> I would have expected progressive economists to stop using mindlessly > the unemployment measure all the time, but this obviously didn't happen: > my posts here and blog post are still alone in questionning this > ultimate faith in the sole and exclusive use of "unemployment measure" > for anything economics, eg:
I don't know of anyone on this list who "mindlessly" uses the official unemployment rate -- not to mention putting "ultimate faith" in the "sole and exclusive" use of this number. This seems like a "straw man" (i.e., a weak or sham argument set up to be easily refuted). And serious economists know that the more information, the better, so that the official U rate must be complemented by the employment/population ratio, etc., while disaggregating all of these. >Summers said one in five American men aged 25 to 54 are unemployed. < two questions: 1) did he really use the word "unemployed" here? (The term has a generally-accepted meaning of "lacking a job but actively looking for a new one," which does not mean that those who without jobs are not "unemployed" in this sense should be ignored.) 2) what about American women? don't they count? (not to mention those below 25 and (like myself) above 54.) -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
