Wall Street economists, who often have their own financial axes to grind, tend to get a disproportionate amount of media attention. But they do not necessarily represent the discipline as a whole and can skew public perceptions of what economists…
Helicopter Ben had it right
Memo to Bernanke: Call the Peruvian Air Force. See if their Russian-built Mil Mi-6 “Hook” helicopters, long the biggest in the world, are available. The chopper you are using now to scatter money obviously isn’t big enough! History is rich…
Price hike blame game hard to play
In economics, predicting which direction prices will move in response to changing market conditions is relatively easy. Separating out how much of a price change stems from each of several relevant factors is more difficult. Consumer food prices are rising…
China manipulates itself into a corner
China manipulates the value of its currency compared to those of other nations. It does this to keep its exports cheap to buyers and to keep other nations’ exports expensive for Chinese buyers. China does this, however, from a position…