Pandemics Swing Elections, But Not as Much as You Think
A discussion of election outcomes, using the Spanish flu as a case study.
Read more...Category Archives: Dubious statistics
“Almost Cartoonish Defender of the 1%, Kathryn Wylde” Rears Her Head to Attack Plans to Tax the Rich to Save New York City
The usual suspects, like Kathryn Wylde, try to defend why the top wealthy, who’ve made out like bandits under Covid, should not be made to share.
Read more...James Galbraith: CBO Not Competent to Assess Economics of Minimum Wage
James Galbraith slams an “unreliable” CBO report claiming that raising the minimum wage would reduce jobs.
Read more...Big Money Drove the Congressional Elections—Again
The press account of the 2020 Congressional races got the money part completely wrong: Republican outspending was key to their wins.
Read more...As Pandemic Surged, Contact Tracing Struggled; Biden Looks to Boost It
Biden still wants to ramp up contact tracing. But will it really do much good in the US?
Read more...The Dangers of Sustainability Metrics
A favorite topic: the downside of fetishinzing metrics.
Read more...Monetary Policy and Racial Inequality
Monetary policy does not lift boats in at all the same way.
Read more...As COVID Rages, Bankruptcy Cases Fall…..For Now
The good news about bankruptcy under Covid is not likely to last.
Read more...Deaths of Despair and the Incidence of Excess Mortality in 2020
An effort to decompose deaths of despair under Covid.
Read more...Oxford Pledged to Donate Covid Vaccine Rights, Then Sold Them, Thanks to Bill Gates
Oxford planned an anti-capitalist solution for a global health problem. Then Bill Gates got involved.
Read more...The Merits of Fire Sales and Bailouts in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Fire sales are not as detrimental as executives desperate to save their jobs would have you believe. That means bailouts may be overdone.
Read more...Near-Term Covid Analyses Point to Risk of Medical System Breakdown, Other Severe Dislocations
The Covid situation is continuing to develop not necessarily to America’s advantage.
Read more...Why New Covid “Super Strain” is a Game-Changer
Expert warns that without more robust abatement measures and testing, Covid could rage until mid-2022.
Read more...Best of Mankiw: Errors and Tangles in the World’s Best-Selling Economics Textbooks
Harvard’s Greg Mankiw is taken to task by Serious Economist Peter Bofinger for some major howlers in Mankiw’s textbooks.
Read more...A Hard Look at Rent and Rent Seeking with Michael Hudson & Pepe Escobar
An in-depth discussion of financial capitalism versus earlier models and the Chinese and Russian approach, with a focus on the role of rent.
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