07 | February | 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013

An economist breaks up with his girlfriend

Mark J. Perry | February 7, 2013, 10:45 pm

A guy named Josh Freedman does the math, applies some cost-benefit analysis, quantitative reasoning, and utility theory, and decides to break up with his girlfriend Susan. In this letter titled “It’s Not You, It’s Quantitative Cost-Benefit Analysis,” he explains: “Susan, we need to talk. I’ve been … read more >

Carpe Diem

Opening up federal lands to oil and gas production would deliver a powerful economic stimulus to the US economy

Mark J. Perry | February 7, 2013, 8:53 pm

Professor Joseph R. Mason, who holds an endowed chair of banking at the Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University, released a study this month titled, “The Additional Economic Effects of Immediately Opening Federal Lands to Oil and Gas … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

One way to reform deposit insurance

James Pethokoukis | February 7, 2013, 3:45 pm

The financial crisis failed to lead to a comprehensive rethink of our approach to financial regulation. We just slapped on another layer of regulation called Dodd-Frank. Take deposit insurance, which may well be yet another example of government regulation and … read more >

Carpe Diem

Voter demographics for the 2012 presidential election

Mark J. Perry | February 7, 2013, 2:28 pm

The charts above (click to enlarge) show some of the voting patterns by age, race, and gender in the 2012 presidential election, and there are lots of additional voter demographic breakdowns here at the CNN Election Center. It’s maybe obvious, … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

No, Americans do not really oppose killing American al-Qaeda with drones

Marc Thiessen | February 7, 2013, 2:25 pm

Over at Slate, Dave Weigel reports on a new Farleigh-Dickinson poll which purports to show that a majority of Americans oppose drone strikes on American-born al-Qaeda leaders: Via CNN, the new Farleigh-Dickinson poll finally, finally separates two questions about drone … read more >

Pethokoukis

Does the US government really need a ‘Social, Behavioral and Economics Directorate’?

James Pethokoukis | February 7, 2013, 2:04 pm

One of the things government should do is invest in basic scientific research. But the upcoming budget sequester will fall on the just and unjust alike. Assuming 10% cuts across the board in discretionary spending, the National Science Foundation will … read more >

Economics, International economy

Behind the curve at the European Central Bank

Desmond Lachman | February 7, 2013, 1:31 pm

Today, true to form, the ECB decided to leave its monetary policy on hold despite the many reasons one might have expected that it might have taken a more proactive policy stance. This is unfortunate since it heightens the probability … read more >

Economics, Regulation

A great idea for protecting small business from the regulatory state

Henrik Temp | February 7, 2013, 1:24 pm

America’s regulatory apparatus continues to grow, with one study estimating 106 new major federal regulations added in just the first three years of the Obama administration. Since 1994, we’ve added about 300 new regulations per year, as the chart from … read more >

Carpe Diem

Three different measures show financial stress at 2007 levels

Mark J. Perry | February 7, 2013, 11:18 am

The chart above shows two different statistical measures of financial stress that are updated weekly by the Federal Reserve district banks of Chicago (National Financial Conditions Index, red line) and St. Louis (Financial Stress Index, blue line). I reported on the St. … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis, U.S. Economy

The unemployment rate for government workers is 4.2%. Private sector workers: 8.6%

James Pethokoukis | February 7, 2013, 11:15 am

AEI’s Aparna Mathur makes the case that a shrinking government sector, even if it drags down GDP data and job numbers, is exactly the correct public policy goal right now. Growing the private sector needs to be the focus. We … read more >