Economic History

July 16, 2014
Weekly Economic News Roundup and federal spending
Published by Elaine Schwartz at July 16, 2014
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John Maynard Keynes and the Generational Impact of Entitlements

Before seeing how we are benefiting unequally from entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, let’s start with some history. During 1934, with unemployment high and production low, […]

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July 7, 2014
Indian development and tradeoffs from roads and cars
Published by Elaine Schwartz at July 7, 2014
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The Difference Between India's Stories and Statistics

There is a village in Southern India called Kadapakkam. It had been a home to farmers and fishermen whose thatched huts had no running water and no electrical appliances. At traditional tea shops […]

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July 6, 2014
Federal Budget spending categories
Published by Elaine Schwartz at July 6, 2014
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A Speedy Summary of Spending in the US Federal Budget

Right now, the Congress is supposedly debating the 2015 federal budget. Because the new fiscal year begins October 1, their deadline is September 30. But not […]

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July 4, 2014
Weekly Economic News Roundup and economic independence from Alexander Hamilton
Published by Elaine Schwartz at July 4, 2014
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Celebrating Economic Independence

Yes, the United States declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and won the American Revolutionary War. But still, we were not truly independent. George Washington’s Secretary of […]

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June 16, 2014
Published by Elaine Schwartz at June 16, 2014
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How Big is the Leisure Gap Between Men and Women?

Our Monday gender issue focus Married or single, weekends and weekdays, men have more leisure time than women. Imagine a typical weekend. Yes, mom might spend a […]

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June 13, 2014
CEO performance and golf
Published by Elaine Schwartz at June 13, 2014
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What Golf in China Shows About Economic Development

On a ladder of spending in developing economies, growing affluence first means wheat and meat. Then, climbing somewhat higher, people can afford consumer durables like a washing machine and […]

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June 12, 2014
stock market activity and World Cup
Published by Elaine Schwartz at June 12, 2014
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The Impact of World Cup Soccer On Stock Markets

“Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most  important.” Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) European Central Bank researchers have hypothesized that World Cup Soccer […]

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June 2, 2014
Underutilized female human capital conveyed through gender issues and abolitionist movement in The Invention of Wings
Published by Elaine Schwartz at June 2, 2014
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Gender Issues: The Invention of Wings

Our Monday gender issues focus Combine 1 great read, 2 crucial issues and 3 memorable women (2 who really existed) and you get The Invention of Wings by […]

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June 1, 2014
Italy's and the UK will add marijuana and prostitution to improve GDP accuracy...but will it?
Published by Elaine Schwartz at June 1, 2014
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Should GDP Include Illegal Drug Deals?

In 1987, Italy decided to include its “off-the-books” economy in its GDP. The result was an 18% boost. Now, further complying with EU accounting regulations, Italy […]

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May 31, 2014
Charts and graphs tell stories
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 31, 2014
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An Amazing Story From a Graph

Sometimes one graph can tell a whole story:   A 4-minute animation can also convey a much bigger story. Looking at the same time period as our […]

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May 28, 2014
Beeps like backup warnings from trucks create noise pollution negative externalities.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 28, 2014
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The Beeps in Our Lives

Our Wednesday Environment Focus We have intentionally created some of the sounds that our technology makes. Take the beep… You know that beep..beep..beep sound of a truck […]

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May 27, 2014
In the major sports leagues and for golf, there is a top 1% and income inequality that can be measured with Gini Coefficients.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 27, 2014
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The Income Inequality That Doesn't Bother Us

When people talk about the top 1%, they are probably not thinking about NY Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter or Seattle’s MLS forward, Clint Dempsey. For 2014, Jeter signed a […]

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