Author Archives: John Taylor
Reassessing the Recovery
What are the implications of all the recent economic reports (January employment, 4th quarter GDP, CBO’s downward revision of potential GDP) for an assessment of the recovery from the 2007-09 recession? In my view, they still indicate a very weak … Continue reading
Posted in Slow Recovery
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State of the Union: From Ringside to the WSJ
I was at the State of the Union tonight. You cannot help but love the pomp and circumstance of the event, even if you do not agree with everything the President says. In this case, his opening lines on what we … Continue reading
Posted in Regulatory Policy
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First Principles on the Business News Networks
Yesterday I spent the day visiting the TV studios of CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and the Fox Business Network to discuss my new book First Principles. Thanks to the news anchors the discussion—and debate—was interesting and lively. I started early, co-hosting … Continue reading
Posted in Regulatory Policy
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Different Economics Texts for Different Economic Views
Alan Blinder and I are frequently on different sides of economic debates, especially when it comes to the effects of monetary and fiscal policy and the impact of short-term discretionary actions. For example, we have both testified together in Congress … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
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American Economic Freedom: Moving in the Wrong Direction
Economic freedom in the United States continues to decline according to the latest Index of Economic Freedom (compiled by the Heritage Foundation) as reported today by Ed Feulner in the Wall Street Journal. This chart plots the Index from 2006 to 2012. … Continue reading
Posted in Regulatory Policy
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No, Austan, Washington Is Spending Too Much
In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Austan Goolsbee argues that Washington Isn’t Spending Too Much. “It’s completely normal,” he says “that spending rises during big downturns….As the economy grows back to health, the government share of the economy will fall,” making it … Continue reading
Posted in Fiscal Policy and Reforms
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Argentina in December 2001 versus Europe in December 2011
This month marks the ten-year anniversary of Argentina’s massive sovereign debt default, an event with many lessons for the European sovereign debt crisis of today, though analogies are far from perfect. First, as has been discussed and debated on planet … Continue reading
Posted in International Economics
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The Return of the Best Economics 1 Lecturer Ever — Plus One
This fall was a great quarter to teach the introductory course (Economics 1 at Stanford) with plenty of good examples from Occupy Wall Street, the crisis in Europe, the continuing debate in Washington over economic policy, and the rising federal debt. Unfortunately nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
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Economic Freedom in the News
People are writing about economic freedom a lot these days. George Will’s recent Washington Post column Testing the Waters of Economic Liberty focusses on a big deviation from economic freedom in the State of Washington with implications for America. Jeb … Continue reading
Posted in Regulatory Policy
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Krugman is Wrong
Paul Krugman is wrong in his criticism of my brief summary of last week’s economic policy conference at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Krugman was not at the conference, which lasted a full day and went well beyond previous research by the participants. In … Continue reading
Posted in Slow Recovery
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Economics One 