Economists have been thinking for a long time about the operation of buying and selling in markets. However, they have traditionally spent less time studying what happens inside a firm–a setting in which forces of supply and demand are replaced by managerial decision-making. Anyone who has had both a good boss and bad boss knows that it makes a difference, but how and why? Alan Benson and Kathryn Shaw tackle the research on this question in “What Do Managers Do? An Economist’s Perspect...| conversableeconomist.com
Economists have been thinking for a long time about the operation of buying and selling in markets. However, they have traditionally spent less time studying what happens inside a firm–a setting in which forces of supply and demand are replaced by managerial decision-making. Anyone who has had both a good boss and bad boss knows … Continue reading What Do Managers Do? The post What Do Managers Do? first appeared on Conversable Economist.| Conversable Economist
In the old days of publishing the Journal of Economic Perspectives on paper–like last year–I didn’t worry about publishing an issue in August. Even if potentially interested readers were on vacation or away from the office, I figured that the physical paper copy of the journal would hang around in their mailbox, or perhaps in … Continue reading ICYMI: Journal of Economic Perspectives Summer Issue Free Online The post ICYMI: Journal of Economic Perspectives Summer Issue Free Online fir...| Conversable Economist
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general are no longer the bright shiny new thing. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, where I work as Managing Editor, was describing and discussing the crypto world a decade ago. What happened to all those predictions that Bitcoin would rapidly displace existing currencies? In “Crypto, tokenisation, and the future of payments.” … Continue reading Crypto, Stablecoins, and the Rise of Tokenization The post Crypto, Stablecoins, and the Rise of Tokenizatio...| Conversable Economist
Compared to workers in most other high-income countries, Americans tend to work more hours per year. Here's a figure from the OECD, which is based on taking the total number of hours worked in an economy and dividing it by the number of workers for the most recent year available. Because different countries will measure| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
Both the budgets and methods of US statistical agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis have come under political challenge. this double-edged attack raises a question of sincerity: If the real goal is to enable these agencies to update their methods for the information age–for example, to rely less … Continue reading Interview with John Haltiwanger: US Statistical Agencies The post Interview with John Haltiwanger: US Statistical Agencies first appe...| Conversable Economist
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, typically referred to as SIFMA, is trade association: that is, it’s an organization made up of investment banks, asset managers, brokers, and others. Among other rule-setting, lobbying, and public education missions, it publishes an annual databook: this year, the SIFMA Capital Markets Handbook 2025 (July 2025). Here are … Continue reading Snapshots of Global Capital Markets The post Snapshots of Global Capital Markets first appea...| Conversable Economist
In the long run, the standard of living for people in an economy rises as the amount of output produced per hour of work--that is, productivity--rises. There's reason for concern when productivity in an industry falls for a sustained period of time. In partiuclar, productivity seems to be falling in construction of housing, at the| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
Scott Wolla of the St. Louis Fed interviews Gary Hoover on his thoughts about teaching economics ("Gary Hoover: Teaching with Purpose," July 1, 2025, transcript available). Here are a few excerpts, but there's more in the full version: How he got interested in economics I’m a student who is in high school, and I’m watching| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
One of the prevailing ideas that philosophers were trying out in the 17th and 18th century was that the line between personal interest and social good was not always clear-cut. Indeed, there were cases in which pursuit of personal interest was also of benefit to society as a whole. Here’s an example from Montesquieu in … Continue reading Does the Invisible Hand Work For Honor, Too? A Thought from Montesquieu The post Does the Invisible Hand Work For Honor, Too? A Thought from Montesquieu ...| Conversable Economist
Here's the economic problem of antiquities: All over the world, there are historical artifacts buried under land or submerged underwater, or both. Also, there are museums and rich collectors all around the world who would like to possess these antiquities. But of course, the situatin here is more complex than basic supply and demand. Antiquities| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
A person does not really read Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary (1764)--or at least I don't --but instead surfs through it from time to time, trying to hit some of the high spots. Here are a couple of comments for reflection on a summer's day, from the 1901 translation by William Fleming. In the entry under "Presbyterian,"| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
There's a well-known approach in politics when one agency wants another agency--not under its direct control--to do something. You first try to soften up the resistance of the other agency by accusing them of stuff. It's even better if the accusations have some substance behind them, but really, all that matters is that the accusations| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
Back in 1974, in the aftermath of the OPEC oil embargo, the National Maximum Speed Law was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. It required all states to enact a maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour, or else to face a cutoff of federal highway funding. The goal was to reduce US oil consumption. At the time, advertising campaigns to inform the public of the new speed limit said, “It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law.”| conversableeconomist.com
Back in 1974, in the aftermath of the OPEC oil embargo, the National Maximum Speed Law was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. It required all states to enact a maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour, or else to face a cutoff of federal highway funding. The goal| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
It seems clear that China's economy is moving from being a technological follower, primarily using technology invented elsewhere, and moving toward generating a greater share of its own technology. But other than pointing to anecdotes or stories of specific companies, how might we measure the extent of this shift? François de Soyres, Ana Maria Santacreu, and Ethan| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
There's a game played about reducing US carbon emissions that I find annoying. It involves making a big deal about announcing timelines, but not actually taking the steps needed to meet those timelines. For example, as President Biden was leaving office late 2024, he annouced a goal that the US economy would be net-zero for| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.” In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.” In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of c...| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...
Short answer: comparative advantage is a plausible candidate. This story is an old one, but perhaps it has become old enough that some readers will not be familiar with it. It's told in a 1969 address by Paul Samuelson (Samuelson, Paul A. 1969. “Presidential Address: The Way of the Economist.” In P. A. Samuelson (ed.),| Conversable Economist - In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an amb...