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Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

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61–70 of 141 posts

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#61
George Gammon on YouTube has easy to understand (maybe too simplified for engineers) videos on macroeconomic topics. There's a bit of conspiratorial/doomsday spin to the content (probably to get more views), but if you can look past hyperbole, you may find the rest very informative and helpful.

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#62
"Properly" is a debatable term in the world of economics since its not a hard science. The best we can hope for is to gather many different perspectives and combine them into a reasonable blended average.

If it helps you at all, I just published a new post on rising interest rates, what effects they might have and how you might cope better with them: https://ericvanular.com/rising-interest-rates

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#63

"Properly" is a debatable term in the world of economics since its not a hard science. The best we can hope for is to gather many different perspectives and combine them into a reasonable blended average. If it helps you at all, I just published a new post on rising interest rates, what effects they might have and how you might cope better with them: https://ericvanular.com/rising-interest-rates

Pick up a Mankiw textbook for Macro 101. Avoid anything from George Mason and affiliates like FEE as they are ideologues in their approach.

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#64

Greg Mankew’s textbook is the best for intro imo. Not cheap. https://www.amazon.com/Macroeconomics-N-Gregory-Mankiw-ebook...

Widely distributed as a pdf if you're not interested in funding Mankiw. Thst said, I think it is one of the better introductions to the topic.

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#65
post #53

Economics is an arena full of entrenched interests who exploit information asymmetry and regulatory capture to compete, at multiple scale factors. It is my strongly held opinion that rational analysis of "Economics" is not possible. You've got the global scale, where nations compete, best described by Beau of the Fifth Column as a game of poker where everyone cheats to gain power. You've got the corporate scale, wher…

To attach some further cynicism to this comment: The going rate to buy a "respectable" politician appears to be donations in the $10k to $1 million range. Buying an economist is going to be much cheaper than that. Anyone with a bit of money behind them can pay for any sort of economics they like. Note that many famous economists are vulnerable to financial or political influence. It is not a safe field for uncovering…

I don't think your logic works. It ought to be very cheap to buy a climate scientist too, but despite that the oil industry has failed to produce a substantial number of climate scientists who don't say anthropogenic climate change is real. Economists have broad agreement on issues like rent control (they don't like it) and carbon pricing (they do like it), and that still counts for something.

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#68
Not an economist but majored in economics for undergrad, including macro, international, and public economics.

I think it's great for people to learn about macro but I don't think you're going to get what you are looking for out of this with regards to investing- economists are generally good at studying and trying to explain why things happened in the past. Like any other group of people, they're not very good at predicting the future, and certainly not the stock market.

Among the most amusing wrong predictions to me is a theory that was gaining steam in 2006 was that there hadn't been a recession in a while, since the dot-com bubble, maybe because newer companies would do all their design and research for themselves but outsource the manufacturing, so could withstand decreases in demand. And as a result, maybe there just wouldn't be any more significant recessions in the US.

Re: Ask HN: How can I learn macroeconomics properly?

#70
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To attach some further cynicism to this comment: The going rate to buy a "respectable" politician appears to be donations in the $10k to $1 million range. Buying an economist is going to be much cheaper than that. Anyone with a bit of money behind them can pay for any sort of economics they like. Note that many famous economists are vulnerable to financial or political influence. It is not a safe field for uncovering…

I don't think your logic works. It ought to be very cheap to buy a climate scientist too, but despite that the oil industry has failed to produce a substantial number of climate scientists who don't say anthropogenic climate change is real. Economists have broad agreement on issues like rent control (they don't like it) and carbon pricing (they do like it), and that still counts for something.

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