtful comments on yesterday’s post about whether we should use the word “taxes” to characterize the financial penalties that would be used to enforce an individual health insurance mandate. Based on those comments, and some further reflection, I have several additional thoughts: I discovered that some people think the individual mandate [...]
When is a Tax Not a Tax?
Posted in Budget, Health, Politics, tagged Health, Taxes on September 23, 2009 | 21 Comments »
A critique–and, if you read far enough, a partial defense–of the President’s rhetoric about the definition of a tax. Be sure to read my follow-up post: “Answer: When It’s a Fine“ President Obama has walked into a rhetorical box on taxes. On the one hand, he campaigned on a promise not to raise taxes on [...]
Netflix Boosts Prize Economics
Posted in Business, Internet, Teaching, Technology, tagged Netflix, Prize on September 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
By at least one metric – the number of people who have mentioned it to me – my brief post about Netflix appears to be my most popular one so far. The post linked to a remarkable slide deck about the corporate culture that Netflix has embraced in its quest for excellence. Most memorable line: [...]
Is It Possible to Tame the Deficit? Yes.
Posted in Budget, History, International, tagged Budget, Debt, Deficit on September 21, 2009 | 12 Comments »
The fiscal outlook for the United States is grim. This year’s deficit will be around $1.4 trillion, about 10% of GDP, and the Obama Administration projects that deficits in the next ten years will total about $9 billion. Under those projections, the ratio of publicly held debt to GDP will be approaching 77% by the [...]
Talking Health on CNBC
Posted in Budget, Health, Politics, tagged Baucus, Budget, Health, Politics on September 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When I worked for the White House, I discovered that you could learn a lot about your co-workers – or, at least, their portfolios — by their TV habits. Some people watched CNBC, some Fox, and some CNN. And some even managed to get through the work day without turning their TVs on. I have always been firmly in [...]
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