Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Weak retail sales and the danger of discounts

May 13, 2014
A new report shows that April's retail sales increased 0.1 percent.

Who You Gonna Call? Growthbusters!

Nov 10, 2011
How many times have you heard that the only way we can simultaneously reduce unemployment and pay down debt is to "grow our way out"? One gets th...

The Appalachian Trail Index

Oct 13, 2011
On Tuesday, David checked in on some unconventional economic indicators from early in the recession, and while researching, another unusual indic...

"The Department of Happiness"

Oct 10, 2011
The LA Times recently blogged about the possibility of a Department of Happiness: Someday in the not-too-distant future, the U.S. departments...

When There's Not Enough Time to (Celtic) Rock

Sep 20, 2011
Yesterday, we aired a story about Maryland's Genuine Progress Indicator, an alternative economic index that factors in hard-to-calculate variables...

Feeling Relaxed? Now Put a Price On It

Sep 19, 2011
Let's say you're outside, it's a warm summer afternoon, you're sipping an iced tea... no wait that has too much caffeine, better make it a lemonade...

Et tu, OECD?

May 24, 2011
You would have thought the venerable promoters of the global economy at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development would have been...

For public good, not for profit.

Survey: What Makes the British Happy?

Apr 5, 2011
Measuring happiness is no longer just for Bhutan; The United Kingdom is developing measures of "national well-being," and they're just finishing ...

Tsunami-Sized Shock to Japan's Gross Domestic Product

Mar 22, 2011
Just days after the triple calamity in Japan -- from earthquake to tsunami to radiation -- I found myself at an awkward turn in a conversation. I...

Alternative Indicator: Green GDP

Dec 3, 2010
The Green Gross Domestic Product is an economic growth index that quantifies and calculates the environmental consequences of that growth....