Monthly Archives: August 2011
Apples, wheat, and haircuts: output and demand
What happens to output when the quantity of output demanded suddenly and unexpectedly falls below and stays below the existing level of output? (And prices either do not or cannot adjust to bring the two into balance). I'm going to sketch three different economies, which give three different answers to that question. In an "apple […]
British Tuition Hikes: A Canadian Opportunity?
Last Thursday, about 300,000 British secondary school students (England, Wales & Northern Ireland) received their A-level results, which are a key determinant of whether or not they will receive a place at a university of their choice. This year, the number of applicants to British universities was about 684,000 but the number of spaces was […]
Employment growth in Texas
This post was written by Simon van Norden of HEC-Montréal. In normal times, people could care less about employment growth in Texas. But times are strange enough that our neighbours to the south are suddenly making an issue of it. (It’s even in the New York Times! (1) (2))
An academic integrity policy for faculty?
Carleton University has a 14 page academic integrity policy governing student conduct. It describes in detail the various types of unacceptable behaviour, the process for investigating allegations of misconduct, and the various consequences a student might face. There is no parallel policy for faculty. Perhaps that's because no such policy is necessary. After all, faculty […]
The Price Is Too Damn High, Canadian Edition
About five years ago, I was on a trip to Manhattan and I bought a Baltimore Orioles cap. It is easily the best hat I've ever owned – it fits my head like a glove. Unfortunately it's getting pretty worn from heavy use. I decided to see if I could find another one just like […]
Thinking About Economics
As part of my fall teaching load, I will be teaching what economists sometimes refer to as “History of Thought” but which is more correctly termed the “History of Economic Thought” or perhaps “Evolution of Economic Theory and Analysis”.
I=S
There's a lot of people wandering around the internet who are very confused about Investment = Saving. Maybe they have been mistaught, or maybe they have mislearned? I don't know. But I'm doing this as a public service, even though it's a thoroughly boring job for me. Someone's got to do it. And since I've […]
Substituting Capital for Labour, Radio DJ Edition
Say hello to Denise: Her name is Denise and at first glance she's kinda hot. But she's actually less real than a Penthouse Pet. Instead, Denise is a James Cameron wet dream, a virtual non-human AI radio DJ. Built by a company called Guile 3D, she was designed to be a virtual assistant. In that […]
I Dissent (FOMC Edition)
This post was written by Simon van Norden of HEC-Montréal. Last week’s FOMC decision to signal looser monetary policy seemed to boost US stocks, as it was designed to. But the decision was a tough one: three of the eleven voting members dissented, which is as high as dissent on that committee has gotten in […]
Employed vs unemployed wage rigidity
Suppose you believe that (nominal) wage rigidity in the face of a decline in the (nominal) demand curve for labour is what causes unemployment in a recession. Is it wage rigidity of the employed workers or of the unemployed workers that's the problem? Scott Sumner and Alex Tabarrok say it's (mostly) the wage rigidity of […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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