patrick.net

Is it just me or economists blindspots and biases seem conveniently chosen to benefit the usual suspects.

"housing prices never go down in the US"?

Heraclitusstudent says

Is it just me or economists blindspots and biases seem conveniently chosen to benefit the usual suspects.

Scholars for Dollars, Court Historians/Stenographers, 2nd Oldest Profession - very much like the 1st.

Should Econ Professors that make more money consulting and writing reports for think tanks be forced to disclose their financial benefit to the students they educate, or to the public when they write articles?

I sure think so.

If China was not allowed to practice mercantilism it would have helped a bunch and Japan for that matter.

For sure jobs were exported which would have had a different outcome if not for the intervention of Greenspan and his fellow mutts, and if we were not taken off of Bretton Woods thanks to LBJ and Nixon.

indigenous says

If China was not allowed to practice mercantilism it would have helped a bunch and Japan for that matter.

You can't choose the actions of others, but you can choose your own.

Heraclitusstudent says

You can't choose the actions of others, but you can choose your own.

Yes you can, the US has a floating exchange rate that automatically targets 2% inflation per year with out any intervention by the Fed. The only reason they can get away with it is because the Dollar is the reserve currency. China and Japan devalued their currency without any intervention by the US.

Heraclitusstudent says

Economists Find China Killing U.S. Factory Jobs

anonymous says

"A recent study by economists at UCLA and Columbia University concluded that trade increases the real incomes of those in the middle of the economic spectrum by 29 percent while raising it for poor households by 62 percent." from the end of the article.

Sure trade kills some jobs, but trade also creates jobs. Overall, there is a net benefit to both countries that trade. Bay Area correctly points this out. It's not just one study that shows this, but study after study. If trade did not benefit us, Obama would not be promoting it.

Strategist says

Bay Area correctly points this out. It

It create a few high skills / high wages jobs at the top. Apple US jobs = 10% of jobs it creates in China.
But 90% are losers in the US, competing with slave labor, while 10% profits.
It creates poverty, destroys middle class, increases the need for loose lending standard - which you clamor for so much.

Heraclitusstudent says

If trade did not benefit us, Obama would not be promoting it.

Lol!

The idea is that comparative advantage creates a win win, but this is not free trade this is cronyism.

China's stock market may be a bubble but not it's real estate which has come down in price every year this is not a bubble. They also require a 50% down payment so there is little leverage.

indigenous says

The idea is that comparative advantage creates a win win,

Comparative advantage is a basically BS. Other than for agriculture, comparative advantage doesn't exist.

Another thing is that China's devaluation of the currency automatically keeps their wages low. It is about their current account which makes the government a net saver. So as the RMB gets revalued the purchasing power of the worker goes up. So the slave wage thing may have been true at one point but it is no longer the case.

Strategist says

Sure trade kills some jobs, but trade also creates jobs. Overall, there is a net benefit to both countries that trade. Bay Area correctly points this out. It's not just one study that shows this, but study after study. If trade did not benefit us, Obama would not be promoting it.

That is also BS. Free trade has been a horrible disaster for the US. As a country, we have lost an immense amount of wealth. It boggles my mind that smart people still claim free trade is a win-win. It's most definitely a win-lose and the US has been losing for a LONG time.

tatupu70 says

Comparative advantage is a basically BS. Other than for agriculture, comparative advantage doesn't exist.

That is akin to saying there is no gravity

indigenous says

That is akin to saying there is no gravity

OK, how about you give me some examples of comparative advantage that don't involve the weather.

The US is the largest manufacturer in the world. If there is no such thing as comparative advantage why wouldn't China make there own airplanes, cars, tractors?