The most obvious source of cyclical asymmetry is not a nominal rigidity

I've long been interested in the apparent cyclical asymmetry in business fluctuations. So it's nice to see Paul Krugman publicize the issue here: On the Asymmetry of Booms and Slumps. His post, in turn, was motivated...

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In gold we trust?

I've written before that a desirable property of a monetary instrument is for it to hold its value over short periods of time (See: Why Gold and Bitcoin Make Lousy Money). In other words, a good monetary instrument should...

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Konkurransetilsynet bør si nei

Ica og Norgesgruppen ønsker felles innkjøpssamarbeid, men nå har konkurransetilsynet utsatt vedtaket. Det enkleste hadde vært å si nei med en gang. Innkjøpssamarbeidet har isolert sett trolig en positiv effekt for forbrukerne på kort sikt. Mer innkjøpsmakt gir lavere pris til forbruker.Det er imidlertid...

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Labor Force Participation Gaps (U.S. vs. Canada)

This post is meant as a complement to my earlier posts: [1] Employment Gaps, [2] Employment Slumps in Canada and the U.S., and [3] U.S. Labor Force on Trend?In what follows, I report the labor force participation rates (LPRs)...

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U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate on Trend?

The labor force participation rate (LPR) is defined as the share of the civilian noninstitutionalized that is employed (working) or unemployed (looking for work). In 1970, the U.S. LPR was about 60%. It rose steadily for...

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Ingen meravkastning

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Is QE lowering the rate of inflation?

The answer may be "yes," according to a new paper by Steve Williamson. In examining the effects of a QE experiment in his model economy, he reports the following (p. 16):Some of the effects here are unconventional. While...

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