In a forthcoming article posted on September 22, economists Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely examined survey data on Americans’ views about wealth inequality. They find that most people grossly underestimate the level of wealth inequality in the United States and overestimate the ability of people to move up in the wealth distribution.
In a September 21 commentary, University of California, Berkeley, economists Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Gérard Roland argued that countries with a more individualist culture have enjoyed higher long-run growth than countries with a more collectivist culture. Individualist culture, they say, attaches social status rewards to personal achievements and thus provides not only monetary incentives for innovation but also social status rewards as well.
Also on September 21, the College Board published a new study on the economic value of higher education.
On September 20, the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research officially determined that the recession began in December 2007 ended in June 2009. It was, therefore, the longest recession since World War II.
On September 20, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published a study of productivity growth during the recession. Contrary to past experience, it rose, thus allowing businesses to produce more with fewer employees, thereby inhibiting job growth. The study predicts that productivity will continue to rise strongly for some time to come.
And on September 20, Yale University economist Robert Shiller published a commentary saying that historical experience suggests that it may be seven more years before we are completely past the effects of the recent economic crisis.
On September 19, financial analyst Hale Stewart posted a commentary examining the role of household debt in the economy. It points to confirmation of economist Irving Fisher’s debt-deflation theory of the Great Depression, he says.
Also on September 19, the Roosevelt Institute published a study of the underemployed, such as those forced to work part-time because they can’t find full-time work.
On September 16, the Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage.
Also on September 16, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a staff study arguing that while financial bailouts have undesirable consequences, banning them would also have undesirable consequences. It says that a tax on short-term bank liabilities is a better way of reducing risk.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Read his most recent column here. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
