Why US productivity data is questionable
According to the US Labor Department, workers productivity in the non-farm sector increased at an annual rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter…
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Expectations and economic growth
In various writings, Milton Friedman argued that there is a variable lag between changes in money supply and its effect on real output…
Read MoreWhy more money can’t generate economic growth?
The view that more money can revive an economy is based on the belief that money transmits its stimulatory effect through aggregate expenditure….
Read MoreWhy assessing business cycles using the NBER approach is questionable
Most economists are of the view that by means of economic indicators it is possible to identify early warnings regarding an upcoming recession or…
Read MoreShould forecasting accuracy determine the acceptance of a theory?
In order to establish the state of the economy economists employ various theories. Yet what are the criteria for how they decide whether…
Read MoreDo we need government to promote innovation and economic growth?
According to Mariana Mazzucato, the RM Phillips Professor in the Economics of Innovation at the University of Sussex, government is an important factor…
Read MoreWhy looking at the data without a theory cannot tell us much
For most so-called practical economists, information regarding the state of an economy is derived from the data. Thus if an economic statistic such…
Read MoreDoes the Friedman’s plucking model refute Mises’s boom-bust cycle theory?
According to an article in Bloomberg on November 5, 2019, Milton Friedman’s plucking theory seems to be vindicated. According to Friedman there appears to…
Read MoreCan easy monetary policies help to absorb idle resources?
It is widely believed that resources that are utilized in normal times to promote economic prosperity become underutilized during recessions. Some experts hold…
Read MoreAre we heading for a liquidity trap?
With interest rates in many countries close to zero or even negative some commentators are of the view that monetary policy of the…
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