On August 31, University of California, Berkeley, economist Brad DeLong posted a commentary discussing the relationship between cyclical unemployment and structural unemployment. The former will fall when GDP growth returns to normal, the latter will remain even afterwards. A key concern is that the longer a worker remained unemployed the more likely his status will shift from cyclical to structural unemployment.
Also on August 31, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein posted a commentary raising concerns about saving. Although the personal saving rate has risen, the budget deficit, which represents negative saving, has risen more, leaving insufficient domestic saving to finance domestic investment.
On August 27, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on youth unemployment. In July, only 48.9 percent of those age 16 to 24 were employed, the lowest percentage ever recorded. No mention was made of the 2009 increase in the minimum wage as a possible cause.
On August 27, Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati criticized economists for believing that there is something special about manufacturing and in effect denigrating services in terms of economic output.
And on August 27, University of California, San Diego, economist James Hamilton pointed out that Gross Domestic Income is rising faster than GDP, which may indicate stronger growth. (GDI and GDP should theoretically be the same.)
On August 27, economists Carmen and Vincent Reinhart presented a paper analyzing significant financial crises in the 20th century. They find that it takes about 10 years for the buildup of financial imbalances to cause a crisis and another 10 years to get over it.
On August 26, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on displaced workers, 2007-2009. Displaced workers are those who lose their jobs due to plant closings, bankruptcies and other factors beyond their control. BLS found that the rate of displacement has risen sharply and the rate of re-employment among displaced workers has fallen sharply.
Also on August 26, BLS released data on hourly compensation costs in manufacturing in the U.S. and among principal trading partners. They show that wages are rising faster in foreign countries than they area here, thus improving the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
On August 25, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress published a study on the economic progress of women over the last 25 years.
An August 19 study from Pew Research found that a declining percentage of the population considers land-line telephones and television sets to be necessities of life as cell phones and computers replace them.
An August 18 study from the BLS examined survival rates for new businesses. It found that about half of all new businesses disappear within 10 years.
On July 26, MetLife released the 2010 edition of its annual study of the American dream. Among the interesting data, it shows that those in the middle class are much more willing to do what is necessary to adjust to changing economic conditions than the general population, such as relocating, changing industries, going back to school, or starting their own business.
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).
