Nominal interest rates on US government debt are at historical lows. Today's Treasury yield curve data shows the following: The longest maturity bond the federal government currently issues is 30 years, with a yield today of 2.22 percent. With an inflation rate of 2 percent of less, this means the federal government can borrow at a real rate close to 0 (zero) percent. For five years, … [Read more...]
Today is Walter W. Heller's birthday. For those of us of a certain age, he was Mr. Economics in Minnesota. My 2012 column contains some reminiscences and a first crack at thinking about his place in macroeconomics more generally. I'm very happy that James Hillyer, a Ph.D student at Institute of the Americas, University College London, is delving deeply into Heller's career for his doctoral … [Read more...]
The Center of the American Experiment published a report last week, "“Minnesota’s Economy: Mediocre Performance Threatens the State’s Future.” I wrote a critique, "That Center of the American Experiment report on the Minnesota economy? It’s politics, not economics." Read the report, read my piece, and make up your own mind. Here are a couple of critiques I've responded to via email, in case … [Read more...]