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Louis D. Johnston

Louis Johnston writes Macro, Micro, Minnesota for MinnPost, reporting on economic developments in the news and what those developments mean to Minnesota. He is associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University and is a frequent commentator and featured expert on economic issues for Minnesota Public Radio. Besides family and economics, his passions are music (especially big band jazz) and trains.

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Articles by this author:

EU Flags
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Eurozone faces many of the same political and economic pressures young U.S. did

By Louis D. Johnston | 07/26/12

Europe is only 60 years into the process, while we’ve had more than 230 years to sort out our monetary and fiscal issues — and it’s still a work in progress.

Doctor with patient
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Why Americans want to spend more on health care

By Louis D. Johnston | 07/06/12

In economic terms, it comes down to “income elasticity.”

Sugar Beets
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

What’s good for Minnesota's businesses isn’t always good for our economy

By Louis D. Johnston | 06/20/12

The debate over the sugar support program and repealing the medical device tax offer two good examples.

What if we dumped the Fed and returned to the gold standard?
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

What if we dumped the Fed and returned to the gold standard?

By Louis D. Johnston | 06/13/12

The benefits of Ron Paul’s suggested changes are hard to imagine.

Rep. Ron Paul
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Ron Paul and the Fed: how we got to this point

By Louis D. Johnston | 06/06/12

His ideas for ending the Federal Reserve are the latest chapter in an age-old American argument dating to Hamilton and Jefferson.

Narayana Kocherlakota
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Why the Minneapolis Fed’s Kocherlakota wants interest rates to rise

By Louis D. Johnston | 05/30/12

Narayana Kocherlakota thinks unemployment is stuck at 8 percent and inflation is on the horizon.

General Mills Golden Valley HQ
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Layoffs at General Mills and lessons from Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies

By Louis D. Johnston | 05/23/12

A look back at Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies helps put the layoffs in a larger context.

Graduates
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Social benefits of college education often get shortchanged in ‘cost discussion’

By Louis D. Johnston | 05/16/12

It’s wrong to base a higher education finance system on the premise that social benefits are shrinking, compared with private benefits.

Why Rep. Steve Gottwalt
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Why Rep. Steve Gottwalt’s view of the economy doesn’t make sense

By Louis D. Johnston | 05/10/12

His perspective misses the fact that the resources and income in an economy are not created by business alone.

Tonka truck
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

From Tonka trucks to pacemakers: Free trade isn't free

By Louis D. Johnston | 05/02/12

Why we don’t make Tonka trucks in Minnesota anymore illustrates free trade’s benefits and costs.