News
Politico | GOP: Ease rules to aid recovery
“Indisputably, we require an economic game-changer to reverse the disturbing and lasting trend of 9 percent unemployment,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). “Removing needless red tape and inefficient bureaucratic barriers to job creation will promote economic growth nationwide.”
CNBC | Housing Starts Hit 6-Month High in Surprise Jump, Permits Up
U.S. housing starts rose more than expected in June to touch a six-month high and permits for future construction unexpectedly increased, a government report showed on Tuesday, likely reflecting growing demand for rental apartments.
Market Watch | Sales of existing homes slip 0.8% in June
Sales of existing homes slipped in June to a seven-month low, and a real estate trade group attributed the surprise downturn to a weak economy and a spike in cancellations.
USA Today | Bad economy may be mother of invention
Five years ago, electrical engineer Denis Place and two partners left Suss MicroTec, in Waterbury, Vt., a German-owned manufacturer of machines, to make microchips, and formed their own company based on an idea they had for testing those chips.
Washington Times | Coalition hits tougher air-pollution rules
Business Roundtable sees millions of jobs being lost under new ozone limits.
Econ Comments
Politico | Put a ceiling on overregulation
Though both parties now want the debt ceiling package to address issues of economic growth, no one has put measures to rein in regulation on the table. Since Obama and GOP leaders are saying that overregulation is a barrier to job creation, it’s time to make regulatory curbs part of the debt ceiling negotiations.
AEI | Will the College Bubble Burst from Public Subsidies?
We are still suffering from the bursting of the housing bubble and now some people see signs that another bubble is bursting--the higher education bubble.
Cato Institute | "Stronger" Banks, Weaker Economies
U.S. Treasury officials and those at the Federal Reserve, as well as their advisers and supporting cast of journalists, often operate as if they were blind to the potential unintended consequences of their policy prescriptions. And because groupthink reigns supreme in establishment circles, blunders can go unchecked for long periods of time and be catastrophic.
Minyanville | Is China Facing an American Future?
Minyanville's daily roundup of some of the best commentary from around the Web.
Financial Times | Little to celebrate on Dodd-Frank’s birthday
America’s Dodd-Frank act is one year old on Thursday. The act made some useful corrections in the regulation of American financial markets, but it has failed to respond effectively to the root causes of the financial crisis and its impact on the global financial system.
WSJ | Toying With Deregulation
Another agency ignores Mr. Obama's executive order.
Blogs
Econlog | Keynes and Anti-Keynes
In terms of theoretical outlook, I would say that anyone who works with the GDP factory model and the textbook version of aggregate demand and aggregate supply is conducting the conversation in a way that is understandable to the Keynesian tradition. However, there are those on the far left and far right who do not like the GDP factory story and who see things as more complicated.
Volokh Conspiracy | Foot Voting for Freedom
Political scientist Jason Sorens presents some interesting new data showing that people tend to “vote with their feet” for states with greater freedom when they make migration decisions.
Cato @ Liberty | Federal Government Subsidizes and Penalizes Boeing Co.
When an entity is as mammoth and undisciplined as the $3.8 trillion U.S. federal government, it’s inevitable that its programs will be working at cross purposes. Just ask the civil aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company.
Reports
NBER | Globalization, Structural Change and Productivity Growth
Large gaps in labor productivity between the traditional and modern parts of the economy are a fundamental reality of developing societies. In this paper, we document these gaps, and emphasize that labor flows from low-productivity activities to high-productivity activities are a key driver of development.
Cato Institute | The Elephant That Became a Tiger: 20 Years of Economic Reform in India
India ranks very low on ease-of–doing-business indicators. Rigid labor laws prevent Indian companies from setting up large factories for labor-intensive exports, as in China. Both governance and economic reforms are needed, but progress on the former lags far behind, is thus more urgent, and can help sustain and promote economic reform.
Heritage Foundation | Recovery Stalled After Obamacare Passed
Private-sector job creation initially recovered from the recession at a normal rate, leading to predictions last year of a “Recovery Summer.” Since April 2010, however, net private-sector job creation has stalled. Within two months of the passage of Obamacare, the job market stopped improving.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Housing Starts Perk Up in June
Housing starts rose a larger-than-expected 14.6 percent in June. While a 30.4 percent jump in multifamily starts accounts for much of the gain, single-family starts rose 9.4 percent and permits also increased.
