Summary: Testing The Theory of Multitasking: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment in Chinese Factories (Hong)

The following is a brief summary of a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research on the effects of bonus-pay schemes in firms where workers’ output is judged on multiple dimensions including quality. Principal-agent relations present an omnipresent feature to modern economies. The fundamental issue is that the worker (the agent) hasContinue reading “Summary: Testing The Theory of Multitasking: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment in Chinese Factories (Hong)”

Third Quarter, 2019

The U.S. economy extended its record long expansion into the third quarter of 2019 as real GDP increased 1.9 percent and beat market expectations.  The increase reflected positive contributions from PCE, government spending, residential fixed investment and exports; negative contributions from nonresidential fixed investment and private inventory investment partially offset those gains.[1] American consumers continueContinue reading “Third Quarter, 2019”

November 2019: Nonfarm payrolls and ISM Report

Nonfarm employers added 266,000 jobs to their payrolls in November and the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.5 percent. Hiring in November sped up after slowing down the two previous months.[1] Manufacturing added 54,000 jobs, mostly due to the impact of workers returning from the strike at General Motors. Real hourly earnings remained stagnant, increasingContinue reading “November 2019: Nonfarm payrolls and ISM Report”

Housing Market: Buy or Hold

This article was originally written in June, 2019 Thinking about buying a house? Consider using the Fed’s “wait and see” strategy as your guide. Six months ago we expected to see the Fed push rates higher several times this year. However, recent data and a change in tone indicates we may be approaching a rateContinue reading “Housing Market: Buy or Hold”

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