Greg Mankiw's Blog
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I am the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. I use this blog to keep in touch with my current and former students. Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource. Here, I also provide information on my conferences. recent research, inflammation impact of the inflammation reduction act, and many..
Greg Mankiw's Blog
1w ago
I was sorry to see President Biden threaten steel tariffs on antidumping grounds. For my views on this topic, see this old piece I wrote with Phill Swagel, who is now CBO director ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
3w ago
My friend Yoram Bauman, the stand-up economist (who I first met because of his parody of my ten principles), says he’s working on a play... and that it’s a romantic comedy about carbon tax ballot measures! Details on his Kickstarterpage and his blog ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
3M ago
In watching part of Jay Powell's news conference yesterday, I realized that what he is doing to just the opposite of good economics communication. When I write an article, give a lecture, or draft a textbook chapter, my goal is to convey maximum information in the fewest words possible. But when the Fed chair answers reporters' questions, he seems to be conveying the least possible information in the most words possible.
Every answer the Fed chair gives is, more or less, a new paraphrasing of what the FOMC has already said in their statement or the chair has said many times before.  ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
6M ago
...based on relevance for central banks. At the top is the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, followed by the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the Journal of Monetary Economics ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
8M ago
In recent years, I have been teaching a seminar to a small group of Harvard freshmen. I described the seminar in this essay in the NY Times.
The assigned readings change a bit from year to year. In case any of my blog readers are interested, here are the books I chose for this year:
The Worldly Philosophers, by Robert Heilbroner
Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman
Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff, by Arthur Okun
We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care, by Liran Einav and Amy Finkelstein
Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration, by Bryan Capl ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
9M ago
I just finished reading Chip War by Chris Miller (a professor of international history at Tufts). It is a fascinating history of the semiconductor industry. Relevant for not only economics but also geopolitics. Highly recommended ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
9M ago
These TV shows aren't new, but they were new to me, and I enjoyed them both: Borgen (a Danish political drama) and Caliphate (a Swedish drama about an impending ISIS attack). Both are on Netflix, available dubbed in English or in the original language with subtitles. Thanks to Olivier Blanchard for the Borgen recommendation ..read more
Greg Mankiw's Blog
10M ago
Adam Smith's exact birth date is unknown, but it was sometime in June 1723. So, 300 years ago this month. I thought I should not let the month go by without acknowledging the father of modern economics. If you want to celebrate, I suggest reading this book about Smith's friendship with David Hume ..read more