And a look back at 2019...

EconLib Newsletter

January 2020

Happy New Year, friends! We hope you have all enjoyed a glorious holiday season (and maybe you took us up on some of our many reading suggestions).

Speaking of reading, it's no secret how much we all love a good book... This year, we want to read with you more than ever. We enjoyed having you along for our online #EconlibReads ([link removed]) groups in 2019. And don't worry- there will be more! This month, we're thrilled to be launching our first-ever Virtual Reading Group, based on Deirdre McCloskey's Why Liberalism Works ([link removed]) . We will discuss the book LIVE on three Tuesdays from 4-5pm EST (January 14, 21, and 28) via the Zoom online platform. If you're interested in joining us, sign up today by emailing Shelly Rogers at [email protected]. Space is strictly limited, so don't delay!

As always, if you have comments and/or suggestions for us, feel free to drop us an email at [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

EconLib Feature Articles, January 2020


** How Should ECON 101 Be Taught?
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by Donald J. Boudreaux

Harvard Economics wunderkind Raj Chetty hopes to change the way students are introduced to economics. Chetty wants there to be more analysis of data and less attention to economic theory.

Heady stuff for undergraduates! Yet it’s very bad stuff both for economic education and public policy. The notion that data can be sensibly analyzed independently of theory is naïve, as is the related notion that students can learn an adequate amount of sound theory through the analysis of data. Read More. ([link removed])

[link removed]

It Was All So Unlikely: Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope ([link removed])

By Mark C. Schug
American history isn’t what it used to be. Once it was common for a history textbook author to tell a good story.

McClay believes that history at the high school level should serve as something like a rite of passage. Its purpose should be to enable students to become members of civil society by having a clear and balanced understanding of their cultural inheritance. Without resorting to an ahistorical interpretation of American exceptionalism, a major objective of McClay’s work is for students to develop a sense of patriotism that enables them to realize that in a flawed world, America is a remarkable nation. To some, this may be shocking. Read More. ([link removed])


** Wall Street Mysteries
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by Arnold Kling


Can algorithms beat the market? Is there a social value to securities speculation? This month, Arnold Kling explores the ideas in Gregory Zuckerman's new book, The Man Who Solved the Market ([link removed]) . Read More. ([link removed])

FEATURED ECONLOG POSTS
Featured Post: Bryan Caplan, Socialism: The Failed Idea that Never Dies ([link removed])

I’ve easily read a hundred books on the evils of socialism. I was quite surprised, then, by how much I learned from Kristian Niemietz’s Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies ([link removed]) ...

More Recent Posts
* David Henderson, California Government Pensions and Opportunity Costs ([link removed])
* Scott Sumner, T ([link removed]) he business cycle is dying ([link removed])
* Pierre Lemieux, Four Economic Lessons from the Nativity ([link removed])
* Steven Horwitz, The Five Best Introductory Books in Austrian Economics ([link removed])
* Alberto Mingardi, F ([link removed]) ive Books to talk classical liberalism with your family over the holidays ([link removed])
* Sarah Skwire, Look for the Union Label, not the Gender Role ([link removed])
* Russ Roberts, My Five Favorite Novels ([link removed])
* Amy Willis, Holiday Reading Roundup ([link removed])
* Peter Boettke, Forgotten or Neglected Classics in Economics Modern Students Should be Reading ([link removed])

FEATURED ECONTALK EPISODES
Binyamin Appelbaum on the Economist's Hour ([link removed])
Journalist and author Binyamin Appelbaum ([link removed]) of the New York Times talks about his book, The Economists' Hour, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts ([link removed]) . Appelbaum blames the triumph of free-market ideology for the rise in inequality and the decline in growth rates over the last half-century. The result is a lively, civil conversation about the economic events over that time period and the role of economists in changing economic policy.

P.S. Don't miss our EconTalk Extra ([link removed]) for this episode, designed to facilitate further thought and discussion on this episode.

More Recent Episodes:
* Susan Mayer on What Money Can't Buy ([link removed])
* Gerd Gigerenzer on Gut Feelings ([link removed])
* Terry Moe on Educational Reform, Katrina, and Hidden Power ([link removed])
* Joe Posnanki the Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini ([link removed])
* Kimberly Clausing on Open and the Progressive Case for Free Trade ([link removed])

FEATURED CEE ENTRIES
Featured Entry: Fiscal Policy ([link removed]) , by David N. Weil

Fiscal policy is the use of government spending and taxation ([link removed]) to influence the economy. When the government decides on the goods and services it purchases, the transfer payments it distributes, or the taxes it collects, it is engaging in fiscal policy. The primary economic impact of any change in the government budget is felt by particular groups—a tax cut for families with children, for example, raises their disposable income. Discussions of fiscal policy, however, generally focus on the effect of changes in the government budget on the overall economy. Read More ([link removed]) .

* See also Business Cycles ([link removed]) , by Christina Romer
* Fiscal Sustainability ([link removed]) , by Laurence J. Kotlikoff
* Bonds ([link removed]) , by Clifford W. Smith
* Junk Bonds ([link removed]) , by Glenn Yago
* See also Alberto Alesina on Fiscal Policy and Austerity ([link removed]) at EconTalk
* Why Would Anyone Want Austerity? ([link removed]) Book Review by Michael Munger
* See also Robert Mundell ([link removed]) , CEE Biography

P.S. Can you guess which CEE entry was the MOST visited in 2019? Email us with your guess at [email protected]. Winners can expect a surprise!

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