Category Archives: The dismal science

Loneliness, Happiness, and Love in Times of Covid-19

The altered constraints on whom we spend time with imposed by the Covid-19 crisis might have affected human happiness.

Dealing with the Second Wave: Subsidies, Instead of Ordering Closures

Could officials use carrots rather than a stick to induce short-term closures of high risk businesses like restaurants?

Milton Friedman Versus Stakeholder Capitalism

Looking at the damage Milton Friedman did by advocating corporate irresponsibility, which more and more orthodox economists have questioned.

Shareholder Capitalism’s Ugly Legacy

Debunking some of Milton Friedman’s destructive ideas, such shareholders, who only have residual claims in a company, ought to come first.

Demonizing Socialism and “Macroeconomic Populism”: Myths of Soft Budget Constraints

Some econmists have criticized industrial policy as zombie-crearting “macroeconomic populism.” Evidence indicates otherwise.

Wolf Richter: Unemployment Crisis Going in Wrong Direction: Week 25 of U.S. Labor Market Collapse

Unemployment claims continue to increase, with nearly 20% collecting unemployment insurance. even according to the stringent claims criteria.

America’s Dire Inequality Demands a New Conceptual Framework. This Economist Has One.

Lance Taylor explains that wage repression — far more than monopoly power, offshoring or technological change — is driving rising inequality.

The Wealth of Corporations: Why Firms Have Zero Net Worth, and Why It Matters

A theory of net worth and what that means for measurements of wealth.

Koch Influence Taints New Tufts-Based Think Thank: The Tentacles of the Mercatus Center

A timely reminder that despite the raging pandemic, Koch interests keep up their efforts to influence politics and academia.