FRBSF: Why Is Unemployment Duration So Long?
What's responsible for the slow recovery of employment in recent recessions? : The analyses discussed here suggest that weak labor demand is the primary explanation for prolonged unemployment duration observed in the recent recession and recovery. The weak recovery of...
GDP Report: Austerity is Holding Back the Recovery
A few comments on the GDP report: GDP Report: Austerity is Holding Back the Recovery The government should be supporting the recovery, but it's not.
Cochrane and Stimulus
Noah Smith is surprised: Cochrane: Just don't call it "stimulus"!, Noahpinion: John Cochrane has a long blog post up, the first half of which is a general discussion of the idea of fiscal stimulus, and the second half of which...
Summers and Stimulus: More or Less?
Jared Bernstein defends Larry Summers: Summers and Stimulus, by Jared Bernstein: Ryan Lizza has a great piece out on President Obama’s decision making processes though many of the toughest issues he’s faced. ... He even links to one of key...
"The Ongoing Debt Transformation"
Via Paul Krugman: The Ongoing Debt Transformation, by Paul Krugman: A follow-up on my note about US deleveraging. It turns out that if you measure debt as a percentage of potential GDP (as estimated by the CBO) and use a...
Feldstein: How to Create a Depression
Martin Feldstein has a warning about European plans for further austerity: European political leaders may be about to agree to a fiscal plan which, if implemented, could push Europe into a major depression. ... The European Union’s summit in Brussels...
Democrats are Not Anti-Market
A recent column (on the claim that Democrat are anti-market, socialists, see here too): Democrats are Not Anti-Market, by Mark Thoma: Republican hopefuls are attempting to portray the coming presidential election as a battle between people who believe in free...
Fiscal flailing, continued
Goldman Sachs has updated this chart, which shows the projected impact of fiscal policy on GDP growth, to reflect its latest assumptions (see the previous version here):The...
Jobs, Not the Deficit, Should be Our Most Immediate Concern
The NY Times editorial staff: As Good as It Gets?: ...The way to revive sustainable growth is with more government aid to help create jobs, support demand and prevent foreclosures. As things stand now, however, Washington will provide less help,...
Paul Krugman: Keynes Was Right
There are quite a few people in denial about one lesson from the crisis -- the value of the Keynesian perspective: Keynes Was Right, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: “The boom, not the slump, is the right time for...
Fiscal Policy Can Help the Economy
For the doubters: Fiscal Policy Works, by Paul Krugman: Via Brad DeLong, there’s a paper by David Romer (pdf) summarizing recent research on fiscal policy, inspired by the crisis and aftermath. And his conclusion is not at all what you...
Central Banks and Treasuries Need to be "Pumping Out Safe Assets"
Brad DeLong is hoping that if he and others make this point often enough, policymakers will finally listen: Why the U.S. Treasury, the Bundesrepublik Treasury, the Japanese Treasury, the Fed, the ECB, and the BoJ Need to Be Pumping Out...
