A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
- Manufacturing: MIT hosted a forum on manufacturing where experts looked at new ways for America to make things. “But what form will new kinds of manufacturing take? At an MIT roundtable discussion on Monday titled The Future of Manufacturing Advanced Technologies, more than a dozen of the Institutes faculty shared converging ideas about how to reinvigorate Americas goods-producing businesses. The roundtable followed a broader campus forum hosted by MIT President Susan Hockfield on March 1, in which faculty members, some of whom also participated in Mondays discussion, offered ideas about how to strengthen America innovation and thus its overall economy. These meetings are part of a larger effort by MIT to contribute the Institutes expertise in emerging technologies and innovation policies to the national effort to revitalize the American economy.”
- Budget Austerity: The Economist looks at the risks of budget austerity. “Reducing debt burdens to pre-crisis levels may make some sense. It would ensure the costs of the crisis were not passed on to future generations. It would leave governments with more fiscal room to deal with recessions to come. And it would ensure that higher government debt did not crowd out private investment, which could lower future growth. The fund reckons that the 35-percentage-point increase in rich countries debt could raise borrowing costs by two percentage points. Unfortunately, there is little rigorous evidence in support of a target of 60%, let alone for reaching it quickly. In the past some countries public-debt ratios have been higher than they are today and they have often fallen slowly. Andrew Scott of the London Business School points out that Britains debt burden rose from 121% of GNP in 1918 to 191% in 1932 and did not return to its 1918 level until 1960. In a recent study Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff find that public-debt burdens of less than 90% of GDP have scant impact on growth, but they do see a significant effect at higher ratios. That argues against a single number for all. With the worlds biggest sovereign-bond market and trusted institutions, America will be able to carry a higher public-debt burden than Greece.”
- Libertarian Plagues: Jeffrey Miron presents the top ten plagues according to libertarians. “1. Liberals; 2. Conservatives; 3. Politicians; 4. Federal imposition of economic and social policies on states; 5. The inflation tax; 6. The Alphabet Soup of Government Agencies (FTC, FHA, IRS, SEC, CPSC, DOJ, etc); 7. Entitlement Programs; 8. Anti-Vice Laws; 9. Regulatory takings; 10. Matching socks.”
Compiled by Phil Izzo