Monthly Archives: July 2013

The Theory of the Firm: Hospital-Provided Health Insurance

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Sarah Kliff writes, Insurance plans and hospitals are typically at loggerheads. They squabble over claims that the hospitals submit and insurers sometimes deny… Now, a growing number of large hospital systems are betting that, with a little help, they can … Continue reading →

Posted in business economics, Economics of Health Care | 1 Comment

Taking Care of Elderly Parents

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Timothy Taylor writes, Some other high-income countries have government programs to pay for long-term care. Not surprisingly, they spend a substantially greater share of GDP on long-term than does the U.S. In any event, the long-term U.S. budget picture is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Health Care, government debt crisis, income distribution-wealth-poverty, Timothy Taylor is my Favorite Blogger | 2 Comments

Fertility to Increase?

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Arnold Kling

That is the prediction of Jason Collins. As those with higher fertility are selected for, the “high-fertility” genotypes are expected to come to dominate the population, causing the fertility rate to return to its pre-shock level. We show that even … Continue reading →

Posted in government debt crisis, Jason Collins is Indispensable | 4 Comments

A Grandparent Effect?

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Arnold Kling

The BBC covers a study that suggests that social status depends on grandparents, not just parents. “It may work through a number of channels including the inheritance of wealth and property, and may be aided by durable social institutions such … Continue reading →

Posted in income distribution-wealth-poverty, Jason Collins is Indispensable, statistical methods | Comments Off

Some Thoughts on Higher Education

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Arnold Kling

From Megan McArdle it is [among] the graduate schools that the collapse has begun. That doesn’t mean that graduate education will go away (after all, neither tulip bulbs nor stock exchanges went away when those bubbles collapsed); rather, the market … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education | 7 Comments

Quackroeconomics

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Arnold Kling

I’m back to that title. Comments welcome on this idea for how it might open: In discussions of macroeconomic policy in Washington and in the press, these four propositions are taken as given: (S) Spending is what drives the economy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Monetary Economics, PSST and Macro | 21 Comments

Yglesias vs.Edelman, Continued

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Arnold Kling

A reader writes, What Yglesias doesn’t discuss is WHY this might be the case. Sorting is part of it, but one interesting and often overlooked dimension is the end of earmarks. It used to be you could buy votes for … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, public choice | 2 Comments

Quackonomics Wins

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Shortened from Quackroeconomics, although I still could revert back. It didn’t necessarily get the most votes in the comments, but it’s the one I can put the most personal oomph into. In fact, I conceive of one of the early … Continue reading →

Posted in PSST and Macro | 6 Comments

James Hamilton on the Government (off-) Balance Sheet, and me on Scenario Analysis

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Arnold Kling

He writes, Adding all the offbalance-sheet liabilities together, I calculate total federal off-balance-sheet commitments came to $70.1 T as of 2012, or about 6 times the size of the on-balance-sheet debt. In other words, the budget impact associated with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic education and methods, government debt crisis | 7 Comments

Matthew Yglesias vs. Murray Edelman

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Arnold Kling

Yglesias writes, Nationalized, very partisan politics in which elected officials are looking over their shoulders at a blend of ideologically motivated grass-roots and ideologically motivated mega-donors and falling in line…the real story of politics today—more sorting, less deal-making. Read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Reihan Salam is the ultimate wonk | 4 Comments