A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 15 “And the Oomph of Institutional Change is Far Too Small” Dr. McCloskey continues critiquing the popular view of economists that good institutions explain the hundred-fold economic growth rate since the 18th century. For the past 2 chapters, she has argued that good institutions…
Tag: Economic Thought
Bourgeois Equality
Good Institutions are not Enough — You Still Need Good Ideas
A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 14 “Because Ethics Matters, and Changes, More” I’ll be honest. If the first few chapters read like this one, I never would have thought to do this chapter by chapter review! That is not because this chapter is bad, but it did challenge me….
Economic Thought
Economy not Developing? Check your Spirituality
A Discussion of “Morality and Spirituality: The missing link for economic development in the 21st century”. Economists postulate that it takes good institutions (laws, regulations, morality, customs) to create the incentives needed to organize your factors of production (capital, labor, etc.) to produce a growing output (GDP per capita). Kame…
Economic Thought
Can Ancient Greece Help Developing Economies?
A Discussion of “Morality, Institutions and the Wealth of Nations: Some Lessons from ancient Greece” When I teach macroeconomics, I know one question the students have is, “Why can’t we use all this economic knowledge to help poor countries grow?” And the answer is, we can, to a point. But,…
Regenerative Agriculture
Moving from Unsustainability to Sustainability
A Discussion of “The Historical Production (and Consumption) of Unsustainability” My last couple of stories have examined the unsustainability of our diet, …and an escape from the unsustainability of our agricultural practices. Today, I want to examine unsustainability itself. I turn to an article published in The Hedgehog Review, an interdisciplinary…
Regenerative Agriculture
Why We Need Regenerative Agriculture
A discussion of “Why Regenerative Agriculture?” Writing previously about the un-sustainability of our Western Dietary Pattern has inspired me to look more into how we got here today. We saw the WDP as the cheapest way to eat, but also the least healthy and the most damaging to the environment….
Economic Thought
It Was Never Only About Profits
A Discussion “The Social Responsibility of Business: Milton Friedman Reconsidered” As an economics professor, I know I have some misconceptions to overcome every semester a new crop of students appear in my intro microeconomics course. Economics is about greed. It is immoral. Capitalism is bad. Elrick and Thies (2018) offer…
Macroeconomics
Consumer Reaction to the Pandemic Shutdown Shock
A Discussion “Initial Impacts of the Pandemic on Consumer Behavior” Here is an early look at the impact on consumers’ income, spending and savings behavior from the dreadful economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown. As an economist, I never would have said it was possible to shut down…
Economic Thought
Capitalism: Value, People, and Planet
A discussion of “Revisiting the Purpose of Business” I am an economist and a lot of what drew me to the field early on is the Adam Smith story of the Invisible Hand. Briefly, it is the idea that our self-interested nature is channeled, as if by an all-knowing Invisible…
Economic Thought
Our Future Growth Depends on Who Wins the Culture Wars
A Discussion of “Which Dimensions of Culture Matter for Long-Run Growth?” For the past few semesters, I have been using Barry Clark’s “The Evolution of Economic Systems” in my MBA global economy classes. I like how it is comparing economic systems across countries, not just economies. An economic system consists of…