Some economists refer to the whole phenomenon as the "democratization of credit. So, we stop, draw breath, and wonder.
To attract equity, companies were forced to pay dividends that were large enough that their stock yield would exceed the interest rate for their bonds. Today, the average American household has learned to live large - on an imperial scale.
Phelps challenged this view through a more fundamental analysis of the determination of wages and prices, taking into account problems of information in the economy. But for all Berkshire's merits, the company almost certainly will never rub shoulders with General Electric and Exxon Mobil in the exclusive club known as the Dow Jones industrial average. Today, the average American household has learned to live large - on an imperial scale.
The Fed chairman accomplished more than all the nation's innovators and deregulators put together.
The Economist examined the evidence.
Again, excluding Germany, jobs in the rest of Europe grew at the same pace as in America.
Take out Germany - which has struggled with absorbing its formerly communist cousins from the East - and the two regions are exactly the same. Phelps clarified possible distributional conflicts among generations.
How could people spend so much more money without earning more? They do this by what economists call smoothing income.
Today, the average American household has learned to live large - on an imperial scale.
We don't know what to make of it, so we turn to the dead for an opinion.
Again, excluding Germany, jobs in the rest of Europe grew at the same pace as in America. Another issue where intertemporal tradeoffs are of central importance concerns the desirable rate of capital formation. A discussion arose about what makes a model useful for trading derivatives.
They can't even imagine what is happening.
Take out Germany - which has struggled with absorbing its formerly communist cousins from the East - and the two regions are exactly the same.
economy has done no better than Europe. Phelps challenged this view through a more fundamental analysis of the determination of wages and prices, taking into account problems of information in the economy.
While Europe got no net stimulus, America has gotten enough to give it the shakes.