- Beat the Press Archive | The American Prospect – “Homeowners have lost more than $5 trillion in housing wealth. There is a very well established wealth effect whereby $1 of housing wealth is estimated as leading to 5 to 6 cents of annual consumption. This implies that the loss of wealth to date would cause consumption to fall by $250 billion to $300 billion annually (1.7 percent to 2.0 percent of GDP). If you add in the loss of around $6 trillion in stock wealth, with an estimated wealth effect of 3-4 cents on the dollar, then you get an additional decline of $180 billion to $240 billion in annual consumption (1.2 percent to 1.6 percent of GDP).”;
- U.S. Does Not Support a Global Crisis Regulator | NYTimes.com – “Given the timing, some experts argue that the leaders should focus on issues that are more likely to win the backing of an Obama administration, like coordinating economic stimulus programs in the United States and Europe to cushion the blow of the recession.”;
- The Mood Always Matters, So Restore Confidence First | NYTimes.com – Tyler Cowen: “Rebuilding confidence might seem a small matter, but it is not. The truth is this: America is a wonderful and magnanimous nation when it is a winner, but Americans are not used to losing and Americans are not used to panic. Often we respond to negative events badly, so we need to be especially careful when we are in a losing or risky position.”;
- It’s a Time to Listen, and to Obey the Laws of Arithmetic | NYTimes.com – Greg Mankiw to the new president: listen to the economists; embrace some republicans ideas; pay attention to budget constraints; recognize past mistakes;