Last week, it was reported that the ongoing fiscal stimulus program ‘created or saved 11,800 Minnesota jobs.’ Did it really? This is one of those topics the media and the public remain largely clueless about. It often seems that both…
Ostrom a solid choice for economics Nobel
The Swedish Academy thumbed its nose at abstract theorists this week by naming Indiana University political scientist Elinor Ostrom as the first woman to win a Nobel prize in economics. Ostrom was the darkest horse in decades, appearing on none…
GDP a fine indicator, if you know what it measures
Gross domestic product and its deficiencies as an economic indicator have been in the news lately, especially in context of an initiative by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to find a better measure of a nation’s economic well-being. Sarkozy convened an…
Less than the truth is sometimes the lesser evil
Many people accept Winston Churchill’s assertion that, ‘In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’ To win a war, a government not only must conceal certain facts from its enemy but…