Jeff Miron on Healthcare

Does GDP buy happiness?

The University of Chicago's Allen Sanderson looks at the topic.

By the way, Allen mentions the famous Easterlin paradox.  The facts behind this paradox have been called into question by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers.

Things I did not say

I have long been what might be called a moderate supply sider (as well as a new Keynesian on various issues of macro theory).  I believe that tax rates have important influences on behavior and, as a result, tax hikes do not generate as much revenue as static estimates suggest.  However, I have long been skeptical that the United States is on the wrong side of the Laffer curve, except perhaps in a few special cases.

So imagine my surprise when I read this headline over at Bloomberg:

Mankiw Says Higher Taxes Won’t Increase Revenue

The brief article alleges to summarize what I said in an interview. My first reaction was, I didn't say that. My second reaction was, did I misspeak?  Fortunately, the audio of the interview is right there.  So I listened to myself (always a painful experience), and I think I said what I really believe--that tax hikes do not generate as much revenue as you might think.  The Bloomberg headline is an unfortunate misrepresentation.

A Conference for Economics Instructors

If you, like me, teach introductory economics, or expect to do so soon, you might be interested in attending this conference. It is a one-day meeting I am running at Harvard on Friday, April 29, with the generous support of my publisher (Southwestern, a part of Cengage Learning).

The conference includes the following presentations from five Harvard faculty:

• Greg Mankiw, The Challenges Facing U.S. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
• Alberto Alesina, Social Policies in the U.S. and Europe: Why So Different?
• Eric Mazur, Confessions of a Converted Lecturer
• Ben Friedman, Religious Influences on Economic Thinking: Where Did the Economics We Teach Come From?
• Jeremy Stein, Lessons from the Financial Crisis

In addition, after lunch, participants will have the opportunity to tour Harvard, and the day will end with a party at my home.

Interested? Click through the above link to learn more. (Please note that space is limited. We may not be able to accommodate everyone who expresses interest, and for that, I apologize in advance.) If you have any questions, feel free to contact John Carey at john.carey@cengage.com.

A Comic for Chapter 4

click on graphic to enlarge

A Profile of Al Roth

Today's Boston Globe has an article about my market-designing Harvard colleague.

A V, 2 Us, and an L

click on graphic to enlarge