Not a blog but a "q-and-a" (pronounced "quanda"), this page is about the basics of economics. Its premise: there are no stupid q's. And if some a's seem dim, take heart: I can brighten them up in response to objections, corrections, refinements. Comments on posts feature yours, and my responses. Enough of you now frequent and query the quanda that I post most every day. Haven't seen your q yet? Send it again. All a's should be taken with a shaker of sodium chloride, if not a Lot's-wife's-worth. And speaking of salt, the mustache and "hair" in the photo has a lot less of that condiment, and rather more pepper, than can be seen on TV. Think of it as time travel.
Paul Solman: Harry Truman may have longed for a one-handed economist, but it's probably good that he didn't get one. Economies, like weather systems, are simply too chaotic to make prediction -- much less prescription -- unambiguous. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that at last month's economists' convention in Atlanta, while many attendees forecast a jobless recovery, a few were more optimistic. One was Northwestern's Robert Gordon, an expert on, among so many other things, long-term trends and productivity. He had a take on the labor market devoutly to be wished.
More typical of the mood in Atlanta, if not the policy prescriptions was Duke's William Darity. He finds current -- and as-far-as-the-eye-can-see future -- employment levels unacceptable. His contribution to today's debate therefore is a proposal. (Our earlier web exclusive with Darity on 'colorism' in the labor market can be seen here.)
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/mt4/mt-tb.cgi/2941
Comments
Two Takes on Unemployment
**Paul Solman:** Harry Truman may have longed for a one-handed economist, but it's probably good that he didn't get one. Economies, like weather systems, are simply too chaotic to make prediction -- much less prescription -- unambiguous. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that at last month's economists' convention in Atlanta, while many attendees forecast a jobless recovery, a few were more optimistic. One was "Northwestern's Robert Gordon":http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/economics/gordon/indexmsie.html, an expert on, among so many other things, long-term trends and productivity. He had a take on the labor market devoutly to be wished.
More typical of the mood in Atlanta, if not the policy prescriptions was "Duke's William Darity":http://fds.duke.edu/db/Sanford/william.darity. He finds current -- and as-far-as-the-eye-can-see future -- employment levels unacceptable. His contribution to today's debate therefore is a proposal. (Our earlier web exclusive with Darity on 'colorism' in the labor market can be "seen here":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2009/05/in-case-you-missed-it-a-racial.html.)
