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Author: Michael Mandel

How Incomes Rose and Poverty Fell in 2015 (September 2016)

How Incomes Rose and Poverty Fell in 2015 (September 2016)

Posted by | Oct 14, 2016 | , |

September 2016: Thomas* graduated college in 2013, not an easy time for new graduates. But as the unemployment rate dropped and the labor market improved, Thomas was able to switch to a new position. By 2015, his annual income was 60 percent higher. Thomas was not alone. This September, the U.S. Census Bureau released good news on income and poverty in America in 2015. The bureau’s report showed that median household income rose 5.2 percent in 2015 over the previous year, after adjusting for inflation. That’s the first statistically significant increase since 2007, the year before the Great Recession devastated the U.S. economy....

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Can Drones Boost Productivity? (August 2016)

Can Drones Boost Productivity? (August 2016)

Posted by | Aug 15, 2016 | , |

August 2016: Who doesn’t love online shopping? Go on the Internet, click a few buttons, and the next week or the next day your shirt, shoes, or book arrives at your door. Indeed, e-commerce sales have been growing at 16 percent annually in the United States, compared to only 2 percent for all retail sales. E-commerce is remarkably efficient. Rather than having to hire sales clerks, cashiers, and security guards, e-commerce firms just have to worry about taking the order electronically and getting it out as quickly as possible. That’s why the labor productivity of e-commerce has been skyrocketing (see figure below)....

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The Impact of A Higher Minimum Wage (April 2016)

The Impact of A Higher Minimum Wage (April 2016)

Posted by | Apr 25, 2016 | |

April 2016: Recently politicians and activists have been sparking a national conversation over raising the federal minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 to something much higher. National unions such as SEIU have been pushing the “Fight For 15” campaign, which predictably seeks to raise the wage to $15. The issue has even made its way into the current election cycle with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton voicing support for a $12 federal minimum wage. Some cities have already gone even further. Recently the city of Seattle recently raised its own minimum wage to $11 an hour in April...

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Will Ground Beef Prices Finally Fall in 2016? (February 2016)

Will Ground Beef Prices Finally Fall in 2016? (February 2016)

Posted by | Feb 2, 2016 | , |

February 2016: While the overall rate of inflation has stayed low in recent years, at least one commodity has soared in price: Ground beef. The average price of a pound of ground beef nationally was $2.73 at the end of 2005. Over the next ten years, the price just climbed and climbed, hitting a peak of $4.71 in February 2015, as shown in Figure 1. That’s just amazing. Yet there are signs that the price of ground beef may finally be heading down. Since February 2015, the price per pound of ground beef has fallen from  $4.71 to roughly...

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Trying to Slow Climate Change: The Paris Agreement (January 2016)

Trying to Slow Climate Change: The Paris Agreement (January 2016)

Posted by | Jan 4, 2016 | |

January 2016: In December 2015, representatives of almost 200 countries met in Paris. After vigorous debate and negotiation, they came to an agreement about how to control the emission of greenhouse gases over the rest of the century. This blog item briefly discusses the key economic features of the “Paris Agreement” and what it can be expected to achieve. First, let us review the key features of the climate change theory. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas currently account for 86 percent of global energy usage (See Table 1).   Table 1: Energy Consumption by Fuel,...

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