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Purchasing-power parity is like a special calculator that helps economists compare different countries' currencies based on how much stuff you can buy with them.  Imagine you have a $10 bill, and you want to buy some candy. In the United States, that $10 might get you 10 candy bars.

Economic indicators give a sense of an economy’s present state.  But even coincident indicators offer only a model of reality.  Enter forward-looking indicators.  These are measures which have historically given a glimpse into things to come. If you think quantifying the current state of an economy is difficult, predicting its future is much more so.

Olympic events always have favored athletes, but the contests must be completed to know who really was the best at a particular moment.  Lots of money is on the line, especially in America.  To win often means a life of more publicity and even marketing deals.  For surprise winners, they’re happy to have the opportunity to prove themselves.  The Olympics would be borin

The notion of control is a comforting illusion.  The chaos of reality can feel overwhelming at times, so draping a veil over it can create the semblance of order.  Instead, the best we can all likely hope for is influence over outcome but rarely if ever full control.  Economics is a perfect example of this lack of control.  There is no single puppeteer masterfully choregraph

Americans push limits. It is an integral piece of our nation’s DNA and arguably part of what makes our nation exceptional.  Unfortunately, not all limit-pushing is good. Perhaps this note pushes a certain limit, and its result is less than pleasing (you be the judge), but let’s try anyway.

Have you ever had someone say to you, “I’m fine” and not really believe that was the case?  If we were in a room, you’d see my hand go up.  You can often tell by the person’s tone or look that it may not be true. 

As the Fourth of July approached, America’s sky prepared to display vividly colored fireworks in rhythmic fashion, a spectacle that reminds one of the ebbs and flows of our economy.  Just as fireworks launch into the night, so too does our economic activity, bursting with energy and brightness during periods of prosperity.

Economics is sometimes accused of physics envy, and this note will do nothing to dispel that.  Halloween is months away, but pumpkin seeds on my wife’s farm have been and continue to be sown.  Meanwhile, strange tales are coming from the University of Rochester New York where quantum physicists are experimenting with small building blocks of reality called particles, helping con

Atlas likes to poke fun at the Federal Reserve from time to time because it employs so many PhDs yet doesn’t have complete mastery over how the economy behaves.  One only needs to think about the “transitory” period of inflation as an example of their limited power.  You may recall that Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Open Market Committee, used the term for mont

California has been the birthplace of many cultural and economic trends that have rippled across the globe.  From the laid-back style of skate culture to the free-spirited boho chic, and the timeless cool of the denim jacket, California's influence on fashion is undeniable. California is the state that made black turtleneck shirts cool for a little while.