Category Archives: Economic fundamentals

How Housing Bubbles Destroy Productivity

More evidence that housing bubbles distort economic activity and act as a damper on growth.

Wolf Richter: Millennials Blamed for Lousy Economy

Millennials aren’t spending like they are supposed to…with good reason.

Ham-Handed Theresa May “Hard Brexit” Stance Roils UK Pols, Not Just EU

Theresa May may have thrown a spanner in the Brexit works by pushing for a xenophobic “hard Brexit”. Accident or design?

Economic ‘Recovery’ Feels Weak Because the Great Recession Hasn’t Really Ended

We are not in a recovery and we’re not really in a traditional recession. People think of a business cycle, which is a boom followed by a recession and then automatic stabilizers revive the economy. But this time we can’t revive.

The IMF, Globalization, and All The Other Losers

A case for why the end of growth equals the end of all centralization, including globalization.

The CETA Trade Pact Will Add to the Groundswell of Discontent: Why We Need More Informed Decision-Making

Why citizens are correct to be worried about trade deals like CETA and the TTIP.

Are Our Earnings Really Our ‘Just Deserts’?

Why the idea that wages represent “just deserts,” as in the individual’s contribution to social output, is bunk.

The Prospects for Technology-Driven Growth: Dismal or Dazzling?

Advanced economies are caught between two giant, competing truths: economic growth is slowing down, and science is flourishing.

Gaius Publius: A Clinton Speech to Millennials That Will Work

What Clinton needs to do to win Millennials.

Social Democracy, the “Third Way,” and the Crisis of Europe, Part 1

The birth of the Third Way —a turn away from class-struggle politics and a compromise with neoliberaism—and how it shaped the Eurozone.

Wolf Richter: “Negative Growth” of Real Wages is Normal for Much of the Workforce, and Getting Worse – New York Fed

The Fed ‘s creative euphemisms for how real wages are sinking for many won’t keep threats like Trump at bay.

Why a Banking Crisis in China Seems Unavoidable

Another alarm about the danger that China’s rapid increase in private debt poses to its banks.

Oil And Gas Bankruptcies Set To Double This Year

Heavily indebted oil and gas companies have managed to hold off the day of reckoning, but analysts expect bankruptcies to spike.

Rethinking Macroeconomic Theory Before the Next Crisis

Only after the US subprime financial crisis began have the macroeconomic and monetary theories of mainstream economists been questioned.