I have spent the past several years learning mainstream macroeconomics, in order to be sure that my heterodox views on the topic were justified. When I began this project I expected that many of the predictions of mainstream models that I disagreed with would be a result of some of the unrealistic assumptions such modelsContinue reading “New Keynesian Macroeconomic Models are worse than you think”
Author Archives: The Mountain Goat
Selgin’s flawed criticism of endogenous money
George Selgin has recently been arguing against the now mainstream view that banks are not intermediaries between lenders and borrowers, and in fact create credit out of nothing. He has criticized this Bank of England working paper, calling the paper rubish. It is somewhat difficult to parse exactly what George is arguing. He appears toContinue reading “Selgin’s flawed criticism of endogenous money”
What is our COVID endgame?
As we enter the second year of the pandemic many people are frustrated with continued restrictions and there is a lot of pressure to ease COVID restrictions. Some people vocally resist such pressure, acting as if it is irresponsible to open up when COVID numbers are still high. Most of the arguments on this topicContinue reading “What is our COVID endgame?”
Assumptions in Macroeconomics
Physics models can have a wide variety of different simplifying assumptions. Models in some areas will include a full description of relativistic behaviour, while others will not. Some models describe objects based on the quantum mechanical interactions between particles, some treat gas molecules as essentially point particles that don’t interact. These different models and differentContinue reading “Assumptions in Macroeconomics”
Do Microfoundations address the Lucas Critique?
Modern macroeconomics has been endlessly criticized, not only by critics of mainstream economics, but also by many prominent mainstream economists. For example, nobel price winners such as Paul Romer, Paul Krugman, and Joseph Stiglitz have written articles in which they disparage modern macroeconomists. Even economists who have been very involved with such models such asContinue reading “Do Microfoundations address the Lucas Critique?”
Casey B. Mulligan and the Competency Problem in Economics
The other day on twitter I had a conversation I’ve had many times. An economist defending price theory said that Usually, this wouldn’t be very notable. I have lost track of the number of PhD economists I have caught making this mistake. But as I looked into this person’s position within the field of economics,Continue reading “Casey B. Mulligan and the Competency Problem in Economics”
How increasing returns leads to non-neutrality of money
In 1980 an economist called Yew-Kwang Ng published a paper called Macroeconomics with Non-perfect Competition to little acclaim. The paper was cited a few times, and someone wrote a response that entirely missed the point of his argument. The main argument of his paper was largely ignored. Yew-Kwang Ng has written essentially the same paperContinue reading “How increasing returns leads to non-neutrality of money”
Competition with increasing returns to scale
When I criticize mainstream economics for neglecting increasing returns to scale there is one argument that is always brought up. In its most basic form the argument goes: an industry with increasing returns to scale is a natural monopoly. Since most companies are not monopolies, increasing returns to scale must not be common. I haveContinue reading “Competition with increasing returns to scale”
S=I: The most misunderstood equation in economics
The saving equals investment identity (S=I) is probably the most misunderstood equation in economics. Achieving the top rank in this highly competitive category requires an extraordinary level of miscomprehension, and the S=I identity does not disappoint. PhD students and many professors frequently misunderstand it, and misrepresent when teaching their students. In fact, it is sometimesContinue reading “S=I: The most misunderstood equation in economics”
Two Misconceptions about Supply Curves
Often people who go on to study economics are unaware of the misconceptions that Economics 101 leaves them with. In fact, when discussing the problems with introductory economics a few of the defenders of the curriculum will without fail demonstrate these misconceptions. Having recently encountered a few of these misconceptions in the wild I decidedContinue reading “Two Misconceptions about Supply Curves”
The Mountain Goat Economics 