Seriously, stop worrying about hyperinflation

The Atlantic | Megan McArdle offers a voice of reason countering the fears, commonplace on CNBC and in the blogosphere, that the nation is on the verge of a giant inflation problem.

Asset inflation, price inflation, and the great moderation

Interfluidity | Can rises in asset prices, such as the stock market, be just as much a form of inflation as rises in wages in prices? Steve Randy Waldman thinks so, and offers an unconventional way of thinking of the interplay between an overheated economy and asset prices.

The Dollar and the Deficits

Foreign Affairs | C. Fred Bergsten makes the case that the decline of the dollar is necessary to rebalancing the world economy and that the nation must curtail its budget deficit and encourage private saving to prevent the next financial crisis.

U.S. Credit Conditions

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York | The New York Fed has created a nifty tool for analyzing credit conditions--the availability of auto, mortgage, and other loans--all over the country.

3 Questions: Robert Solow on the Struggle Ahead

MIT News | What is next for the U.S. economy--and the economics profession more generally? Robert Solow, one of the great economists of his generation, shares his views.

Wall Street’s Near-Death Experience

Vanity Fair | Andrew Ross Sorkin's new book on the near-collapse of the financial system last fall sheds light on how key players in Washington and on Wall Street interacted to avoid, barely, a calamity. An excerpt appears here.

Inside the Crisis

The New Yorker | An inside view of the Obama administration's economic team, with a particular focus on the (often-exhausted) Larry Summers.

Why China Must Do More to Rebalance Its Economy

The Financial Times | Columnist Martin Wolf argues that China's efforts to rebalance its economy--toward domestic consumption and away from exports--has been too slow and timid.

Global Capital Markets: Entering A New Era

MicKinsey Global Institute | A sweeping annual analysis of world capital markets, the first to arrive post-crisis, which finds that world financial assets fell by $16 trillion in 2008, the largest decline on record.

Overcoming America's Debt Overhang: The Case for Inflation

The New America Foundation | Could a little bit of inflation be just what the doctor ordered for America's massive debt overhang? Christopher Hayes argues so in a paper presented at a New America Foundation conference.

As Riches Fade, So Does Finance's Allure

Wall Street Journal | The appeal of jobs in finance has withered along with the sector's dominance in the economy, argues Lisa Bannon.

Paul A. Volcker In Conversation with Gary H. Stern

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis | Gary Stern, outgoing president of the Minneapolis Fed, has a fascinating conversation with former Fed Chair Paul Volcker. Among other arguments, Volcker makes the case against banks having trading operations.

How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?

The New York Times | Where did the economics profession go wrong in the lead-up to the crisis, and how can it gain its footing again? Paul Krugman has a tour-de-force exposition.

Henry Paulson’s Longest Night

Vanity Fair | As the financial crisis swirled through 2008, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was talking to Todd Purdum, giving him a real-time view of his thinking, embargoed until Paulson left office.

Finance: Before the Next Meltdown

Democracy Journal | What's wrong with financial innovation? Plenty, argue Simon Johnson and James Kwak in a thoughtful piece in Democracy Journal.

Overmighty Finance Levies a Tithe on Growth

The Financial Times | Benjamin Friedman looks at a closely related topic in the Financial Times, exploring whether a large financial sector is necessary for economic growth.

The Confidence Game

Project Syndicate | Harvard Economist Kenneth Rogoff explains how people have reached the wrong conclusions from the collapse of Lehman Brothers--and argues that the unwinding of global economic imbalances has only begun.

How Will Unemployment Fare Post-Recession?

Kansas City Fed | Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City economists Edward S. Knotek II and Stephen Terry examine the evidence on what will happen to unemployment following the recession--and reach less than sunny conclusions.

No More Perks

Wall Street Journal | A sign of the times: New York coffee shops are pushing back against unemployed people who occupy a table all day, nursing coffee while honing their resumes.

Exit the Czar

New York Magazine | A story that goes deep on Steve Rattner's role in constructing the bailout of the auto industry.

In Defense of the Dismal Science

The Economist | University of Chicago Economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas defends the economics profession from its detractors, who criticize its failure to foresee the economic crisis.

Why Oh Why Can't We Have Better Nobel Laureates in Economics

And Berkeley economist Brad Delong attacks Lucas, in characteristically biting manner, for Lucas's inconsistencies.

Why Are Banks Holding So Many Excess Reserves?

New York Fed | Economists at the New York Fed explain why banks have so much money parked at the central bank with some helpful examples.

Home Crisis Investigation

The Daily Show | The comedy show has fun with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s difficulties selling his house outside New York (and its rather unattractive bathroom tiles).