The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides some of the best economic analysis around. For example, twice per year they publish their World Economic Outlook along with a database chock full of good stuff. The media often focus on the report's forecasts of economic growth and the like, but I find it to be a great first draft of recent economic history: what happened, where did it happen, why did … [Read more...]

I was on the John Williams show on WCCO Radio this afternoon (audio here) discussing Donald Trump's economic policy speech.  I'll be writing more in the coming days about the specifics of both Trump's plans and Hillary Clinton's. For now, I want consider something else: writing about economic policy. I can't stress enough that it is hard to do well and I admire those who do it well.  Robert … [Read more...]

My latest column for MinnPost sets out current thinking on public goods, private goods, and all the types of goods in between. This column illustrates a problem I run across regularly when I talk to people about economics: policymakers and those who cover economic policy don't keep up with our field. They took introductory economics, or even minored or majored in economics, 20 to 50 years ago … [Read more...]