Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable surely warms the hearts of many econ profs. The deal represents a sort of one-stop-shopping case study of all the key issues in what economists term “industrial organization” or what the public knows…
Category: Other
Are Bitcoins the future of money? Maybe
Bitcoins are interesting as a social phenomenon as well as an economic one, but we are not likely to know exactly what changes, if any, this innovation will play in people’s lives until much more time has passed. That may…
Health care act no more a ‘job killer’ than Social Security or Medicare
People change their behavior in response to incentives. That is what economics is all about. So no one should be surprised that when a new law makes health care more accessible, some people will change their behavior, perhaps by working…
When the monkeys beat the market
The very name “George Soros” induces fear and loathing for some conservatives, but one has to admit that he has been a successful speculator. Recently released numbers show that his Quantum Fund netted $5.5 billion in 2013, the most in…
Understanding monthly employment data
Labor market statistics can be confusing to nearly anyone who has not had a good introductory macroeconomics course. Take, for instance, the regular disconnect between the number of jobs created (or lost) and the up-and-down fluctuations of the unemployment rate…
Market efficiency not always clear-cut
Financial markets have been jittery lately, with sundry prices and rates jumping up and down. This included 2 percent drops in U.S. stock indexes on Jan. 24 and Feb. 3, neither of which was related to news on any underlying…
Empty gestures by politicians have little economic impact
Americans have conflicting impulses about government action in the economy. The idea that government “interference” in markets usually is harmful is popular these days. Yet when there is a problem, the idea that “the government ought to do something” still…
Effects of new Fed policy felt globally
Several countries with emerging markets are in economic trouble. This is not news in all cases, yet it seemed to take Wall Street by surprise. The values of the currencies of Argentina, Ukraine and Turkey, relative to major currencies like…
Change at Fed is about consistency
Continuity rather than change is the theme at the Federal Reserve this week. In the short term, its policy-making Open Market Committee decided to continue gradually reducing its long-established stimulus program of expanding the nation’s money supply through bond purchases.…
Water tax could save California from its drought
It is hot and dry in California. Water is scarce and is likely to get scarcer over the next months unless there is substantial precipitation. With an eighth of our nation’s population and an enormous agricultural sector, severe water shortages…