Economy

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 has been awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” Each year, the Nobel Committee helpfully publishes both a “Popular information” overview of of the award and a “Scientific Background” essay that goes into greater depth. … Continue reading A Nobel for Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson: Institutions and Prosperity The post A Nobel for Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson: Institutions and Prosperity first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Cardiff Garcia of the Economic Innovation Group interviews Paul Krugman at The New Bazaar website (October 9, 2024). The interview has a number of points of interest. Here are two themes that caught my eye. The study of “economic geography” focuses on why economics activity may tend to cluster, or to spread out, or to … Continue reading Interview with Paul Krugman: Economic Geography and Mysteries of Productivity The post Interview with Paul Krugman: Economic Geography and Mysteries of Productivity first appeared on Conversable Economist.

There are of course a variety of reasons unrelated to economic policy to choose between Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and other candidates running for President of the United States. But as an economist … It would be nice to vote for someone who acknowledges that the US budgets and the accumulating US debt are a … Continue reading Politically Homeless in the Land of Economics The post Politically Homeless in the Land of Economics first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Orley Ashenfelter interviews Samuel Bowles “on his deep interest in the causes of inequality & his work to transform economics” (“The Work Goes On” podcast, posted October 7, 2024). The entire interview is worthwhile: for example, I did not know that Bowles attended school in a tent in India when he was 11 years old … Continue reading Interview with Samuel Bowles: Inequality over the Millennia The post Interview with Samuel Bowles: Inequality over the Millennia first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Back in high school, the first book I read making the arguments against global corporations and globalization was Global Reach, which had been published a few years earlier back in 1974. Since then, anti-globalization arguments have been a consistent drumbeat in the background. I remember controversies over the “Tokyo round” of world trade talks in … Continue reading Globalization: Coming to Grips with the Record The post Globalization: Coming to Grips with the Record first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Each fall and spring, the Brookings Institutions holds a conference with a set of papers from prominent economists on leading policy topics, with comments and discussion. The Fall 2024 conference happened last Thursday and Friday. You can go to the website and spend hours watching the whole thing, or you can pick and choose through … Continue reading Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Fall 2024 The post Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Fall 2024 first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Economists commonly think about technology as an idea, but in one way or another, the technology interacts with physical forms–and these physical forms affect how the technology is applied and its social effects. In his da Vinci Medal Address, Donald MacKenzie considers some implications of this idea in “Material Political Economy” (Technology and Culture, July … Continue reading The Physicality of Technology: The High Frequency Trading Example The post The Physicality of Technology: The High Frequency Trading Example first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Brand-name drugs in the United States cost more than in other countries. The primary reason is that the US has a sort-of-constrained but pretty free market in setting drug prices, while in other countries it is common for the government or national health service to give pharmaceutical companies what amounts to a take-it-or-leave-it offer: charge … Continue reading US Drug Prices: Higher for Brand Names, Lower for Generics The post US Drug Prices: Higher for Brand Names, Lower for Generics first appeared on Conversable Economist.

When most people think of “experiments,” they think of test tubes and telescopes, of Petri dishes and Bunsen burners. But the physical apparatus is not central to what an “experiment” means. Instead, what matters is the ability to specify different conditions–and then to observe how the differences in the underlying conditions alter the outcomes. When … Continue reading The Arrival of Field Experiments in Economics The post The Arrival of Field Experiments in Economics first appeared on Conversable Economist.

The nature of globalization is clearly shifting, but it’s not clear to me that the overall level is diminishing. It does seem true the level of goods moving across international borders is rising much more slowly–or even not at all. However, the level of services being performed across international borders is rising substantially, and movements … Continue reading How Can One Tell if Openness to Trade Helps Economic Growth? The post How Can One Tell if Openness to Trade Helps Economic Growth? first appeared on Conversable Economist.