All Stefan Karlsson
Are free markets the secret to Sweden's success?Sweden stopped outperforming other countries after a dramatic leftist shift in economic policies, Karlsson writes.
US unemployment is worse than the headlines sayThe United States publishes two employment numbers: one based on a survey of employers ("the payroll survey") and one based on a survey of households. The household survey gets more ink, but its proven itself unreliable.
Are attacks on the Romney/Ryan budget fair?Leftists have been attacking the Romney/Ryan budget plan from the moment Paul Ryan was chosen as Mitt Romney's running mate. But some of their critiques could easily apply to Democrats.
Deficits fall in southern Europe. Progress?Any deficit is a bad deficit, but Italy, Portugal, and Greece are taking bug strides in reducing their national debts.
The fairy tale of British spending cutsCritics blame David Cameron's spending cuts for causing another recession. What spending cuts?
The 'savings glut' question, resurrectedThere had been some discussion about whether bubbles in the US and European markets were caused by a global savings glut in Asia. Stefan Karlsson says no, citing the economic woes in Japan as compared to market health in Australia.
Japan's employment: fewer people, fewer jobsJapan's employment rate isn't falling for economic reasons. Population shifts are causing it.
British economic growth is weaker than it looksAt first glance, Britain's GDP numbers look impressive. Throw population growth into the mix, and not so much.
US jobs added, but report details aren't so rosyThe US payroll survey showed an increase in jobs by 165,000 but the household survey tells a different story.
London Olympics won't save the UK's economyThe London Olympics will bring tourism money and higher prices, but it won't be enough to ebb the tide of economic decline for Britain.
Estonian AustrianismBuilding off of his previous posts on the recovery of Estonia's economy, Stefan Karlsson explains how one should strive for the GDP to be at least as high and unemployment at least as low as then.
Bullish in Britain: Will lower inflation boost the UK economy?The British pound's appreciation relative to a struggling euro means that inflation in the country is finally starting to decrease. Some economists are taking this as a sign the UK market may be turning a corner, as it signals an increase in consumer purchasing power.
For better or worse? Making sense of Ireland's economic progress.Ireland released its latest economic reports last week, and there's good news and bad news. On the one hand, Ireland's economy is no longer contracting; on the other, it isn't recovering at the same speed as some of its northern European neighbors.
Paul Krugman versus Paul KrugmanPaul Krugman of the 1970s argued that devaluations are usually contractionary. Ironically, this conclusion puts him at odds with Paul Krugman of the last 20 years, who thinks devaluations are the one true key to prosperity.
Do Canada's non-Germanic speakers have higher unemployment?In European countries where multiple languages are spoken, regions dominated by Germanic language speakers often have lower unemployment rates than non-Germanic areas. This pattern is not seen in similarly multilingual Canada, however.
Update on Spanish unemployment shows regional discrepanciesAccording to first quarter numbers, there are several percentage points that separate the unemployment rates of northern and southern Spain. The gap between the regions is almost as large in percentage as the gap between Spain and Austria.
Regional differences in unemployment further hinder EU recoveryIt is well documented that there are big differences in unemployment within the European Union. What is perhaps less well known, however, is that dramatic differences in unemployment exist within many euro countries as well.
Baby bust: Germany's not-so-secret weaknessIn about 20 to 25 years or so the newest generation of young adults will become part of the labor force. As Germans born in the 1950s and 1960s retire in the coming decades, Germany will get a much smaller labor force than its neighbors.
Economists squabble over how to best assess recovery dataIceland has been used by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman as a poster child for economic recovery. But Stefan Karlsson again argues--this time with help from the Council on Foreign Relations--that Baltic countries may have better overall numbers.
Spain wins UEFA Euro 2012. Does good soccer mean a bad economy?As the UEFA Euro 2012 draws to a close, we wonder: Is there a negative correlation between a country's economic health and its success in soccer? Spain and Italy met in the UEFA Euro 2012 final last night, just as both nations are dealing with monetary struggles.
