Who could have predicted ...

... That car prices would rise?  The photo is from the USA today ..

Well, this is actually a good question for discussing economics.   When Cash for Clunkers destroyed perfectly good used cars, the supply of used cars decreased, causing an increase in prices for used cars.  

Then, when we have higher prices for used cars - which are a substitute for new cars - this would cause demand for new cars to go up (which causes higher prices for new cars).  This may not be the only cause of higher prices for new cars  - perhaps Japan's lack of production with the tsunami decreased supply as well - but it should be one of them.

I should use this for an exam question ... Will have to work hard to disguise my disgust for the law that helped cause this, however.

Great Interviews Putting this Recession in Perspective

Russ Roberts interviews John Taylor, who is an eminent economist at Stanford.  These interviews are absolutely outstanding for examining this recession (and recovery) and comparing to past recessions/recoveries.  

The total time is about 20 minutes.  

Here is part 1:

Here is part 2:

Discrimination in Higher Education ... Lawsuit Edition

Link here

"Wagner, an Iowa law school alum who had worked for the Family Research Council and the National Right to Life Committee, worked part-time at the law school's writing center. Twice, she applied for full-time positions. Twice, despite positive reviews and being the most qualified applicant, she was rejected. So she sued."

I will be curious to see what happens.

Another story on Economic Impact Review

Another media outlet has reported on on Economic Impact Review.

I did a radio interview with them, and I think my quotes look pretty bad in print, but they probably sounded OK for the radio interview.  Unfortunately, all I have here is the link to the article.

P.S. Economic Impact Review now has a page up with links to many economic impact studies done on national parks, state parks, and other recreation areas.  Link is here.  Within the next week we should have our first few reviews of these studies posted.

Economic Impact Review in the News

The Youngstown Vindicator writes about my website, Economic Impact Review.

Here's part of the story - for more, the link is here:

“It only takes a small assumption to create a result that is much higher or lower,” said Matthew Rousu, associate professor of economics at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., and creator of a website designed to evaluate such studies.

Confusion and bias among those economic reports led to the site’s creation. The Economic Impact Review will post and review economic impact studies.

Though the initial emphasis is on Marcellus Shale studies, the plan is to expand the reviews to other economic-impact reports.

The site is not funded by the oil and gas industry or by any environmental group, Rousu said.