Biden’s Economists Are Pretty Decent on Free Trade
[ad_1] When economists are polled on whether free trade creates net benefits for an economy, the vast majority, sometimes over 90 percent, answer that it does. Politicians, though, are another story. In 2018, President Trump proudly called himself “tariff man” and was true to the label: he imposed many tariffs on imports, even though […]
An economist’s guide to the luxury-handbag market
[ad_1] Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. You could spot a fake a mile off. The plasticky “Prado” wallets arranged on bedsheets on the pavements lining Canal Street in New York bore only a passing resemblance to the ones for sale […]
El-Erian, Krugman and other top economists voice China opinions
[ad_1] Many Chinese developers have halted or delayed construction on presold homes due to cash flow problems. Pictured here is a property construction site in Jiangsu province, China, on Oct. 17, 2022. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images China’s economy is sputtering. Its property market is crumbling, deflationary pressures are spreading across the […]
Bank of England set to hold interest rates as economists debate 2024 cuts
[ad_1] A passageway near the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, U.K., on Thursday, March 18, 2021. Hollie Adams | Bloomberg | Getty Images LONDON — The Bank of England is all but certain to keep its main interest rate unchanged at 5.25% for a third consecutive meeting on Thursday, but economists […]
Why economists are at war over inequality
[ad_1] Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. According to a familiar saying, academic disputes are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so low. But in a scholarly battle over inequality, the stakes are rather higher. Research by a trio of […]
How economists have underestimated Chinese consumption
[ad_1] “Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production,” Adam Smith pointed out. But his “perfectly self-evident” maxim has never held much sway in China. Earlier this year the country’s statisticians revealed that household consumption accounted for only 37% of China’s gdp in 2022, its lowest since 2014. Although removing strict covid-19 controls […]
How Chicago school economists reshaped American justice
[ad_1] Listen to this story.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Your browser does not support the <audio> element. In recent years the antitrust division of America’s Department of Justice has gone on a crusade against corporate mergers, filing a record number of complaints in an attempt to stop the biggest businesses from […]
U.S. debt downgrade sinks global markets — but economists are not concerned
[ad_1] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 29, 2023. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Global stock markets tumbled on Wednesday after ratings agency Fitch downgraded the United States’ long-term credit rating — but top economists say there is nothing to worry about. Fitch announced late on Tuesday that it had […]
Economists predict at least two more US rate rises to quell stubborn inflation
[ad_1] The US Federal Reserve will need to take tougher action than expected to root out inflation, according to a majority of leading academic economists polled by the Financial Times, who predict at least two more quarter-point interest rate increases this year. The latest survey, conducted in partnership with the Kent A Clark Center for […]
After First Republic’s rescue, economists predict further pain
[ad_1] Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference after the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on interest rate policy in Washington, March 22, 2023. Leah Millis | Reuters After the rescue of First Republic Bank […]