[Chapter 6 of Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.]
So far, our discussion about the economy has been exclusively from the perspective of value. Value is the ultimate goal of our actions and what motivates our behavior. It is personal—subjective—which means it comes from satisfying a want. If we are hungry, we consume food; if we feel lonely, we might visit a friend.
[Chapter 5 of Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.]
Why do we produce? For the simple reason that nature doesn’t automatically satisfy all of our needs and wants. Wild animals, grains, and berries are not enough to sustain the world population. Computers, airplanes, and hospitals do not grow on trees.
[Chapter 4 of Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.]
To help us understand what is going on in the economy, what is important is not the types and number of goods that sit on store shelves. It is why and how they got there.
[Chapter 3 of Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.]
Economics is often faulted for being “ideological”—for promoting free markets. This is a misunderstanding.
[Chapter 2 of Per Bylund’s new book How to Think about the Economy: A Primer.]
Like other sciences and fields of study, economics is a body of theory. Theory is a collection of explanations that allows us to understand something. Economic theory allows us to understand how an economy works. It explains the workings of the economy as a whole so that we can understand the meaning, impact, origins, and evolution of economic phenomena.
In the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, a special thematic part was dedicated to anticipating the future on earth in the winter of 2022. The visitors had the opportunity to vote for the topic they find important and want to learn more about.
Instability in financial markets has brought back the ideas of post-Keynesian school of economics (PK) economist Hyman Minsky. Minsky held that the capitalist economy inherently is unstable, culminating in severe economic crisis, accumulation of debt being the key mechanism pushing the economy toward a crisis.
The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates for the second time this year (by 0.75 percent). The eurozone’s CPI was 8.9 percent in July.
In recent years, Congress has attempted to add various new mandates to the Federal Reserve’s mission.
With the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) reaching 8.3% earlier this week, the general public wonders when exactly the Fed rate hikes, to fight (price) inflation, will kick into effect. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal offers a unique visualization of (price) inflation over the last year, see below:
