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Welcome, economics students. This is an exciting if not harrowing time to be learning the dismal science, which is economics.
Why Canadians Are Cutting Their Money in Half
It was reported last week that Canadian citizens have been cutting their official government money in half and using it as a localized alternative currency. The currency is called “Demi,” which means “half” in french. The Demi currency is being used specifically in the Gaspesie region of northern Quebec and is actually accepted by a number of local businesses.
Source: The Surprising Reason Why Canadians Are Literally Cutting Their Money in Half
Note To Joe Stiglitz: Banks Originate, Not Intermediate, And That’s Why Aggregate Demand Is Stuffed – Forbes
I like Joe Stiglitz, both professionally and personally. His Globalization and its Discontents was virtually the only work by a Nobel Laureate economist that I cited favourably in my Debunking Economics, because he had the courage to challenge the professional orthodoxy on the “Washington Consensus”. Far more than most in […]
Is the US Economy Really in Trouble?
A strong case could be made that it is in its most vulnerable spot in years, at risk of a new recession amid a global slowdown. The market for many types of risky bonds is in disarray, and “the dangers facing the global economy are more severe than at any time since the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in 2008,” the former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers wrote recently.
There is also a strong case that the United States economy is robust enough to withstand whatever challenges might arise from overseas, and that the evidence of a slowdown is scattered and overstated. Fewer people have filed for unemployment insurance in recent weekly readings, for example, than any time since 1973.
Source: Is the Economy Really in Trouble? A Debate – The New York Times
Youth Unemployment Still Unrelenting in Europe
According to Eurostat, youth unemployment is still unrelenting across Europe. In March 2015, the most recent month where data is available for all 28 EU nations, Spain had the worst unemployment rate for people under 25 years of age, 49.9 percent. Greece was only marginally better off with 49.7 percent.
via • Chart: Youth Unemployment Still Unrelenting in Europe | Statista.
This Light Bulb Has Been Burning for 114 Years; Will It Ever Stop? | Mental Floss
They don’t manufacture lamps like this anymore.
via This Light Bulb Has Been Burning for 114 Years; Will It Ever Stop? | Mental Floss.
Berlin’s New Rent Control Laws Are Already Working
The new law introduced on June 1st—called the mietpreisbremse or “rental price brake” in German—works like this. An overseeing body fixes a standard median rent per square meter for each city district, using figures based a biennial state census of rents. No new rental contract within the district is then permitted to charge over 10 percent more than this amount. This still means that price increases for new rentals are possible, but if they come, they happen far more slowly.
via Berlin’s New Rent Control Laws Are Already Working – CityLab.
Free Trade Explained In An Excellent Comic
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are the latest in a long line of international free trade agreements. But why are they bad for the majority of people and the planet and what are the justifications given by politicians, ecomonists and big corporations for pushing them?
Supreme Court Rules That Clean Air Is Too Expensive
Ain’t that a crock…
The Supreme Court voted Monday that the EPA cannot stop power plants from releasing hazardous chemicals without first proving that the clean air is worth more than the companies would have to spend to stop polluting.
Behavioural Finance – Theory and Practice
Emotions and irrational thinking often influence (economic) decisions.
via Behavioural Finance – Theory and Practice – The Market Mogul.
Dutch city of Utrecht to experiment with a universal, unconditional ‘basic income’
Basic income is a universal, unconditional form of payment to individuals, which covers their living costs. The concept is to allow people to choose to work more flexible hours in a less regimented society, allowing more time for care, volunteering and study.
Economics @ ITT 
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