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Macro, Micro, Minnesota

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.

Target should acquire Best Buy
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Target should acquire Best Buy

By Louis D. Johnston | 04/24/12

The move makes a lot of sense for both companies – and it would be a win-win for the Minnesota economy. 

protest sign that reads "Kiss my Tax"
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Who bears the biggest tax burden in Minnesota?

By Louis D. Johnston | 04/18/12

To answer that question, let’s look at the tax system from an economist’s perspective.

Historical Sears
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Like retailers of past, Best Buy will have to adapt to survive

By Louis D. Johnston | 04/12/12

Best Buy’s fall  may seem abrupt, but  the company faces the same question mass retailers faced the last 100 years

Monitors in a Best Buy store
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Best Buy’s travails part of the evolution of mass retailing

By Louis D. Johnston | 04/04/12

The company faces the same challenges mass retailers have confronted in the past.

one hundred dollar bills
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Why we don’t need to worry about inflation

By Louis D. Johnston | 03/29/12

Faulty reasoning and inappropriate analogies lead many to mistakenly conclude inflation is on the way. 

Picture of high gas prices at a gas station
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Are rising gas prices a sign of inflation?

By Louis D. Johnston | 03/21/12

Increases in the prices of individual products, such as gasoline, tell us nothing about inflation.

Jeffrey Sachs
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Jeffrey Sachs' quest: Something new at the World Bank

By Louis D. Johnston | 03/15/12

I hope it encourages a long-needed public discussion of the World Bank’s role in economic growth and development.

canadian currency
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Countries struggle to deal with global markets: Dollarization, eh?

By Louis D. Johnston | 03/07/12

More and more nations will confront the kinds of monetary problems now facing Iceland.

American factory
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

History lessons: Understanding the decline in manufacturing

By Louis D. Johnston | 02/22/12

Unfortunately, U.S. industrial decline is a long-run phenomenon and will not be reversed by short-term fixes.

A line graph
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Examining income trends around Minnesota

By Louis D. Johnston | 02/15/12

Per capita incomes across Minnesota vary greatly, but there are definite patterns.

Minnesota's per capita personal income compared to its neighbors
Macro, Micro, Minnesota

Minnesota's per capita personal income compared to its neighbors

By Louis D. Johnston | 02/09/12

We're above average — but it hasn't always been that way.