The demand curve for labor, like that for virtually every other good or service, slopes down and to the right. That is a harsh fact that many of my fellow liberals have great difficulty accepting. In lay terms, it means…
Global integration hits snag
The process of global economic integration hit some speed bumps this past weekend. The World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico, collapsed in disarray. Swedish voters rejected joining the euro zone within the European Union. And, E.U. officials failed to…
Rules or discretion? Monetary policy debate persists
Economists have long disagreed whether central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, should be guided by rules or by discretion in formulating monetary policy. The world’s two most important central bankers both weighed in on the issue in recent…
China’s current currency condition needs an update
I owe U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow big time. I’m teaching international economics right now and the news his recent remarks in China generated gave me material for weeks. For those who missed it, Snow went to Asia in late…