Derek Jeter
If anything, Mr. Jeter earned less than his marginal revenue product over the entire 162 game season. Continue Reading →
Category Archives: Using economic data
The Sources of Economic Growth
Economists continue to do research. The best research tries to relate economic theory to real-world data. Drs. Hall and Jones are outstanding practitioners of this science. While their analysis of economic growth still leaves room for additional research, that is the point. And that’s what keeps me interested in economics. Continue Reading →
What Is A Recession?
Let me translate. Paraphrasing Humpty Dumpty’s conversation with Alice, ‘ “When I use the word recession,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all.” ‘
(from Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, Lewis Carroll, 1871, ch. 6) Continue Reading →
Taxes Owed by 98,281 US Government Employees
The White House delinquency rate is 2.01%. At least that’s better than the overall government delinquency rate of 3.33%. The motto of the White House must be, “Learn from Tim Geithner.” Continue Reading →
Real Yields Turn Positive on 10-year TIPS
On January 18, real yields turned positive on 10-year TIPS. Markets are possibly getting a bit more optimistic. Here are a couple of representative real yield curves. Essentially, during the Continue Reading →
The Planet Money Team Strikes Out
Of course, this result is not as sexy or marketable as Mr. Davidson’s. If he wants to play in this sandbox, he should stop writing and get a Ph.D. in economics like the rest of us. Continue Reading →
Suspicious Data From the BLS
What’s especially troubling is that the seasonally adjusted figures are the same as those that are not seasonally adjusted. I would expect a discrepancy in November due to seasonal holiday hiring. Continue Reading →
Use Market Data to Measure Expected Inflation
Introduction Economists take it for granted that everyone knows the definition of the real interest rate: r = i – p where i is the nominal interest rate and p Continue Reading →