Category Archives: Uncategorized

Back in 1999, I wrote an article called “Untangling the Trade Deficit” for the Public Interest magazine. I started this way: The competition for most misunderstood economic statistic is hard-fought, but there is a clear winner: the trade deficit. No other number is interpreted so differently by professional economists and the general public. Common reactionsContinue reading “Misconceptions about Trade Deficits”

Here’s my attempt to resolve all the issues of shared American identity in under 1,000 words. It was published back in 2013 as an opinion piece in the (Minnesota) Star Tribune newspaper. “Analogies for America: Beyond the Melting Pot”Timothy Taylor Melting pot or salad bowl? For decades now, these two contestants have been slugging it out in the contestContinue reading “Melting Pot, Salad Bowl, Chocolate Fondue”

Tintes a 5 euros, cortes al mismo precio, tratamientos de keratina a 10 o bótox capilar a 25, pero mano de obra barata y bajo la lupa de la Policía Nacional y la Inspección de Trabajo. Tal y como la propia cadena informa en su web se trata de una empresa que ofrece formación continuaContinue reading “Destapado el fraude millonario de una cadena de peluquerías “low cost””

There is a certain kind of environmentalist who seems unable to acknowledge any good news about the environment, because it might create complacency about remaining issues. I’m not a fan of this approach. When successes are denied, credibility diminishes. And if there’s never been an environmental success to celebrate, I’m more likely to be discouragedContinue reading “Victories Against Air Pollution”

I wrote this article, which appeared yesterday in the (Minnesota) Star Tribune paper. “Everything I know about walls: Let the poet Robert Frost be your guide:Timothy Taylor August 17, 2018 Walls are rising all over the world: on the U.S. border with Mexico; on India�s borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar; between China and North Korea; onContinue reading “Everything I Know About Walls”

“Moral licensing” is a term from the behavioral psychology literature. Daniel Effron of the London Business School, who has done some of the research in this area, descrbes it this way: “[T]he ability to point to evidence of past virtue can ironically make people more willing to act less-than-virtuously.” Or as the title of oneContinue reading “Moral Licensing: When Doing Good Frees You to Do Bad”

The usual pattern of spending on skill development during a lifetime of an American looks like this: The figure is from a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, titled “Addressing America�s Reskilling Challenge” (July 2018). The blue area shows public education spending, which is high during K-12 years, but the average spending perContinue reading “Reskilling over a Lifetime”

Most economists took their last course in physical science many years ago, back in college days, and lack any particular in-depth knowledge of how to model weather or climate.  But economists can contribute usefully to the climate change debate in other ways. At least some economists do have expertise in patterns of energy use, potentialContinue reading “Economics of Climate Change: Three Recent Takes”

When a professor working at a university or college develops has an innovation that may lead to a new product or a new company, who should own the intellectual property? The professor? The university? Some mixture of the two?  On one side, one can argue that giving the professor most or all of the ownershipContinue reading “Should Professors Share Returns from Innovation with their Employers?”