Grasping Reality on TypePad, by Brad DeLong

Live from the Central Asian-Mediterrean Cultural Interface: Shrimp Saganaki:

• 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 3/4 pound shrimp (add near end)
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (add at end)
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
• ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small onion (add near beginning)
• wine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (add at beginning)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (add at beginning)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• black pepper
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Cf.: Odeum

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Josh Barro: Trump makes GOP pretend health reform is on table: "The Republican healthcare bill is supposedly coming back from the dead... http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-health-care-reform-dead-2017-4

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Josh Barro: 'Art of the Deal' quote explains Trump's presidency: "One quote from the book that keeps haunting me during Trump's presidency... http://www.businessinsider.com/art-of-the-deal-trump-presidency-2017-4

Should-Read: Fatih Guvenen and Greg Kaplan: Top Income Inequality in the 21st Century: Some Cautionary Notes: "IRS and SSA data reveal diverging patterns in top income shares... http://papers.nber.org/w23321.pdf

Must-Read: There were three good reasons in the mid-2000s to believe that housing prices should jump substantially. The coming of secular stagnation—then called the "global savings glut"—greatly boosted demand by boosting how much households could afford to pay for America. The filling-up of America restricted supply: first cars and superhighways had meant that for nearly three generations there were greenfield potential housing sites within thirty minutes of everywhere, but that ended with the twentieth century. At some point the anti-global warming carbon tax will come, and when it does auto transportation will become much more expensive and that will tilt the location price gradient. How much were these worth? Not enough to boost housing prices to their 2005 values. But plausibly enough to boost housing prices to their values today. IMHO, the best way to view the graph is as a positive "displacement" boom caused by true fundamentals, a bubble upward overshoot, a crash downward undershoot, and now (we hope) equilibrium:

Kevin Drum: We're Now In the Second Biggest Housing Boom of All Time: "The most remarkable feature of this chart... http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/04/were-now-second-biggest-housing-boom-all-time

Must-Read: Òscar Jordà, Moritz Schularick, and Alan M. Taylor: Monetary Policy Medicine: Large Effects from Small Doses?: "How do we know that higher interest rates will bring prices under control?... http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2017/april/monetary-policy-medicine-using-quasi-random-experiments/

Should-Read: Bridget Ansel: Weekend reading: “This post is tax-ing” edition: "The increase in income inequality since 2000 is largely driven by higher capital income among the top .01 percent of earners... http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/weekend-reading-this-post-is-tax-ing-edition/

Should-Read: Chris Hayes: On escaping the “doom loop” of Trump's presidency: "I tend to think of it in terms of my own behavior... https://www.vox.com/2017/4/19/15356534/chris-hayes-donald-trump-media-elections-2016-criminal-justice

Should-Read: Hyun Song Shin: Accounting for global liquidity: reloading the matrix: "In emerging market economies especially, a weakening of the domestic currency against the dollar saps both cross-border bank lending and investment... http://www.bis.org/speeches/sp170419.htm

Over at Equitable Growth: Must- and Should-Reads:

• Against Alasdair Macintyre’s “After Virtue” | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/against-alasdair-macintyres-after-virtue/: "That is a very powerful statement that what is sought after is successful managerialism–a successful managerialism with a preferential option for the poor..."
• Nick Bunker: What would rules-based monetary policy look like?: "All of this isn’t to say that the reaction functions of central banks or individual central bankers aren’t important http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/what-would-rules-based-monetary-policy-look-like/..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/04/what-would-rules-based-monetary-policy-look-like-equitable-growth.html
• Mark Thoma: The Fed’s Inflation Goal: What Does the Public Know?: "'Lately, various Committee members... and Chair Yellen... http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2017/04/the-feds-inflation-goal-what-does-the-public-know.html
• Jamelle Bouie: The Muted Response to the Retail Apocalypse Shows Which Workers Count in Trump’s America: Fake Working Class: "The retail industry’s recent decline... http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/the_response_to_the_retail_apocalypse_shows_which_workers_count_in_trump.html
• Rick Perlstein: I Thought I Understood the American Right. Trump Proved Me Wrongs: "Direct-mail pioneers like Richard Viguerie created hair-on-fire campaign-fund-raising letters... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/magazine/i-thought-i-understood-the-american-right-trump-proved-me-wrong.html
• Tim Carmody: Pour some out for the sites that aren’t here: Google Reader: "Some of the best things ever seen or used on the web can’t be saved... http://kottke.org/17/04/pour-some-out-for-the-sites-that-arent-here

Should-Read: Nick Bunker: What would rules-based monetary policy look like?: "All of this isn’t to say that the reaction functions of central banks or individual central bankers aren’t important... http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/what-would-rules-based-monetary-policy-look-like/

Alasdair Macintyre, at least in his After Virtue mode, believes that good civilizations are ones with moral consensus led by prophets, rather than ones with moral confusion managed by managers. It is Macintyre’s belief that we should hope for a civilization led by Trotskys (less preferred) or St. Benedicts (more preferred), but in either event it is to be preferred to managerial Keyneses.

Should-Read: Tim Carmody: Pour some out for the sites that aren’t here: Google Reader: "Some of the best things ever seen or used on the web can’t be saved... http://kottke.org/17/04/pour-some-out-for-the-sites-that-arent-here

Over at Project Syndicate: Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is fencing with current U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about "artificial intelligence"--AI--and related topics.

Most of their differences are differences of emphasis.

Mnuchin is drawing the issue narrowly: the particular technologies called "Artificial Intelligence taking over American jobs". And he is, at least as I read him, is elliptically criticizing high stock market values for "unicorns": companies with valuations above a billion dollars and yet no past record or clear future path to producing revenues to justify such valuations.

I think the basic problem is that you expect—in some sense—that the market economy should be "fair". It isn't. In fact, it cannot be.

The market economy rewards those who happen to:

1. own particular things
2. that are useful in making things
3. that rich people really want
4. if it is also hard to reproduce or make more of those particular things.

• Should-Read: Jamelle Bouie: The Muted Response to the Retail Apocalypse Shows Which Workers Count in Trump’s America: Fake Working Class: "The retail industry’s recent decline... http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/the_response_to_the_retail_apocalypse_shows_which_workers_count_in_trump.html

Must-Read: Rick Perlstein: I Thought I Understood the American Right. Trump Proved Me Wrongs: "Direct-mail pioneers like Richard Viguerie created hair-on-fire campaign-fund-raising letters... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/magazine/i-thought-i-understood-the-american-right-trump-proved-me-wrong.html

Over at Equitable Growth: Must- and Should-Reads:

• Nick Bunker: U.S. income inequality trends in the 21st century | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/u-s-income-inequality-trends-in-the-21st-century/
• Kavya Vaghul: A few graphs for Tax Day 2017 | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/a-few-graphs-for-tax-day-2017/
• Financial Times: Donald Trump Beats a Retreat: "Another week, another series of flip-flops by America’s president... https://www.ft.com/content/039d80ae-21cb-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16
• Ezra Klein: The GOP’s problem on health reform is they’ve spent years hiding their real position: "The most interesting policy argument... is the debate between conservatives’ real position on health care and their fake position... https://www.ft.com/content/039d80ae-21cb-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16
• Paul Krugman: On Twitter: "The CA/KS comparison—Brown and Brownback took office same time—never gets old, because the derp keeps coming..." https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/853693665239326720
• Willa Friedman et al. (2011): Education as Liberation?: "We assess the political and social impacts of a randomized girls' merit scholarship incentive program in Kenya that raised test scores and secondary schooling... http://www.nber.org/papers/w16939

Should-Read: Paul Krugman: On Twitter: "The CA/KS comparison—Brown and Brownback took office same time—never gets old, because the derp keeps coming..." https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/853693665239326720

Must-Read: Ezra Klein: The GOP’s problem on health reform is they’ve spent years hiding their real position: "The most interesting policy argument... is the debate between conservatives’ real position on health care and their fake position... http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/17/15325366/gop-problem-on-health-reform

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Jonathan Chait: Donald Trump Is Just George W. Bush, But Racist: "The Trumpian mix of K Street economics and Breitbartian racial messaging is not a perfectly natural one... http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/04/donald-trump-is-just-george-w-bush-but-racist.html?mid=twitter-share-di

Hoisted from the Archives from 2005: Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? (Yet Another Washington Post Edition): "Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? (Yet Another Washington Post Edition) I'm sitting here high above Berkeley in the Lipman Room of Barrows Hall...

...at a conference on 'The Changing Economics of News: Why Will Pay for Excellent Journalism in the Future?' And I'm thinking about another conference report from last month, here Matthew Yglesias reported on a panel in Virginia Beach that he was on along with the Washington Post's Mike Allen:

Must-Read: Financial Times: Donald Trump Beats a Retreat https://www.ft.com/content/039d80ae-21cb-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16: "Another week, another series of flip-flops by America’s president...

Over at Equitable Growth: Must- and Should-Reads:

• Shaken and Stirred: Weekend Reading: Hoisted from 2005 | Equitable Growth: "..." http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/shaken-and-stirred-weekend-reading-hoisted-from-2005/
• Nick Bunker: U.S. income inequality trends in the 21st century | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/u-s-income-inequality-trends-in-the-21st-century/
• Nick Bunker: Weekend reading: “This post has intangible assets” edition | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/weekend-reading-this-post-has-intangible-assets-edition/
• Tony Nog: On Twitter: "18) This may explain why Brexiteers are in this unhappy cycle. The 'intellectual' basis for Brexit has collapsed. But no one told them..." https://twitter.com/tony_nog/status/849648920313683970 https://t.co/ivecEkaJIT
• Seshat: Global History Databank publishes first set of historical data: "Can be accessed at http://dacura.scss.tcd.ie/seshat/... http://seshatdatabank.info/dacura/
• Simon Wren-Lewis: Henry Farrell on economists and austerity: "as [Kevin] Drum says, it is not all gloom for economists... https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2017/04/henry-farrell-on-economists-and.html
• Ernest Gellner (1990): The Civil and the Sacred: "The history of the Soviet Union... falls into two main periods: Terror and Squalor... http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/02/weekend-reading-from-ernest-gellner-1990-the-civil-and-the-sacred.html
• Josh Marshall: Trump and The Problem of Militant Ignorance: "President Trump is a deeply ignorant man... http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-the-problem-of-militant-ignorance

Must-Reads:

• Seshat: Global History Databank publishes first set of historical data: "Can be accessed at http://dacura.scss.tcd.ie/seshat/... http://seshatdatabank.info/dacura/
• Barry Eichengreen and Brad DeLong (2013): New Preface to Charles Kindleberger, "The World in Depression 1929-1939": "Anyone fortunate enough to live in New England in 1970-1985 or so and possessed of even a limited interest in international financial and monetary history... http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/04/new-preface-to-charles-kindleberger-the-world-in-depression-1929-1939.html
• Dani Rodrik: A Foreword to Kari Polanyi Levitt: "I first encountered Karl Polanyi as an undergraduate, in a course on comparative politics... http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2017/03/a-foreword-to-kari-polanyi-levitt.html
• Christina Starmans, Mark Sheskin, and Paul Bloom: Why People Prefer Unequal Societies http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0082: "There is immense concern about economic inequality...
• Pedro Nicolaci da Costa: Lacker's resignation raises big question about the real Fed leaker http://www.businessinsider.com/lackers-resignation-raises-big-question-about-the-real-fed-leaker-2017-4: "Despite appearances to the contrary, we also don't know who the actual leaker was...

ACLU National: _On Twitter: "LOL" https://t.co/yS0QtsE2vG https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/853672747851030529:

Should-Read: Tony Nog: On Twitter: "18) This may explain why Brexiteers are in this unhappy cycle. The 'intellectual' basis for Brexit has collapsed. But no one told them..." https://twitter.com/tony_nog/status/849648920313683970 https://t.co/ivecEkaJIT:

We are, historically, both too late and too early for the Barrington Moore Project to make sense: both pre-Enlightenment freedoms and post mass-politics totalitarian dangers...

Weekend Reading/Hoisted (2010): The Barrington Moore Problematic and Its Discontents: John Stuart Mill was perhaps the last who was substantially at home in and competent in all the branches of moral philosophy.

Afterwards young scholars paying their dues found it impossible to learn everything and still have time to write anything.

Stephen Cohen and Brad DeLong (2005): Shaken and Stirred https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/01/shaken-and-stirred/303666/: The United States is about to experience economic upheaval on a scale unseen for generations. Will social harmony be a casualty?

It has become conventional wisdom that class politics has no legs in the United States today—and for good reason. Regardless of actual circumstance, an overwhelming majority of Americans view themselves as middle-class. Very few have any bone to pick with the rich, perhaps because most believe they will become rich—or at least richer—someday. To be sure, the issues of jobs and wages inevitably make their way into our political campaigns—to a greater or lesser extent depending on where we are in the business cycle. But they seldom divide us as much as simply circle in and out of our political life. Lately anxiety about the economy has been palpable, but for the most part it has not evolved into anger or found specific scapegoats.

Snoop Dogg: Who Am I (What’s My Name):

Must-Read: Seshat: Global History Databank publishes first set of historical data: "Can be accessed at http://dacura.scss.tcd.ie/seshat/... http://seshatdatabank.info/dacura/

Should-Read: Simon Wren-Lewis: Henry Farrell on economists and austerity: "As [Kevin] Drum says, it is not all gloom for economists... https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2017/04/henry-farrell-on-economists-and.html

Should-Read: Ernest Gellner (1990): The Civil and the Sacred: "The history of the Soviet Union... falls into two main periods: Terror and Squalor... http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/02/weekend-reading-from-ernest-gellner-1990-the-civil-and-the-sacred.html

Should-Read: Josh Marshall: Trump and The Problem of Militant Ignorance: "President Trump is a deeply ignorant man... http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-the-problem-of-militant-ignorance

Over at Equitable Growth: Must- and Should-Reads:

• Notes: Working, Earning, and Learning In the Age of Intelligent Machines | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/notes-working-earning-and-learning-in-the-age-of-intelligent-machines/
• Nick Bunker: A new way to look at how U.S. firms affect their workers’ pay now and in the future | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/a-new-way-to-look-at-how-u-s-firms-affect-their-workers-pay-now-and-in-the-future/
• Josh Marshall: Trump Threatens to Torch More Republicans: "the President is threatening... CSR payments to sabotage the Obamacare exchanges and... force Democrats to the bargaining table... http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-threatens-to-torch-more-republicans
• Barry Eichengreen and Brad DeLong (2013): New Preface to Charles Kindleberger, "The World in Depression 1929-1939": "Anyone fortunate enough to live in New England in 1970-1985 or so and possessed of even a limited interest in international financial and monetary history... http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/04/new-preface-to-charles-kindleberger-the-world-in-depression-1929-1939.html
• Dani Rodrik: A Foreword to Kari Polanyi Levitt: "I first encountered Karl Polanyi as an undergraduate, in a course on comparative politics... http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2017/03/a-foreword-to-kari-polanyi-levitt.html

The key seems to me to build intelligent machines that will assist workers in labor-intensive industries, rather than build intelligent machines that will eliminate workers in capital-intensive industries. The first is a clear win. The second can be a major loss if the things made in capital-intensive industries are close enough substitutes for the products of labor-intensive industries to greatly drop their value.

But what I have to say so far is limited.

Weekend Reading: Barry Eichengreen and Bradford DeLong (2012): New preface to Charles Kindleberger, "The World in Depression 1929-1939": Charles Kindleberger’s classic book on the Great Depression was originally published 40 years ago. In the preface to a new edition, two leading economists argue that the lessons are as relevant as ever:

The parallels between Europe in the 1930s and Europe today are stark, striking, and increasingly frightening... http://voxeu.org/article/new-preface-charles-kindleberger-world-depression-1929-1939

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Donald Trump hires only the best people!

Richard R.J. Eskow: The Secret Republican History Of Sean Spicer’s Holocaust, In 7 Steps: "It’s possible to get carried away with outrage.... But... http://crooksandliars.com/2017/04/secret-republican-history-sean-spicer-s

Should-Read: Point 1: Pro-tip: saying in advance that you do not want to actually put the threat in your bargaining position into effect means that you already have a different bargaining position than you think you do. Point 2: In return for getting Trump to agree to continue CSR payments, Democrats should be willing to let Trump demand and then support Medicare's offering its network as an insurance plan on all the health exchanges:

Josh Marshall: Trump Threatens to Torch More Republicans: "the President is threatening... CSR payments to sabotage the Obamacare exchanges and... force Democrats to the bargaining table... http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-threatens-to-torch-more-republicans

...“I don’t want people to get hurt,” said President Trump. “What I think should happen—and will happen—is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating.”...

Must-Read: Barry Eichengreen and Brad DeLong (2013): New Preface to Charles Kindleberger, "The World in Depression 1929-1939": "Anyone fortunate enough to live in New England in 1970-1985 or so and possessed of even a limited interest in international financial and monetary history... http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/04/new-preface-to-charles-kindleberger-the-world-in-depression-1929-1939.html

Over at Equitable Growth: Must- and Should-Reads:

• Owen Zidar: Tax cuts for whom? Heterogeneous effects of income tax changes on growth and employment | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/working-papers/effects-of-income-tax-changes-on-economic-activity/: "the positive relationship between tax cuts and employment growth is largely driven by tax cuts for lower-income groups, and that the effect of tax cuts for the top 10% on employment growth is small..."
• Nick Bunker: A new way to look at how U.S. firms affect their workers’ pay now and in the future | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/a-new-way-to-look-at-how-u-s-firms-affect-their-workers-pay-now-and-in-the-future/: "Think of the U.S. labor market as a series of ladders, with firms being different ladders and wage levels corresponding to rungs on the ladders..."
• Nick Bunker: JOLTS Day Graphs: February 2017 Report Edition | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/jolts-day-graphs-february-2017-report-edition/: "After a jump in January, the quits rate moved down to 2.1 percent in February. Quitting is often interpreted as a sign of labor market health and recently it’s been quite steady..."
• Nick Bunker: How corporate profit-shifting distorts the measurement of U.S. productivity | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/how-corporate-profit-shifting-distorts-the-measurement-of-u-s-productivity/: "Productivity growth from 2006 to 2008—after accounting for profit-shifting—was almost a full percentage point higher than unadjusted productivity..."
• Nick Bunker: Weekend reading: “Diversity, discrimination, and wage gaps” edition | Equitable Growth http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/weekend-reading-diversity-discrimination-and-wage-gaps-edition/: "Claudia Sahm writes:'I get it that technocratic credibility and the independence it allows are crucial ingredients to monetary policy, but isn’t that earned by outcomes not words?'..."
• Matthew C Klein: Tarullo Exits Federal Reserve https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2017/02/10/2184358/tarullo-exits-federal-reserve/: "Daniel K. Tarullo submitted his resignation... as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, effective on or around April 5, 2017...
• Thomas Barnebeck et al.: The Heavy Plough and the Agricultural Revolution in Medieval Europe http://eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Skovsgaard.pdf: "Lynn White, Jr. (1962)... the adoption of the heavy plough in Northern Europe led to increased population density and urbanization...
• Josh Barro (2012): Yes, the 1990 Budget Deal Spending Cuts Were Real https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2012-12-27/yes-the-1990-budget-deal-spending-cuts-were-real: "When you talk with conservatives about why they resist deficit-cutting deals...
• Dean Baker: Prime-Age Employment Rate Hits Record High for Recovery http://cepr.net/blogs/cepr-blog/prime-age-employment-rate-hits-record-high-for-recovery-in-february: "0.5 percentage points above its year-ago level...
• Paul E. Smaldino and Richard McElreath: The Natural Selection of Bad Science http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/9/160384: "Poor research design and data analysis encourage false-positive findings...
• David Leonhardt: The Original Republican Lie About Obamacare https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/opinion/the-original-lie-about-obamacare.html : "It’s often said in a tone of regret: I wish Obama had done health reform in a bipartisan way...
• Financial Times: The Fed and ECB keep a cautious eye on the exit https://www.ft.com/content/a0180496-1b7b-11e7-a266-12672483791a: "Making a promise... and then breaking that promise tends to have more severe consequences for central banks...
• Jonathan Portes: Spreadsheets are people too: statistics and reality http://notthetreasuryview.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/spreadsheets-are-people-too-statistics.html: "[David] Goodhart’s response will be... that I am...
• Christina Starmans, Mark Sheskin, and Paul Bloom: Why People Prefer Unequal Societies http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0082: "There is immense concern about economic inequality...
• Pedro Nicolaci da Costa: Lacker's resignation raises big question about the real Fed leaker http://www.businessinsider.com/lackers-resignation-raises-big-question-about-the-real-fed-leaker-2017-4: "Despite appearances to the contrary, we also don't know who the actual leaker was...
• David L. Ikenberry, Richard L. Shockley, and Kent L. Womack (1998): Why Active Fund Managers Often Underperform the S&P 500: The Impact of Size and Skewness http://www-2.rotman.utoronto.ca/kent.womack/publications/publications/skewness.pdf: "The S&P 500 index... comparison has generally cast an unfavorable impression of active fund managers...
• Noah Smith: Keynesian Economics Is Hot Again https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-04-10/keynesian-economics-is-hot-again: "Lawrence Christiano... after the Great Recession...

Live from the Banks of the Charles River: May 27, 2017 (Tentative): The Future of Higher Education and Lifelong Learning:

Moderator: Seth Lloyd ’82 (Ph.D., Rockefeller University), Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems and Physics, and Director, Center for Extreme Quantum Information Theory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; author of Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos_

Must-Read: The only big problem with this from Dani Rodrik is that Karl Polanyi got it completely wrong when he wrote that it is "democracy" striking back against the "market". It is not "democracy" that is striking back against the "market". To say so is to misread what is going on completely. And I think it is also to misread what went on in what my teacher Jeffrey Williamson calls the first era of "globalization backlash" from... call it 1900-1940.

And Karl Polanyi still needs somebody to play Charlie Kindleberger to his Hyman Minsky. I nominate Dani:

Dani Rodrik: A Foreword to Kari Polanyi Levitt: "I first encountered Karl Polanyi as an undergraduate, in a course on comparative politics... http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2017/03/a-foreword-to-kari-polanyi-levitt.html

This is an interesting, if an Aesopian, article by Olivier Blanchard...

Should-Read: What Noah misses is that international macroeconomists—those who had never taken Prescott or Lucas seriously—were very well-prepared for the collapse of 2007-2010. It's not that theories needed to be rethought: it's that doctrines that were always bs needed to be thrown to the side:

Noah Smith: Keynesian Economics Is Hot Again https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-04-10/keynesian-economics-is-hot-again: "Lawrence Christiano... after the Great Recession...

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Friends don't let friends be Republicans:

Jason Kottke: Climate change is shifting cherry blossom peak-bloom times http://kottke.org/17/04/climate-change-is-shifting-cherry-blossom-peak-bloom-times:

Live from the Shores of the Red Sea: "Avadim hayinu l’faroh b’mitzrayim...

Must-Read: Pedro Nicolaci da Costa: Lacker's resignation raises big question about the real Fed leaker http://www.businessinsider.com/lackers-resignation-raises-big-question-about-the-real-fed-leaker-2017-4: "Despite appearances to the contrary, we also don't know who the actual leaker was...

Live from the Human Race Long-Term Planning Bureau: Milken Institute: Global Conference 2017: Globalization in the Crosshairs http://www.milkeninstitute.org/events/conferences/global-conference/2017/program-detail: "May 2: 2:00-3:30 PM: In the 20 years leading up to the financial crisis, international trade grew at twice the rate of global output...

Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: In Trump America, password secures YOU!!