In NY Times, Paul Krugman (link) wrote about the comparison of European and U.S economic model, concluding that in the last 10 years, the European model of social democracy led to higher standard of living and, compared to U.S in output per hour and standard of living, and relative convergence of European countries relative to [...]

This preliminary study started with a blog post I did several months ago entitled “New Jersey, the Sorry State”, a deep dive into Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that my state is hardly generating employment outside the government sector.
The blame for this sorry state of affairs I heaped on NJ’s political culture, which is [...]

On Wednesday, it had been 20 years since the fall of the Berlin wall and the eventual collapse of communist political and economic system in Central and Eastern Europe. However, there is still discussion about economic costs and benefits of German reunification (Wiedervereinigung). I’ve been motivated to open this debate by professor Becker’s analysis (link) [...]

John Chambers ignited markets on Thursday. The Cisco CEO joined other leading firms like Apple, Amazon, Alcoa, Intel, and others by stating that, “the quarter was very strong. The recovery is gaining momentum.” Earlier in the week, the institute for supply management speculated that the US GDP is likely now growing at an annualized [...]

I find it hard to take seriously the concept of a happy planet. Is Earth happier than Mars? How would we know? It seems to me that only sentient beings can be happy, but that might just reflect the limited perspective of a sentient being. For all I know a rock might have a completely [...]

The current financial crisis in the U.S. is hitting everyone hard, perhaps not least the older population. Many in this age group will have taken early retirement in recent years and may now be starting to feel the pinch due to unexpected price rises. Some of these seniors, along with others who just miss the [...]

As the price of fuel goes up, shiny new SUVs look shinier than ever; we’re not washing them more often, we’re just driving them less—especially in Alaska, where some drivers pay more than seven dollars a gallon for gasoline.
But this is not another anti-cartel, anti-big business, anti-government rant. If you’re looking for a reason [...]

Recent international studies have highlighted considerable variations in hours of work between countries as well as the high percentage of people who are working excessively long hours.
As demographic changes bring about the aging of populations in most developed countries, employers will increasingly come under pressure to offer terms and conditions of employment that meet worker [...]