Economics for the Intelligent Amateur

The German Finance Minister, Peer Steinbrück, recently had an interview with the BBC during which he said that Germany “must decrease its dependence on foreign trade”.
He goes on to say: “We have to strengthen our internal, our domestic demand in Germany… to reduce this dependency on foreign trade,”
Of course, Germany is the top [...]

“The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.”
It seems as though the Chinese leaders are interpreting this Confucian quote according to their needs, but the Chinese people are showing they understand much more than given credit for.
The Economist reports on the [...]

Gloss at any Economics or Business best-seller list these days, and you will see a sign of the times. While the year 2000 brought us The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door, by William Danko and Thomas Stanley (Stanley kept busy) and Jack, by Jack Welch, 2006 brought us Why [...]

The “Great Recession” has generated a great deal of uncertainty. Markets are in turmoil, so are many countries’ economies. People are trying to make it through this turmoil, knowing that once the dust settles the landscape could be very different from how it was before. Could the United States, and possibly Europe [...]

After receiving approval from the SEC, Prosper.com is running again. We have already sung its praise, and we are happy to read that more people are using it now.
As a reminder Prosper.com is a peer-to-peer lending network. People can post what they need and for what endeavor. They will also [...]