Weekend reading
This is a weekly post we’ll publish every Friday with links to articles we think anyone interested in equitable growth should read. We won’t be the first to share these articles, but we hope by taking a look back at the whole week we can put them in context.
Is the growth problem secular? Or is it stagnation?
Greg Ip asks whether our current growth problem is secular, due to supply-side structural changes, or stagnation, due to demand-side cyclical problems. The answer has big implications for monetary policy going forward. [free exchange]
John Hilsenrath riffs off Ip’s post and wonders if the Federal Reserve Board missed the secular supply-side issues during the 2001-2007 business cycle and set the wrong course for interest rates. [wsj]
The problem of the long-term unemployed
The Fed also needs to consider the fate of the long-term unemployed. Can monetary policy bring them back into the labor market? Or have they been locked out? After their meeting this past week, the Federal Open Market Committee appears to think the long-term unemployed aren’t lost yet. [wsj and wonkblog]
These are the days of our lives
Danielle Kurtzleben looks at what Americans do doing during their day. The graph on how working parents spend their time is particularly enlightening. [vox]
And Ben Casselman takes a look at how the unemployed spend their time. [fivethirtyeight]
Time is money and poor Americans don’t have much of either. The problems caused by time poverty. [nyt]
Maybe the kids are alright
“Sleeping in a twin bed under some old Avril Lavigne posters is not a sign of giving up; it’s an economic plan.” Adam Davidson looks at the economic fate of young Americans who moved back home. [nyt magazine]
An end to the Chinese Credit Party?
Is the period of strong credit growth over in China? Here are three takes:
- Jamil Anderlini looks at the Chinese shadow banking system. [ft]
- David Keohane wonders about local government backstops. [alphaville]
- The World Bank’s chief economist is worried about the bubble bursting. [wsj]