Here are the 20 most-viewed posts on Economics from the Top Down.
- The Dunning-Kruger Effect is Autocorrelation
Do unskilled people actually underestimate their incompetence?
- The Truth About Inflation
When it comes to inflation, economists get it wrong. Inflation is always and everywhere differential.
- Debunking the ‘Productivity-Pay Gap’
The 'productivity-pay gap' has nothing to do with productivity. Here's why.
- What Trait Affects Income the Most?
Ever wondered what trait most affects your income? Turns out it’s your rank in a hierarchy.
- Why America Won’t Be ‘Great’ Again
The rise and fall of empires is written in the language of energy. Let's have a look at this 'energy book' and see why America won't be 'great' again.
- Peak Oil Never Went Away
Peak oil was all the rage a decade ago. Now nobody's talking about it. The funny thing is, it's still happening.
- Stocks Are Up. Wages Are Down. What Does it Mean?
The US is in uncharted territory. Never before have stocks been so high relative to wages. Here's what it means.
- No, Productivity Does Not Explain Income
The idea that income is proportional to productivity is a thought virus that needs to die.
- Why Isn’t Modern Monetary Theory Common Knowledge?
I’ve always been baffled that modern monetary theory is called a ‘theory’. Why don’t we just call it ‘the way money is’?
- The Ritual of Capitalization
I take a detailed look at the quantitative ritual that orders our social world.
- Can the World Get Along Without Natural Resources?
I dissect how neoclassical economics treats (neglects) natural resources, and discuss ways to fix it.
- Do High Interest Rates Reduce Inflation? A Test of Monetary Faith
According to economic orthodoxy, higher interest rates reduce inflation. In this post, I hold your monetary faith to the fire. Can it survive?
- Supply and Demand Deconstructed
In a new video, Jonathan Nitzan demolishes the neoclassical theory of prices. Here's a summary and some consequences.
- Productivity Does Not Explain Wages
Wages correlate with firms' sales per worker. Does this mean that productivity explains wages? The answer is no.
- The Free Market as a Double Lie
What if the free market has never been about freedom?
- As We Exhaust Our Oil, It Will Get Cheaper But Less Affordable
As we run out of oil, many people believe that its price will skyrocket. But I think the opposite will happen. Oil prices will plummet … yet oil will grow increasingly unaffordable.
- Deconstructing Econospeak
I built a bot that counts word frequency. Here's what it says about the language in economics textbooks.
- How the Labor Theory of Value Emerges from Egalitarianism
Karl Marx declared that all value stems from labor. Was he right?
- The Rise of Human Capital Theory
What's the most pernicious scientific idea ever? I'd give first prize to eugenics and second prize to human capital theory.
- A Case Study of Fossil-Fuel Depletion
I crunch the numbers on oil-and-gas depletion in Alberta.