Course Description:
May 10: The Economics of Housing (NEW DATE)
What does economics have to say about the price of houses, and rents on houses and apartments? Quite a lot, it turns out. On many issues there’s a wide range of views among economists, but on housing issues there’s a consensus. In this talk, David R. Henderson will take you through the basic economics of housing. Topics will include: Supply and demand as the ultimate determinant of housing prices and rents. Is scarcity of land the main driver of high housing prices? Can rent controls solve the problem of high rents? Is “affordable housing,” the term used to describe the requirement that some percent of new housing developments be priced below market, the best way to expand housing supply? When people are allowed to build more “mansions,” does that do anything to help people who can’t afford mansions?
May 17: The Economics of Debt and Deficits
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that future federal budget deficits will consistently be well over $1 trillion annually. Each dollar of deficit adds a dollar to the federal debt. Many people have worried in the past about federal deficits and debt, and yet few of the major consequences people have worried about have come to pass. Is this time different? Economist David R. Henderson says it is. In this talk, he will cover the following topics: the history of federal government spending, tax revenues, budget deficits, and federal debt from the years after World War II to now; the amazing stability of tax revenues as a percent of GDP since the Korean War; the special problems of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; and, the possibility of at least a partial federal debt default in our lifetime.
*NEW DATES: MAY 10 & 17 (previously MAY 17 & 24)
