Macro, Micro, Minnesota analyzes the big stories in the news through the lens of economics. It is written by College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University professor
Louis D. Johnston.
Seasonal effects are quite strong, but the annual data show that unemployment in Bemidji, as on the Iron Range, rose during the recession and has now returned to its 2007 level.
Economists — at least those not associated with host committees — find that economic impact studies overestimate the benefits of events like the All-Star Game and the Super Bowl.
Rather than reacting to each individual economic problem as it comes up, let’s think systematically about how we can build a better labor market for everyone.
How did we come to be fighting over this route? The answer is rooted in how metropolitan economies developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
How did we get in this mess to begin with? As usual in American public policy, it’s a combination of historical accident and a chronic fear of centralized power.
In resolving the dispute, there’s no sense in getting hung up over how to measure inflation.
Who knows how long it will take to sort through the seismic economic events of the past eight years?
The Minnesota Orchestra could stage a series of free concerts throughout the state — paid for by Target.
Collaboration between the Minneapolis Fed and the university has been a fruitful model for other universities and Federal Reserve banks.
Economists still don’t understand how financial markets work — and this shouldn’t bother us.
Naming Janet Yellen to the the Federal Reserve Board is a beginning, but there are at least three, and perhaps four, other positions coming open.
The orchestra’s governing body probably is betting on economic rules that could result in costs declining and revenues increasing.
Economists have several theories, and I have a hunch that we’re going through something we’ve been through before.
North Dakota and Minnesota must act wisely to avoid the “resource curse.”
We’re not hearing much about the role the Fed should play in regulating and monitoring our financial system.
Our economy benefits when people can choose household arrangements that suit them and pool their incomes and spending decisions.
This case carries an important lesson about the relationship among policies, politicians and academics.
The move would produce stronger medical-education programs and promote better health care.
We have committed to spend more in the future than we have promised to tax ourselves.
We could have regular analyses of where Minnesota’s economy has been and where it is going, all in one handy package.