Cities have faced a host of shocks throughout history, including earthquakes, hurricanes, coastal flooding, and storm surges, as well as wartime destruction, such as in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict. This column looks at one of the most dramatic events in history, the atomic bombing of the city of Hiroshima in Japan, to explore the mechanisms […]
Public debt-to-GDP ratios have climbed to historic highs in most advanced economies. This column studies the connection between productivity growth, fiscal policy, and public debt. Using a theoretical model, it argues that a feedback loop is possible between fiscal policy and growth. Large primary surpluses are associated with fiscal distortions which depress investment and productivity […]
Pseudo-wealth is a perception of wealth that is not backed by real economic resources. When people have widely different beliefs, they create ‘wealth’ through betting. This column describes how this perceived wealth can rapidly inflate or deflate without changing real economic fundamentals, leading to volatility in spending and potential economic instability. It raises the question […]
How do monetary policy shocks affect workers’ wages and employment? This column looks at the role that firms play in determining the wage and employment responses to such shocks. The authors show that, when it comes to employment, young firms are especially sensitive to monetary policy shocks, and that the wages of workers at large […]
