Month: April 2016

Some Economists Think China’s Monetary Easing Policy is Hitting Home.

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In response to China’s stock market crash in the third quarter of 2015 China began a monetary easing policy which consisted of “pumping funds into state lenders known as policy banks to finance government-backed programs.” The stock market crash marked the end of China’s good fortune, as well the end of the stream of foreign investment which funded much of their economies productivity. Weak demand for Chinese products, along with less foreign investment, both added to the case for more stimulus. (Surprisingly China’s unemployment rate has floated consistently at around 4%.) And now just a few months later in 2016 China’s reserves Continue reading Some Economists Think China’s Monetary Easing Policy is Hitting Home.→

We Performed a Free Money Experiment, Results: Very Few Takers

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Last Friday fellow blog writer Janne and I decided to run a little experiment. The idea was simple enough: offer free money to everyone and see if they take it. The results were not so simple: hardly anyone took our money. Now it leaves us wondering why. Let’s set up the circumstances. Janne and I began tabling outside the SUB at 10:30 and stayed there until 12:00. All that was on our table was a jar of coins and 1 dollar bills, as well as sizeable sign that read “Free Money, No Joke No questions” with an arrow pointing to Continue reading We Performed a Free Money Experiment, Results: Very Few Takers→

The “Anything” You Can Do with an Economics Degree Part 3:  Grad School

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The final portion of this 3-part series discusses the pros and cons of pursuing a graduate degree in economics. A graduate degree in economics is very valuable and useful if you are pursuing a career in advanced economic analysis, teaching, or research.  However, there are careers out there for economics students that do not require a Master’s degree; two of those careers are discussed in parts 1 and 2 of this series. So is the extra schooling worth the additional time and money?  As economics students know is often the case, it depends. Some Ph.D. programs offer a Master’s degree upon Continue reading The “Anything” You Can Do with an Economics Degree Part 3:  Grad School→

Thesis Corner: Jordyn McLuen

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Lukie Crowley (LC): To start it off, what is your topic? Jordyn McLuen (JM): I did a policy theory paper on apple production in Washington State and how it’s impacted by potentially the implementation of a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system. LC: Why did you choose (topic)? JM: I have always found environmental issues interesting, so I knew that I would like to do something related to climate change and try to apply a macro topic in climate change policy into a micro area in terms of Washington State apple production being one relatively small market. LC: Was there Continue reading Thesis Corner: Jordyn McLuen→

The Minimum Wage Movement

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New developments in the debate of minimum wage increase have revealed themselves and this time it’s the whole state of California to become apart of this movement. I have discussed in one of my previous posts about the predicted advantages and disadvantages of hiking up the minimum wage. As I previously reported, San Francisco and Los Angeles were among the cities to be outlining plans to drastically increase the minimum wage over the next few years. San Francisco was one of the cities to pioneer the way for minimum wage increase as citizens voted in Proposition J in 2014 which Continue reading The Minimum Wage Movement→

Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin

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In the past few years you’ve probably heard the term bitcoin tossed around, which is hard to grasp for most who are unfamiliar with non-tangible currency. So here’s the rundown on everything you need to know in order to understand the world of digital currency. Bitcoin is a payment system as well as a digital asset invented by someone who operates under the name “Satoshi Nakamoto”, which was released in 2009. Bitcoin is whats known as a P2P (peer to peer) system which essentially means that you can send bitcoin from your computer, tablet, smart phone or other device, to Continue reading Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin→

GDP is a Bad Indicator

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GDP,  we hear about it all the time, and whatever it is makes nations cry when it (technically, real GDP growth) decreases and celebrate when it chugs along at 3%. But what the heck is it really indicating? And is it even good at its job?? In short, GDP is a measure accumulating all of a nation’s production to indicate the nation’s wealth, and, also in short, it’s not that accurate or helpful. See GDP was developed during the great depression to help take stock of what was actually going on in the American economy – so that people could Continue reading GDP is a Bad Indicator→

The Robotic Future of the Job Market

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Recently there has been a lot of talk about the ever rapidly growing market for machines that can replicate what used to be a human run job. According to Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, “The factory of the future will have only two employees: a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.” Economists predict that this type of automation will make the human jobs that we know today obsolete in the near future. Just in the US manufacturing jobs have fallen from 25% Continue reading The Robotic Future of the Job Market→

What is Capitalism Really, and Why Do People Hate it So Much?

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Why do people hate capitalism so much? What’s wrong with the freedom to exchange private goods and services without major intervention by the government? What are people really saying when they denounce capitalism? First, a definition: Capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Synonyms include free enterprise and the free market.  I take two issues with the “fuck capitalism” attitude. 1. People don’t seem to know what socialism is (but love it anyway). 2. They’re confusing capitalism for income inequality and/or commercialism. Capitalism is Continue reading What is Capitalism Really, and Why Do People Hate it So Much?→

How the Recycling and Oil Markets are Connected

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When someone thinks about markets being connected, the oil and recycling markets aren’t the ones that usually come to mind. Yet, the oil market is significantly damaging the recycling market right now and it won’t get any better until oil prices rise again. According to a New York Times article from February, Waste Management (the main company that collects recycling) could sell a bale of plastic last year for $230. Now, the price is down to $112 for each bin. Why is this happening? Here’s an excerpt from the NYT article mentioned earlier: New plastics are made from the byproducts of oil and gas Continue reading How the Recycling and Oil Markets are Connected→