What the Unemployment Rate Conceals

Mariano Torras Future, General, Macroeconomics, Methodology/Statistics, Public policy/Wellbeing Leave a Comment

June 19, 2020

A couple of weeks ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported the May unemployment rate at 13.3 percent. In normal times, such a number would be considered alarmingly high. But we are not in normal times. And compared the 14.7 percent rate for the preceding month, many – not the least President Trump – took the announcement as good news. Unfortunately, there are a number of factors underneath this single statistic that should give us pause. First, there are …

Why Economic Generalist?

Mariano Torras Complexity, Economic Theory, Future, General, Methodology/Statistics Leave a Comment

June 12, 2020

Welcome to my blog! I am an academic economist, but professional writing for a specialized audience gets old given enough years. Academic writing has always run against my generalist tendencies because I am interested in too many different subjects. I have recently grown interested in writing about economics for a broad audience, instead of trying to communicate exclusively with economists. I disagree with many of them on most things anyway. A “generalist” approach to economics will, I hope, help me …