With all the controversies over the US imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium, it's perhaps useful to consider an overview of what import restraints the US economy already has in place, and what effects they have had. Every three or four years, the US International Trade Commission publishes a report called: "The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints." The Ninth Update came out in September 2017. The report notes:
The rate of US teachers leaving for other jobs is on the rise. Adam Grundy of the US Census Bureau reports in a short note (May 2018):
Could vaping and e-cigarettes reduce the toll of death and illness due to smoking conventional cigarettes?
UK productivity – output/hour has risen 1.5% in a decade. Unemployment, at 4.2%, is the lowest since April 1975. Real-wages have risen by 1.1% per annum over the last four years. Robots may be coming but it’s not showing up in the data.
In the first part, I discussed how educational and economic empowerment of women has been eroding their bargaining power in India’s matrimonial market. As a result, grooms (or their families) expect (and often extract) some kind of premium or scarcity rent from the brides. Are brides or their families so helpless? Does economics provide any guidance on how women can improve their bargaining power in matrimonial market without compromising their career goals?
Ever wondered why does dowry (gift of cash, gold, luxury car or apartment from the bride’s side to the groom’s side) persist in India even if giving and taking dowry are a criminal offence in the country? Is there any economics behind this? Is dowry like a scarcity rent? Does relative bargaining position of Indian women vis-à-vis Indian men affect a woman’s ability to find her preferred match? Is marriage really a market?
The Federal Reserve continue to raise rates as S&P earnings beat estimates. The ECB and BoJ maintain QE. Globally, corporations rely on US$ financing, nonetheless. Signs of a slowdown in growth are clearer outside the US.