Weekend reading

This is a weekly post we’ll publish every Friday with links to articles we think anyone interested in equitable growth should read. We won’t be the first to share these articles, but we hope by taking a look back at the whole week we can put them in context.

Is the growth problem secular? Or is it stagnation?

Greg Ip asks whether our current growth problem is secular, due to supply-side structural changes, or stagnation, due to demand-side cyclical problems. The answer has big implications for monetary policy going forward. [free exchange (opens in a new tab)]

John Hilsenrath riffs off Ip’s post and wonders if the Federal Reserve Board missed the secular supply-side issues during the 2001-2007 business cycle and set the wrong course for interest rates. [wsj (opens in a new tab)]

The problem of the long-term unemployed

The Fed also needs to consider the fate of the long-term unemployed. Can monetary policy bring them back into the labor market? Or have they been locked out? After their meeting this past week, the Federal Open Market Committee appears to think the long-term unemployed aren’t lost yet. [wsj (opens in a new tab) and wonkblog (opens in a new tab)]

These are the days of our lives

Danielle Kurtzleben looks at what Americans do doing during their day. The graph on how working parents spend their time is particularly enlightening. [vox (opens in a new tab)]

And Ben Casselman takes a look at how the unemployed spend their time. [fivethirtyeight (opens in a new tab)]

Time is money and poor Americans don’t have much of either. The problems caused by time poverty. [nyt (opens in a new tab)]

Maybe the kids are alright

An end to the Chinese Credit Party?

Is the period of strong credit growth over in China? Here are three takes:

• Jamil Anderlini looks at the Chinese shadow banking system. [ft (opens in a new tab)]
• David Keohane wonders about local government backstops. [alphaville (opens in a new tab)]
• The World Bank’s chief economist is worried about the bubble bursting. [wsj (opens in a new tab)]