The Unassuming Economist

The article—The Global Unemployment Crisis: Costs, Causes, Cures  made it in the Globalist Research Center’s Top Ten Feautures of 2010. Also, see the full report on the unemployment crisis.

Stiglitz predicts a financial crisis in five years. All the more reason to enjoy the moment. Merry X’Mas and a Happy New Year. Back in 2011.

Avinash Dixit, who many consider deserving of the Economics Nobel Prize, was profiled in an IMF publication. See other IMF profiles of famous economists , including one of Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz and an interview with him called “The Vindication of Joe Stiglitz”.

Ashvin Ahuja, an economist with the IMF, has made a study of property prices in China. Follow the link to compare China’s housing market with others around the globe.

Is the increase in unemployment cyclical or structural? In an article released today by the IMF, Mai Dao and I summarize some new evidence on this topic. A recovery in output, using monetary and fiscal policy tools, takes too long to lift the boats of the long-term unemployed, and even then does not give them much of a lift. But whether it’s cyclical or structural, unemployment takes a severe human toll and merits a decisive policy response, as we discuss in the article. A longer version is available here.