Daily economy news from the American Institute for Economic Research: data, stories, research, and articles touching on economics, politics, culture, education, policy, opinion, technology, markets, healthcare, regulation, trends, and much more.
Five College Campus Myths
“Many college students and young people are remarkably receptive to economic theory, but lack the experience with mainstream economic education and research to come to sound economic conclusions on their own.” ~ David Gillette & Lauren Frazier
Pennsylvania’s Road to Serfdom (and Freedom’s to Perdition)
“Pennsylvania’s updated ‘climate action plan,’ as were all previous plans, is a recipe for economic disaster and society’s mutual demise. Never has such ‘forward thinking’ been so utterly backward and ignorant.” ~ Colin McNickle
Groceries Feed Gains in the Everyday Price Index in September
“AIER’s Everyday Price Index posted its tenth consecutive increase in September led by groceries. Prices of many goods and services continue to be distorted by the lingering effects of the pandemic including shortages, logistical and supply chain issues, and labor problems. As these distortions fade, price pressures are likely to ease.” – Robert Hughes
Assessing Market Expectations of Inflation
“Those denying any risk that inflation will remain above target or confidently predicting that 4 percent inflation will be the new normal, are not within the range of reasonable. They are rightly ridiculed.” ~ William J. Luther
Capital Accumulation and the Reconciliation Package
“Misguided tax hikes on businesses and individuals that discourage saving and diminish funds for private investment must be avoided. Neglecting this legislation’s adverse impact on capital accumulation means robbing future prosperity for the sake of the present social ends.” ~ Theodore A. Gebhard
Is Larry Summers Channeling Benjamin Anderson?
“The post-2008 framework has incentivized the destabilization of monetary policy. The sooner we recognize this fact, the sooner we can seriously discuss a solution to the problem.” ~ James L. Caton
Job Openings Fell in August but Remain Extremely High
“Job openings fell back slightly from a record high but quits remain elevated as workers take advantage of favorable labor conditions. Overall, the outlook is for continued recovery but the threats and headwinds to growth remain significant.” – Robert Hughes
Eyes on the Politicized Prize
“We may conclusively establish that the monopsony scenario of the minimum wage was directly anticipated and discussed by economists for decades before Card and Krueger’s paper.” ~ Phillip W. Magness
What Are the Nobel Journalists Doing?
“I’m always surprised at the unbelievably poor quality of questions journalists pose to the newly minted laureates. The profession of the Fourth Estate is indeed in hopeless decline; nowhere is this as clear as in watching the econ Nobel be announced.” ~ Joakim Book
All Three AIER Business Cycle Indicators Weaken in October
“The AIER Leading Indicators index posted a sixth consecutive drop in September but remains slightly above the neutral 50 threshold, suggesting continued economic expansion. However, the string of declines since the March high also suggest that sources of growth may narrow, and the pace of growth could slow as well.” – Robert Hughes
The IMF Should Be Eliminated, Not Expanded
“There are many good economists who work for the IMF and they often produce high-quality research. Sadly, their sensible analysis doesn’t seem to have any impact on the decisions of the organization’s top bureaucrats.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell
Malthusian Misanthropy
“Perhaps the most baleful feature of this benign man’s theory is the scarcity mentality it both posits and reinforces, and which has crept into contemporary thinking in biology, environmentalism, and economics.” ~ Richard Gunderman
Security Theatre and Covering One’s Buttocks
“People still believe the erroneous and absurdly exaggerated fears that our political and journalistic merchants of fear released a year-and-a-half ago. How long we’ll carry the mistakes of Covid is anybody’s guess, but we’ll play a lot of security theatre until then.” ~ Joakim Book
A Current Burden of Deficit Financing
“Only someone who is convinced that government will undertake only economically worthwhile projects regardless of the means of financing – or someone who doesn’t understand economics – can look favorably upon deficit financing by government.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
End Banking as We Know It?
“Omarova is right to point out the deficiencies in central banking. Nonetheless, ending traditional banking to fix central banking would be like closing schools to improve student retention. There are easier ways forward.” ~ Kenneth Kalczuk
Can You Even Be An “Informed” Citizen?
“The issues we’re considering are far, far more complex than you can fit on a bumper sticker, and this suggests that we would do better to move things into the commercial sphere rather than the political sphere.” ~ Art Carden
Hostility to Free Trade Is Now Officially Bipartisan
“Now, despite nominally battling each other on many issues, on one issue Democrats and Republicans stand united: their bipartisan hostility to free trade.” ~ Raymond C. Niles
Beware of the Progressive Redefinition of Moderates
“Frederic Bastiat wrote his electoral manifesto at a time when politically popular ‘moderates’ enabled expanding government coercion, while ‘extremists’ defended liberty. Unfortunately, little seems different today.” ~ Gary M. Galles
