Monthly Archives: June 2011
The inverse function theorem and the monetary policy instrument
I'm not very good at math. So treat this post accordingly. [Ooops! As Kevin points out. I meant the *inverse* function theorem. I did say I was no good at math. I've edited it now. Can't find the strikeout function.]. The basic idea here seems rather obvious. But I don't remember anyone making this connection […]
Ontario’s Recession Battered Families
Recessions generate many statistics but in the end its all about the people and their families. Statistics Canada today released family income data for sub-provincial areas for 2009 taken from the 2009 personal income tax returns.
The macroeconomics of doing nothing
Suppose there is an increase in desired saving, and the monetary and fiscal authorities do nothing. What happens? That's the most important practical question in macroeconomics over the last few years. And it's also a really stupid question. And understanding why it's a really stupid question, and changing the way that question is asked — […]
Wife jokes as an indicator of marital discord
Last night I was watching a Best of Dave Allen DVD. I like the funny wordplay, but some of the wife jokes are lame. A wife joke is a joke like this one: "First guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!" Second guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."
NHL: Would You Rather Have the 24th Overall Pick or the 35th and 48th?
Similar to yesterday's question, but this one involving a trade where the Red Wings sent the 24th pick overall to the Senators in exchange for the 35th and 48th pick. The Senators would seem to do better with this trade than the Leafs, as the pick they receive is 2 picks lower (24 vs. 22) […]
NHL: Would You Rather Have the 22nd Overall Pick or the 30th and 39th?
I didn't get a chance to watch the draft yesterday, but I was getting updates via text message, including the following: Leafs acquire 22nd overall pick in 2011 from Ducks for 30th and 39th overall picks in 2011… It wasn't immediately obvious to me who got the better deal – the Leafs or the Ducks. […]
Economics, History and the Shrinking Middle
As an economic historian by training, I’m always aware of the unique ground straddled by practitioners of the cliometric craft. We are economists by training and in terms of many of the questions we are interested in, but much of our research focuses on collection and analysis of primary sources.
Headline and Core, again. And the ECB.
They are still at it! (Making totally irrelevant arguments about headline vs core.) How to kill this zombie? Here is a very simple model of inflation. Don't take it too literally. It's just for illustration. 1. H(t) = aH(t-1) + bC(t-1) – cR(t-1) + e(t) H(t) is headline inflation at time t; C(t) is core […]
Thomas K Rymes, 1932 – 2011.
TK Rymes' publication list begins with a disclaimer "Those marked with an asterisk I consider to be worth reading." That line is typical TK – direct, honest, and self-deprecating. After all, how many academics would suggest, even by implication, that much of their work is not worth reading? One of the first asterisked publications on the […]
Debt and bi-modal demographics
Young people borrow, to finance school, house, car, and kids. Their debt reaches a maximum, somewhere around age 35. Then they start to pay off their debt, and save for retirement, and so reach a maximum stock of savings somewhere around age 65. So, if there were a big bulge in the population at around […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Recent Comments