Author Archives: John Taylor
The Price System in Action
Want to understand what really goes on behind the scenes of the supply and demand model? Read this wonderful clear essay by Russell Roberts. It explains how prices provide information, coordinate, and motivate decisions with many more details than in … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
Comments Off on The Price System in Action
Two Masters Speak on Power of Markets
The “free market” lectures–we had them last week at Stanford–are my favorites in Economics One. I wear this Adam Smith tie, give a short summary of Smith’s writings, read his story of the woolen coat from the pages of his … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
Comments Off on Two Masters Speak on Power of Markets
A Beautiful Model, A Clear Prediction
The supply and demand model, which students learn in the first week of Economics One, is a beautiful, powerful tool for investigating real world issues like the minimun wage, the subject of tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal editorial. The model’s prediction … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
Comments Off on A Beautiful Model, A Clear Prediction
The Best Economics 1 Lecturer Ever
I decided to invite a young guest lecturer to my Economics 1 class to help students think about the alarming federal debt charts and the exploding debt burden on future generations. She stole the show. Here is a video of … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
Comments Off on The Best Economics 1 Lecturer Ever
The Best Economics 1 Lecturer Ever
I decided to invite a young guest lecturer to my Economics 1 class to help students think about the alarming federal debt charts and the exploding debt burden on future generations. She stole the show. Here is a video of some excerpts. … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching Economics
Comments Off on The Best Economics 1 Lecturer Ever
The Real Anniversary
Two weekends ago the big news was the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the ensuing panic. But when you look at the data, the real one-year anniversary of the panic is closer to now. In the four … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Crisis
Comments Off on The Real Anniversary
Why Triple IMF Resources Now?
As the G20 Leaders travel to Pittsburgh this weekend they should reconsider their April 2 decision “to treble the resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to $750 billion.” Why? First, the IMF does not need the money: as … Continue reading
Posted in International Economics
Comments Off on Why Triple IMF Resources Now?
Alarming Debt Charts
Simple charts vividly demonstrate the immensity of the exploding debt problem now faced by the United States. The large expansion of debt in World War II looks like a small blip compared to what’s coming if we do not change … Continue reading
Posted in Budget & Debt
Comments Off on Alarming Debt Charts
The Crisis: A Failure or a Vindication of Economics?
Today was the first lecture of thirty-five or so lectures I will give this fall in Stanford’s Economics 1, the namesake of this Blog. Enrollment is way up. The financial crisis is naturally generating a great deal of interest in … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Crisis
Comments Off on The Crisis: A Failure or a Vindication of Economics?
Is the Stimulus Working?
My recent Wall Street Journal column with John Cogan and Volker Wieland looked at the data available so far and concluded that there has been no noticeable impact. CNBC’s Steve Liesman takes the other side in a debate with me … Continue reading
Posted in Stimulus Impact
Comments Off on Is the Stimulus Working?
Economics One 