Author: Ed Lotterman

Hog prices and office rents show irrationality in action

I am sure that Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas has done nothing to offend Minnesota farmers and commercial property managers while serving as a visiting scholar at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve in the autumns of 2000 and 2001. Nevertheless, these farmers…

U.S. should propose alternative to Kyoto Protocol

The world’s atmosphere is like the fish in Minnesota’s public waters. Both are common pool resources. History and economic theory teach us that common pool resources tend to be overused — even destroyed — when societies do not develop effective…

Health news brings classic ‘demand shift’

Though it isn’t good news for many older women, Minnesota flax growers are noticeably happier since new scientific evidence emerged that hormone replacement therapy carries more dangers than originally thought. Meanwhile, economists are taking note of a significant “demand shift.”…

Bailouts are nice but they don’t solve problems

Amid news of political campaigns, volatile stock markets and the Middle East, it has been easy to miss the worsening economic and political problems in Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. But the situation is dire, and questions have arisen over the…