Category Archives: Dubious statistics

Macroeconomics in the Crossfire (Again)

Economists are finally ‘fessing up to the fact that macroeconomics was never all that good and has regressed in recent decades.

Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part One – Understanding Uber’s Bleak Operating Economics

Uber’s financials statements and economics shows a complete lack of progress towards profit and no reason to expect significant improvement.

Wall Street Journal Puts Foot in Mouth and Chews Via False Claim That Tax Law Change Would Lead US Companies To Move Cash to US

Yet again, we ebunk the myth that tax gaming leads US companies to hoard cash overseas. Tax accounting has nada to do with where money sits.

Bill Black: Bloomberg Notices Paul Romer’s Indictment of Macroeconomics

World Bank economist Paul Romer calls out obvious defects in macroeconomics, and is treated as a bomb-thrower.

Economists and Trump: Straight Talk on Trade

Economists maintained a party line of never letting a bad word be said about more open trade even though they knew it would produce losers.

Philip Pilkington: Why the Pollsters Totally Failed to Call a Trump Victory, Why I (Sort Of) Succeeded – and Why You Should Listen to Neither of Us

So why did the US pollsters get the presidential election so wrong?

The Old Democrat Wall Street Plus Identity Politics Playbook is Dead

The Democrats need to reinvent themselves. Appeals to identity politics will not deliver enough votes.

The Limitations of Randomised Controlled Trials

Why the results of randomized controlled trials are often misapplied, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Michael Hudson on Meet the Renegades

Michael Hudson gives a freewheeling interview on some favorite topics like rentier capitalism and why the Great Moderation wasn’t so great.

How Does Diversity Affect Economic Growth? A Look at Data on Immigration, Tax Rates and Real GDP per Capita

Why Trump’s tax policies and Clinton’s immigration policies are both deficient in terms of their stated objective of promoting growth.

Dean Baker: Rigged – How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer

Dean Baker explains how market structure, which results from policy choices, legislation, and regulation, serve the rich first and foremost.

Ilargi: Why the Energy Crisis is Coming Sooner Than Most Experts Forecast

Why the timeframe for replacing oil is much shorter than most experts believe, making a crisis almost impossible to avoid.

Bill Black: Bank of England Says Authorities Mustn’t Fine Banks Because Groaf

The Bank of England offers an easily-debunked defense of predatory and fraudulent lending.

The Evidence Is Clear: Population Growth and Prosperity Are NOT Linked

An in-depth analysis of why the assertion that more population growth promotes higher living standards is bunk.