Monthly Archives: October 2011
The Texts They Are A-Changin’
How should the introductory economics text change in response the financial crisis, the recession and the very slow recovery? The question will be discussed at a big economics teachers’ conference in New Orleans this week. I will be there to … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
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Congratulations and Thanks to Tom Sargent and Chris Sims
The Nobel Prize committee made an excellent choice in awarding the 2011 economics prize to Tom Sargent and Chris Sims for their influential contributions to macroeconomics. One of the first papers of Tom Sargent I read was his little “Note … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
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Higher Inflation Is Not the Answer
Today’s NPR Morning Edition presented two sides to the question “Does The Economy Need A Little Inflation?” By “a little” they mean 5 percent per year for a few years. The former IMF chief economist and Harvard professor Ken Rogoff argued in … Continue reading
Posted in Monetary Policy
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The Dangers of Misrepresenting Past Economic Debates
“What’s past is prologue,” says Future, the statue at the National Archives. But in macroeconomic policy—monetary and fiscal—the past is often misrepresented, and that unfortunately leads Future astray. A common misrepresention these days pertains to past views of economists about monetary … Continue reading
Posted in Regulatory Policy
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Good Economics Is Good Politics
My oped today with John Cogan in the Wall Street Journal shows that temporary fiscal stimulus packages are not good politics. Historical evidence reveals that politicians who enact them tend not to get re-elected. Our previous Wall Street Journal articles here and … Continue reading
Posted in Fiscal Policy and Reforms
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In Praise of an Extraordinary Teacher of Economics
Those of us who teach economics stand on the shoulders of those who taught us economics. I just heard the sad news that one of my truly extraordinary economics teachers, E. Philip Howrey, recently died in a biking accident. When … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
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Economics One 