Archive

A student of microeconomics learns that any competitive equilibrium leads to a Pareto efficient outcome (First Fundamental Theorem of Welfare Economics). What do we mean by the efficiency or inefficiency of markets?

A student of microeconomics learns that any desirable efficient market allocation can be sustained by a competitive equilibrium (the Second Theorem of Welfare Economics), given appropriate lump-sum wealth redistributions. This is typically understood as a means to correct unfair market outcomes. What are the real world implications of the second theorem? How well does it address distributional concerns?

The best-known China bear says the emperor is not yet naked, but getting there.

Have economists fallen in love with an idealized vision of an economy in which rational individuals interact in perfect markets? To what extent is standard microeconomics responsible for this state of affairs?

As Greece heads to the polls, a look back at the crisis and what the future will bring.

Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford researcher Max Roser recently collaborated with world famous Swedish statistical showman Hans Rosling on the upcoming documentary ‘Don’t Panic: How To End Poverty In 15 Years’.

News about a wonderful workshop, “Knowledge Transfer and Its Contexts”

A little-understood rule in the tax code is making headlines. What’s all the fuss?

If anything, it points to a better managed global financial system and a more resilient Chinese economy.

Economist Alicia Girón explains why a feminist perspective is crucial to new economic thinking.

The latest austerity deal is terrible for Greece and Europe.

In the last couple of months, Greece has once again become the center of attention of politicians, academics, and the general public. The debate has, for a large part, focused on Greece’s fiscal deficit as if it were just a self-inflicted Greek problem. But is it?

Comparing outcomes for biological and adopted children sheds light on the intergenerational transmission of wealth.

Archival artifacts from the history of economics.

Dubious transactions and flimsy accounting standards need scrutiny.