Paul Krugman
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2008
Paul Krugman, Nobel-winning economist and New York Times columnist, writes about macroeconomics, Bitcoin, deflation, inequality and automation.
What HN saysCommenters cite it in debates over austerity, printing money, inflation and QE, with some agreeing with his macroeconomic reasoning and others disputing it.
308HN people shared it
214linked it in comments
164stories submitted
1.6Kstory points
3 months agolast shared
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Most-shared posts
- 1Krugman on BitCoin11 people · 289 points · first shared 2011 · 302 comments on HN
- 2Bitcoin and positive vs. normative economics9 people · 268 points · first shared 2013 · 506 comments on HN
- 3Why is deflation bad9 people · first shared 2010
- 4Rise of the Robots8 people · 5 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 5Homepage7 people · first shared 2010
- 6Paul Krugman: Why markets can’t cure healthcare5 people · 17 points · first shared 2009 · 39 comments on HN
- 7Stimulus arithmetic wonkish but important5 people · first shared 2009
- 8Reinhart-Rogoff, Continued4 people · 2 points · first shared 2013 · discussion on HN
- 9Is Piketty All Wrong?3 people · 62 points · first shared 2014 · 39 comments on HN
- 10Adam Smith Hates Bitcoin3 people · 29 points · first shared 2013 · 97 comments on HN
- 11Policy Implications of Capital-Biased Technology: Opening Remarks3 people · 20 points · first shared 2012 · 2 comments on HN
- 12Tarnished Silver3 people · 20 points · first shared 2014 · 45 comments on HN
- 13Killing the European Project3 people · 3 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
- 14Down Argentina Way3 people · 1 points · first shared 2012 · 1 comments on HN
- 15The long haul3 people · first shared 2017
What HN people wrote when they linked it
natural219 · 2013-01-04
This conclusion was immediately obvious to anyone in 2009 who had ever picked up a basic macroeconomics textbook. The funny thing to me is not how Germany continues to lead the charge for more austerity -- it's in their banks' best interests. Rather, it's funny how this 'new' argument of austerity-driven recovery seems to be taken as somehow valid or relevant for macroeconomic analysis in other countries.
For instance, the Debt Ceiling crisis of 2011 [1] is a perfect example of how these kind of psuedoscientific ideas can cause real harm to a country. Especially given how readily certain groups (coughrepublicanscough) are willing to accept these ideas with virtually zero backing or acceptance from established economists.
See also: Everything Paul Krugman has ever written.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_debt-ceiling_crisis
[2] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/
kylewpppd · 2011-03-12
Personally, while high oil prices hurt in the short to medium term, hopefully it sends the US economy towards less dependence on oil. To me, this is a good thing. I just hope the US is smart enough to invest in reducing demand rather than increasing supply.
Also, if this type of story is interesting to you, I highly recommend Paul Krugman's blog at http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/ . Also NPR's planet money (blog & podcast) has great information and is much less slanted than Krugman's. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/ .
po · 2010-06-07
These are great points you're making. And I think the way you are making them is very intuitive. It is impossible to default on a currency you control. You just print some more space-credits. I think you sum up why you should always be printing space-credits nicely.
Reminds me a bit of what Paul Krugman has been saying over on his NYTimes blog: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/
> Why don't more people understand this? Partly it's because the growth of the economy is a historically new phenomenon, dating back only about 150 years.
I personally think the reason people don't understand this is because they think that a government should be run the way a family should: save and don't live off credit.
dnautics · 2020-11-05
That's very naive. Do you think bill gates net worth is tied up in dollars? By contrast. If you go to bayview hunters point and look around the houses, what do you think the net worth of any given person around you is going to look like?
Also, inflation is explicitly a policy designed for wages NOT to keep up. I don't know where you got the idea otherwise.
https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/the-case-for-higher-infla…
throw0101a · 2020-03-16
> ... 3) print money to cover it.
> Number 3) will cause significant inflation, so it will effectively be paid for by tax on cash savings.
Yeah, the same was said before QE was rolled about and it did not happen--as predicted Krugman and those that follow IS-LM models:
* https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/qe-truthers/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_lower_bound
Stimulus now could be very useful, and 'helicopter money' is probably just as good as any other method:
* https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/opinion/the-case-for-permanent-stim…
* https://archive.is/Z2TMK
diego_moita · 2017-12-08
The best criticism I've seen on Bitcoin is, by far, Paul Krugman's "Bitcoin is Evil" [1]. In essence: Bitcoin doesn't have "monetary policy" to regulate it's supply. That's why it is prone to speculative bubbles and very dangerous as money.
[1] https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/bitcoin-is-evil/
yannyu · 2017-08-09
Wingnut Welfare is a real thing:
Wingnut welfare is an important, underrated feature of the modern U.S. political scene. I don’t know who came up with the term, but anyone who follows right-wing careers knows whereof I speak: the lavishly-funded ecosystem of billionaire-financed think tanks, media outlets, and so on provides a comfortable cushion for politicians and pundits who tell such people what they want to hear. Lose an election, make economic forecasts that turn out laughably wrong, whatever — no matter, there’s always a fallback job available.
https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/wingnut-welfare-and-work-…
careersuicide · 2016-11-29
Any discussion of interstellar trade deserves a mention of the fantastic Charles Stross book "Neptune's Brood". I went into it expecting more or less a sequel to "Saturn's Children" but what I got was a treatise on monetary policy for economies that span multiple star systems. The concept of slow and fast money and its implications is utterly fascinating and the book is worth reading just for its explorations of the topic (the plot isn't too bad either).
A quick Google search brought me to this post by Krugman[0]:
I’m reading an advance copy of Charlie Stross’s Neptune’s Brood. (Hey, I have connections!)
And it is the best thing by far written on the subject to date, partly because it is, as far
as I know, the only thing written on the subject to date.
0: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/the-theory-of-interstellar…
forrestthewoods · 2016-01-02
"At the very least, we should strive for a non-regressive tax system, which is what we have now."
I'm super pro regressive taxes. Regressive taxes are fantastic for the poor. They get more than they put in AND the elite are less able to avoid paying them. The socialized promised lands of Scandinavia are highly regressive.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/why-im-soft-on-sales-taxes…
nolepointer · 2015-07-25
It's not evident by the article, but his blog [0], in which this article appears, is titled "The Conscience of a Liberal." Make of that what you will.
[0] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/
RobertoG · 2015-07-14
Sure, physical location in Germany is just by chance..
"Let's count the members of the main decision-making group of the ECB, the Governing Council. Two Germans. Twenty-three non-Germans."
No, let's count hard data better.
Here, from a nobel prize:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/one-size-fits-one-redux-wo…
And here (a little dense maybe):
"Overall, the concern that the ECB rate aligns more with the Taylor recommended rates of the core countries than with the peripheral countries appears to be supported by the data[..]"
http://econ.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Srivangipuram.pdf
dimitar · 2015-06-29
He did many things that were part of the conventional wisdom - 'light touch" financial regulation, which were wrong, but then did some things that are excellent in retrospect - preventing the UK from joining the Eurozone and his crisis response.
It is unfair to say that he caused the crisis and in hindsight he could do more to prevent and mitigate it. However he did much better than most of his peers abroad and better than his successor.
He is generally much more warmly received by economists (Paul Krugman) and economic historians (Skidelsky) and journalists (Martin Wolf).
Here is Martin Wolf on the end of his term:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3074d7ba-5ec0-11df-af86-00144feab49a.html
Krugman: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/hints-of-spring/ - "Gordon Brown may have saved the world, after all"
jellicle · 2015-03-30
It is worth also reading Paul Krugman's take on this blog post:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/ben-bernanke-blog-blogging…
In particular Krugman notes that the average retiree has basically nothing in interest earnings. The median retiree has a bit more than $100K in total net worth (most of it in housing), and earns bupkis in interest.
robl97 · 2014-12-31
Black Mirror is awesome. My favorite episode is "15 Million Merits", which reminds me of the John Maynard Keynes discussion about digging holes in the desert and putting jars filled with banknotes for people to dig up, or Paul Krugman's suggestion about makework preparing for an alien invasion (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/20/coalmines-and-aliens-again… In the future, is any work (even if not that productive, like riding a bike and accumulating points) better than no work and potential social costs?
afterburner · 2014-10-31
Krugman has reposted several entire articles on his blog by Kim Lane Scheppele on the rising authoritarianism in Hungary: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/?s=hungary&_r=0
toomuchtodo · 2014-10-04
> European-style socialism doesn't work very well
Citation? Because even though Americans are working themselves to death with no vacation, healthcare, or retirement guarantee, the French are more productive and enjoy (what I would argue) is a much higher quality of life:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/?s=french+productivity+2011
We should not judge quality of life by how many SUVs are in the driveway, and how many big screen TVs are in the 3K sq ft home.
sd8f9iu · 2014-05-24
I recommend reading what Paul Krugman has to say on the FT piece:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/is-piketty-all-wrong/
miros · 2014-04-30
It's also worth pointing out that you are probably incurring significant fees when converting from your native currency into bitcoin.
In addition, if you are holding bitcoins with the expectation that they will actually appreciate (i.e. the currency will deflate rather than inflate) you are effectively losing money by spending it, further discouraging you from engaging in the transaction.
Krugman has enjoyed making this point a few times:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/bitcoin-is-evil/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/golden-cyberfetters/
omerhj · 2014-04-22
Paul Krugman blogged about this subject last year:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/friday-night-music-sprawl-…
with a followup here:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/life-in-the-slow-lane-triv…
shmageggy · 2013-10-29
If this sort of thing fascinates you as it does me, you might be interested in the latest Charles Stross book that features relatavistic finance as a major plot point. Here's a preview chapter: http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/06/neptunes-brood-excerpt
Mr. Krugman himself thinks it's "the best thing by far written on the subject to date" (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/the-theory-of-interstellar…
cotsuka · 2013-10-28
I'm saying calling something Austrian or Keynesian is inherently political. We should come up with economic models, whether they're Austrian, Keynesian, alien, or dumb, test them against data to see if they hold up, and refine until we get close. Aka, what scientists do.
Great article the other day from Krugman about this very topic. Economics might be a science, but economists are not being scientists about it. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/maybe-economics-is-a-scien…
stcredzero · 2013-10-16
> Similar things could be said about healthcare system. In fact, probably every successful government-run system is based on belief of participants that it should be egalitarian (and yes, they do exist).
Markets are not a god, an oracle, or a panacea. Markets don't work quite like they should in healthcare.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/why-markets-cant-cure-heal…
Use the right tool for the job. Egalitarian systems work great in some contexts (lifeboat) and not so well in others. (The New England town commons.)
wallflower · 2013-08-01
OT:
"A general reminder whenever budget issues are discussed: the U.S. government is — this isn’t original — best thought of as a giant insurance company with an army. When you talk about federal spending, you’re overwhelmingly talking about Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and defense. And the bulk of the insurance — all of Social Security and Medicare, about 2/3 of Medicaid — is for the elderly and disabled."
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/an-insurance-company-with-…
FD3SA · 2013-06-02
An excellent sentiment, but it must be noted that this is a very transient time, both technologically and socioeconomically. The current situation in Europe is a canary in the coal mine for the developed world, as technology fiercely marches on and makes plebs of the middle class and rulers of the lucky few who can capitalize on this technological upheaval.
I'm far more interested in conversations regarding where we are headed, rather than from whence we've came [1].
1. http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/rise-of-the-robots/
guylhem · 2013-04-16
Sometime you get what you pray for :-/
Krugman wanted the housing bubble, he got it.
Please tell me, has he asked for any education bubble? I'm not really following what he says unless it's too wonky (like he last piece about Adam Smith hating bitcoin, because you know Adam Smith could have predicted bitcoin and peer to peer and computers http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/adam-smith-hates-bitcoin/)
PakG1 · 2012-07-03
Best Krugman comment on China I've ever seen, although it's inspired from reading someone else's analysis.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/financial-repression-chine…
lkrubner · 2012-06-17
An extended counter-argument emerges from these blog posts:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/think-of-the-children-2/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/doing-their-best-to-destro…
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/insane-in-spain/
yummyfajitas · 2012-01-22
Maybe 39% (from 1975-2005) isn't enough for you. That's your call. To me, it's a far cry from "stagnation".
As for growth in worker productivity, I seriously doubt it occurred due to actions of minimum wage workers. Are you asserting that a burger flipper flips more burgers now than in 1975?
If we follow Paul Krugman's logic [1], this is not the case. Workers tend to be paid their marginal product. This suggests that if wage gains were distributed more to the top than the bottom, this is because the productivity of high earners increased more than the productivity of low earners.
[1] http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/taxing-job-creators/
mgualt · 2012-01-02
I claim that comments are integral to the activity of blogging. In fact, most bloggers are chomping at the bit to get more comments, often they will do anything to get more comments, and not necessarily because there's a financial incentive.
If you look at the best blogs, I mean top blogs in their niche such as
http://www.thesartorialist.com/
http://girishshambu.blogspot.com/
http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/
http://terrytao.wordpress.com/
you will see that they are comment heavy. In fact there are very interesting discussions in the comments.
You may think comments are "unimportant" for most blogs, but that is not up to you, it is up to the blogger, and I guarantee that blogger would rather have some comments. And it might help to have a half-decent comment system.
lukesandberg · 2011-09-09
in short ronald reagan tax breaks and labor market deregulation: paul krugman has essentially a whole book on why this occurred (http://www.amazon.com/Conscience-Liberal-Paul-Krugman/dp/0393060691) It is an amazing book that really changed my view of labor unions. i would recommend it to anyone. heres an example from his blog: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/more-about-the-reagan-non-…
he has a lot of stuff on his blog discussing tax policies and their effect on things like income growth.