Weekend reading: “Luck of the Irish GDP” edition

Equitable Growth round-up

The latest Irish gross domestic product figures might make you think the domestic economy was growing at a rip-roaring rate. But in fact, the data show large inflows into an economy  because the country’s tax-haven status can inflate GDP figures, Matt Markevich argues.

Earlier this week, Equitable Growth announced our third round round of grantees. Bridget Ansel runs through this year’s grantees and the research projects that Equitable Growth will help fund.

Today, Equitable Growth is hosting a convening on the creation of new datasets that link data on the distribution of income and data on growth in gross domestic product. Nisha Chikhale and John Schmitt discuss (opens in a new tab) the convening and what will come out of it.

Links from around the web

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve seem ready to get back to their “normalization” process and raise interest rates. But will they be able to? David Beckworth says the Fed is trapped in a “rate hike talk cycle.” [macro and other musings (opens in a new tab)]

The sorry state of productivity growth in the United States might continue for quite some time. At least that’s the argument from economist Robert Gordon in his book “The Rise and Fall of American Growth.” Timothy B. Lee interviews Gordon about his views. [vox (opens in a new tab)]

Despite weak productivity growth, we’ve seen quite a bit of digital innovation in the United States is recent years. But many of these products are offered free to consumers. Can our measures of GDP handle these changes? Timothy Taylor writes up a paper looking at this question. [conversable economist (opens in a new tab)]

Some U.S. cities are much better at turning demand for housing into new homes and therefore more affordable housing. But what reduces the responsiveness in some cities? Emily Badger looks at some research that points to building permit delays. [wonkblog (opens in a new tab)]

After years of consensus against capital controls, this policy tool is now being debated as a viable option for some countries. Matthew Klein dives into the debate by looking at the example of Spain over the past decade or so. [ft alphaville (opens in a new tab)]

Friday figure

View Fullscreenthis figure — opens in a new tab

Figure from “Ireland’s spectacular economic growth reveals a stark truth about corporate tax avoidance” by Matt Markezich