Hicks: World still suffering from World War I fallout
World War I began a century ago this week, and its legacy continues to have economic, social and political effects.
Economic Analysis
Articles
Hicks: Don’t confuse inflation with supply and demand
Almost nothing in economics seems to confuse people as much as monetary inflation. That confusion leaves an intellectual void into which some of the least credible ideas of the modern world crawl.
Hicks: Falling state income tax revenue is bad omen
Nationally, from July through September 2013, growth in state income tax collections slowed appreciably. Only a few states were spared, and here in Indiana they actually shrank slightly, as they did in five other states.
Hicks: Indiana good, but not optimal, for small firms
a recen studied of states’ friendliness to small businesses gave Indiana poor grades for ease in finding workers, leveling blame on networking and training programs. This is interesting, but almost certainly not the actual problem.
Hicks: Rulings limit state power, embrace freedom
This past couple of weeks has offered a rare series of court rulings that have implications for both households and businesses.
Hicks: Loopholes help one class at expense of others
Every loophole, deduction, exemption, abatement and carve-out is designed to benefit one class of citizens at the expense of others. These are neither fair nor simple. They are rarely effective.
Hicks: Accountants derail irresponsible governments
New Government Accounting Standards Board rules require state and municipal governments to report their pensions in ways more like that of private sector pensions.
Hicks: Subsidizing filmmaking is a losing proposition
Without even touching upon the fairness of Indiana taxpayers subsidizing Hollywood studios, film tax credits are of dubious value. The jobs they generate are transient, often low-paying and unlikely to meet the simplest benefit-cost calculus.
Hicks: Technology might be suppressing robust growth
Quarter after quarter of booming growth, seen for several decades, might have slowed permanently. The 2000s saw only five rapid-growth quarters, and this decade has had two. It might mean that higher average growth rates are more difficult to achieve due to structural changes in the economy related to technology.
Hicks: Income inequality tied to capital investments
French economist Thomas Piketty’s new book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” is far and away one of the most important books on the economy in some time.
HICKS: Promises to veterans too expansive to keep
A promise of nearly infinite health care to any large group of people has a nearly infinite cost.
Hicks: Hoosiers voting to pay for better public services
I have long argued that Hoosier taxpayers are willing to spend more in places where they can see results. The results of the recent election suggest I am right about that.
Hicks: Many women sacrifice careers for their children
Mother’s Day is a splendid opportunity to think about the evolving economic effects of women as parents, how this influences their economic lives, and how women value motherhood in economic terms.
Hicks: State, local government unbalanced in Indiana
Having lived and worked in three states over the past decade, I have watched how state policy influences local government.
Hicks: Obama pitches gender pay gap to the gullible
If we separate people into two groups by age, education, gender, race, occupation or almost any other factor, their average wages differ in some way. But this sort of comparison doesn’t tell us much. If we use statistical methods that account for multiple characteristics, wage differences for most factors disappear.
Hicks: Tax rates only half the story of government
With the passing of April 15 and the annual ritual of tax filings, news pages are filled with discussion about the size of federal, state and local tax burdens.
Hicks: Measuring the immeasurable is huge challenge
One aspect of economic research I think is especially powerful is the ability to measure or monetize the things humans clearly value but for which a market price is not necessarily apparent.
Hicks: Economics lessons for today are simple, hard
Far too much worry is placed in the short-run ups and downs of the economy, but I am not worried about business where errors are ultimately punished. The real worry is that public policy will extend its embrace of short-run fixes, which are chimerical.
Hicks: Medical firms are largest perpetrators of fraud
Medicaid and Medicare fraud is where the real money lies, costing taxpayers some $100 billion a year, or 10 percent of total costs. This is many times more than the highest estimate of fraud in all other assistance programs combined. Nearly all of this fraud is perpetrated by health care providers.
Hicks: Inflation could precede real economic recovery
The new Keynesian model suggests that a government stimulus might work to temporarily boost consumption or investment just like the old Keynesian model does. But the new model requires businesses and households to adjust their buying because of fears of expected inflation.