The Department of Workforce Development released preliminary statistics for August today. Civilian employment remains below the 2008M03 peak; so is the labor force.
Wisconsin: Where Has the Labor Force Gone?
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“Solving” the Immigration Problem
Mass deportation and elimination of Birthright Citizenship as policy options
I see the resurfacing of proposals to eliminate Birthright Citizenship and the forcible deportation of undocumented to solve the immigration problem. What are the implications of such proposals?
Liftoff: Empirical Assessment of the Implications for the Dollar
I have been stressing the international implications of a potential interest rate increase as a rationale for deferring monetary tightening. Export growth is slowing and economic activity in the tradables sector (manufacturing output, manufacturing employment) as the dollar has appreciated. [1] [2] How much more appreciation should we expect should the Fed tighten?
“Scott Walker’s exaggerated claims of employment trends in Wisconsin”
That’s the title of WaPo’s FactChecker recap of the Governor’s misrepresentations. Three Pinocchio’s!
Common factors in commodity and asset markets
Increases in oil production in the United States and the Middle East were certainly key factors in the huge drop in oil prices over the last year. Nevertheless, one can’t help but be struck by the fact that the weekly changes in oil prices correlate with dramatic moves in other commodity and financial markets.
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Government Debt Crowding Out Watch, Fall 2015
As I updated my slides for teaching an economics course on the financial system at UW-Madison, I recreated this graph, which depicts the rise in Federal debt as a share of GDP, and the trajectory of real interest rates, as proxied by several measures.
“Walker job-creation officials promise to do better”
That’s the title of a La Cross Tribune article:
Officials with Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s floundering job-creation agency promised again to do a better job in the wake of another scathing audit and the departure of their second chief officer in just four years.
Guest Contribution: “Misinterpreting Chinese Government Intervention in Financial Markets”
Today we are fortunate to have a guest contribution written by Jeffrey Frankel, Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard University, and former Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, 1997-99. A shorter version of this column appeared at Project Syndicate.
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Labor Day 2015 in Wisconsin
From the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, October 2014, in re: the $7.25/hour minimum wage.
The Department [of Workforce Development] has determined there is no reasonable cause to believe the wages paid to the complainants are not a living wage.