Econ in English

Promoting Economic Literacy

Teaching and Opportunity Costs

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“American teachers are underpaid.” That’s how Professor Dick Startz begins his recent article, "Teacher Pay Around the World." He goes on to describe how, compared to other members of the OECD, the ratio of American teachers’ salaries to those offered in alternative career paths is quite low. In fact, on average, American teachers make roughly two-thirds of what their peers in other careers make. To make this more concrete, consider two students graduating from the same college at the same … [Read more...]

Right-to-Work: How We Got Here

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Image: By Justin Ormont (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] Right-to-work laws returned to public discourse in February 2011 when Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin proposed Act 10 to cut Wisconsin’s budget. Act 10 was not itself a right-to-work law, but it contained many of the same ideas and goals such as restricting the collective bargaining power of unions. Act 10 shocked the country because Wisconsin had always been a union stronghold. It caused many … [Read more...]

What next? Economic implications of Brexit

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BRITAIN STUNS WORLD WITH VOTE TO LEAVE E.U. is the headline on the New York Times homepage.  Stock markets plunged, the values of the pound sterling and of the euro relative to the dollar fell sharply, and Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign by October. So, where do we go from here?  I'll discuss this question with Roshini Rajkumar on WCCO Radio this Sunday at 12:35 CDT. For now, three items bear watching in the coming days and weeks. Article 50 You’ll hear this … [Read more...]

Germany and the EU

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Have you ever wondered why Germany seems to be so important in the European Union? Watch this video where Dr. Louis Johnston explains Germany's relationship with the European Union. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MUMvQaQsgg&feature=youtu.be … [Read more...]