GDP for 2nd Quarter Revised Downward
As is normal practice, the BEA released the second estimate of 2nd quarter GDP growth. GDP growth was definitely even slower in 2nd quarter than previously reported. CalculatedRiskBlog tells us: From...
View ArticleHurricanes, Disasters, and GDP
Ok, normally I’m writing about the disastrous effects of changes in GDP. Today, though, I’m going to write about the effects of disasters on GDP. As I write this, it’s mid-day on Saturday, Aug 27....
View ArticleThe Mess We’re In – Trillions of Dollars of Missing GDP
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the U.S. has a cumulative output gap of $2.8 trillion so far since the recession began. That’s trillion with a TR, as in a million millions. This is...
View ArticleGDP and GDI: Two Sides of the Same Coin (Theoretically)
One of the starting points for understanding macroeconomics is to understand basic measures of the economy and what we call the “circular flow” of goods and services. The “circular flow” refers to the...
View ArticleThe Mean and the Median Tell Two Different Stories
Averages, if you’re not careful, can as easily mislead as enlighten. It matters a lot which statistical measure of the “average-ness” that’s used. A good example comes in the case of the U.S....
View ArticleUPDATE on President Obama’s Jobs Proposal – Better, But Still Weak
First an update on a post I made a few days ago. When I commented last Monday on President Obama’s jobs proposal, I was less than excited. Having read more detail of the proposal, I should correct some...
View ArticleUpdate on Current Situation – October Jobs Report and 3rd Qtr GDP
Two of the more important (U.S.) economic measures were reported in last week and half. Yesterday the October jobs report came in. The week before we got the flash report on 3rd quarter GDP. Both...
View ArticleNovember Employment and Revised 3rd Qtr 2011 GDP
I’m a few days late but I wanted to note the latest employment (jobs) report and the first revision to 3rd quarter GDP. There’s really not much news here – it’s the same old story. The economy...
View ArticleThe Problem in One Graph
Yesterday I said I was reluctant to get over-optimistic about the recent slight upturn in employment data. This year may truly be different from the last few, but there’s a nagging feeling that we’ve...
View ArticleNot Performing Up To Potential
When I was kid there was a comment I dreaded but got too often on too many grade reports to my parents: Not performing up to potential. I hated that. I must say, though, that there times when it did...
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