How economists measure whether you're happy.

All things considered, are you happy with your life as a whole these days? Yes? Good. But are you sure?

Happiness is a big question both for researchers and for policy wonks these days, so it is slightly discomfiting to reflect that people may not even know the answer to the simple question, "Are you happy?"...more>>

Bumbling, Impractical, Disconnected Economists

More on how clueless economists are. My comments are in brackets and bold:

How many economists does it take to change a lightbulb?

• Two: One to change the bulb and one to assume the existence of a ladder.
• Eight: One to screw in the light bulb and seven to hold everything else constant.
• None: They are all waiting for an invisible hand...more>> more>>
  

Stiglitz on Phelps

Joseph Stiglitz with a very nice description of Edmund Phelps' contributions to macroeconomics, and how some have misinterpreted his work to mean we are powerless to affect the unemployment rate through government policy:...more>>>

Methodological Issues in Economics

Continuing a recent conversation on methodological issues within economics, this is part of a much longer article "The Philosophy of Economics" from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. It was written by Daniel M. Hausman:...more>>

Macroeconomics 101 in two paragraphs

Not really -- but this Brad DeLong essay contains two paragraphs that do an excellent job of explaining the complex interplay between what John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman believed:...more>> more>>