Economics News with a Historical Perspective
September 2, 2010
The Econ Review features a historical perspective on economics news and opinions with daily updates. All original material is copyrighted. Off-site references open in new windows.
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Opinions
U.S. Budget Deficit
Discussion of the latest CBO budget projections can be found at the Economics Roundtable.
In the News
Payroll Employment
July is down 131,000 jobs, which is a shade worse than
the initial 125,000 loss for June (since revised downward).
Recent History
Long-Term Chart
U.S. Budget Deficit
Bar Graph
CBO Budget Projections
Historical Data
Inflation &
Unemployment
The Phillips Curve
The Chart Room
Charts for GDP and payroll employment show the
historical patterns in this relationship. Custom select side-by-side
charts for these variables and interest rates and
yield curves.
Euro Roller Coaster
The wild ride continues.
Economics Roundtable
The
latest news and views.
Features
President Nixon Imposes Wage and Price Controls
August 15, 1971. In a move widely applauded by the public and a fair number of (but by no means all) economists, President Nixon imposed wage and price controls. The 90 day freeze was unprecedented in peacetime, but such drastic measures were thought necessary. Inflation had been raging, exceeding 6% briefly in 1970 and persisting above 4% in 1971. By the prevailing historical standards, such inflation rates were thought to be completely intolerable.
The Keynesians vs. the Monetarists
November 14, 1968. The debate between the Keynesians and the monetarists reached a milestone in an exchange between Milton Friedman and Walter W. Heller. The Seventh Annual Arthur K. Salomon Lecture at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University is recorded in Monetary vs. Fiscal Policy: A Dialogue, Milton Friedman and Walter W. Heller, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: New York (1969).
President John F. Kennedy
1960. The election of John F. Kennedy marked the entry of university professors (including a fair number of Keynesians) into the Federal government. Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors was Walter Heller, Kermit Gordon, and James Tobin. The CEA staff included senior economists Arthur Okun and Robert Solow. (Tobin and Solow later received Nobel Prizes.) The major economic event arising from this influx was the Kennedy-Johnson tax cut, which took effect during the Johnson administration.
Models
The Classic Economic Models
The Classical Economic Models collection for the EconModel program includes sixteen of the most important models in microeconomics and macroeconomics. A web browser user interface makes it possible for beginning users to actively work with the models, drawing and shifting curves in an on-screen version of a chalkboard session.
Additional models of interest are available at Classic Economic Models.
Econ Clubs
Check the directory of economics clubs to see if your club is listed. Links are free.