Early Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its third look at economic growth in the first quarter. The results were disappointing: BEA now estimates that Q1 growth was only 2.7%, down from the prior estimate of 3.0%. A key reason: consumer spending was weaker than previously thought. As I noted in May, the monthly [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Consumers’
Consumer Spending is 60% of the Economy, not 70%
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Consumers, Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on June 25, 2010 | 12 Comments »
Consumer Spending is Not 70% of the Economy
Posted in Data, Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Consumers, Data, Economy, GDP, Macroeconomics on May 27, 2010 | 10 Comments »
Journalists, commentators, and economists often say that consumer spending makes up 70% of the U.S. economy. Indeed, it’s easy to find several examples of that claim in today’s coverage of the latest GDP data (e.g., here). And, full confession, I’ve used that phrase a few times myself. There’s just one problem with the 70% claim: it’s [...]
Financial Literacy and the Subprime Crisis
Posted in Finance, Microeconomics, tagged Behavioral Economics, Consumers, Finance, Mortgage on April 22, 2010 | 5 Comments »
A new working paper from the Atlanta Fed identifies a key reason why some subprime mortgage borrowers have defaulted and some haven’t: differences in numerical ability (ht: Torsten S.). In “Financial Literacy and Subprime Mortgage Delinquency,” Kristopher Gerardi, Lorenz Goette, and Stephan Meier examine how the financial literacy of individual subprime borrowers (as measured through [...]
Myths of Holiday Shopping
Posted in Economy, Macroeconomics, tagged Consumers, Macroeconomics on November 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The holiday shopping season is now underway. According to the Wall Street Journal, consumers spent about $10.66 billion on Black Friday, a smidgen higher than last year. And what does that portend for the holiday season and the economy overall? Short answer: No one knows. As Karen Dynan notes in today’s Washington Post, the link [...]
Most Requested
Twitter
Get Updates by Email
Get Updates by RSS
Share or Bookmark
-
Recent Posts
- The Miracle of Chained Kidney Transplants
- Five Principles for Fixing America’s Tax System
- How Would the Buffett Rule Affect Marginal Tax Rates?
- Financial Answers Made Simple
- The 102% Tax Rate and Other Perils Measuring Tax Rates
- When Should You Stop Looking for a Possibly-Extinct Species?
- A Sunday Numeracy Quiz
- The U.S. Economy is Uncertain, Fragile, and … Growing
- Do Federal Workers Get Paid More Than Private Ones?
- Online Education and Self-Driving Cars
- How Much Does the United States Really Owe?
- Can One Professor Teach 500,000 Students At Once?
- Capital Gains Taxes Are Going Up
- The Natural Gas Glut is Reshaping Electricity Markets
- Oil and Natural Gas Prices Move Even Further Apart
30-Second Economics
Tags
Categories
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
Translate this blog into
