Religion, Biology, Politics, and Economics: The Struggle of Reason with Emotion

1. Religion, Biology, Politics, and Economics: The Struggle of Reason with Emotion copies of this presentation can be found at www.business.duq.edu/faculty/davies

2. Trade and Per-Capita Income Conventional wisdom Trade leads to a shift in wealth from workers and consumers to multinational corporations, and from developing nations to developed nations.

3. Greater per-capita trade is associated with greater per-capita income. Source: International Financial Statistics, International Monetary Fund, December 2001

4. Distribution of Income Conventional wisdom Trade results in a concentration of income so that the few benefit dispro-portionately to the many.

5. Greater per-capita trade is associated with more equitable income distributions. Source:International Financial Statistics, International Monetary Fund, December 2001, and Measuring Income Inequality: A New Database, Deininger, Klaus, and Lyn Squire, World Bank, 2002

6. Gender Equality and Child Labor Conventional wisdom Trade results in the exploitation of women and children.

7. GDI measures quality of life (longevity, education, literacy, income) for women relative to men. Greater per-capita trade is associated with greater gender equality. Source:International Financial Statistics, International Monetary Fund, December 2001, and Human Development Report, United Nations Development Programme, 2002

8. Even among middle-lower and lower income countries, greater per-capita trade is associated with reduced child labor. Source: International Financial Statistics, International Monetary Fund, December 2001, and World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2002

9. Trade and Unemployment in the U.S. Conventional wisdom Trade destroys American jobs.

10. Greater trade is associated with reduced unemployment. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis

11. Trade and Unemployment in the U.S. Conventional wisdom Trade erodes Americans incomes.

12. Greater trade is associated with increased real wages. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis

13. Global Warming Conventional wisdom Global temperatures are rising at an alarming rate.

14. Over the period 1880-2003, global temperatures have risen, on average, by 1.1 degrees Celsius. Source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

15. Compared to the past 400,000 years, the current rise in global temperatures is neither extreme nor unexpected. Source: CDIAC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

16. CO2 Levels Cause Global Warming Conventional wisdom Global warming is due to man-made CO2 levels.

17. Source: www.johnstonsarchive.net/environment/co2table.html

18. Income Inequality Conventional wisdom The rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer.

19. Income Distribution for 1980 (in 2003$) Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006, Table 673.

20. Income Distribution for 2003 (in 2003$) Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006, Table 673.

21. U.S. Manufacturing Conventional wisdom The U.S. manufacturing sector is in decline.

22. Since 1948, employment in Services industries has grown by 50% while employment in Manufacturing industries has declined by 50%. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (via www.economy.com)

23. While the number of American jobs in manufacturing has been declining, American production of industrial goods has been rising. This implies that American manufacturing is becoming more efficient as it produces ever more output using less labor. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (via www.economy.com)

24. Minimum Wage Conventional wisdom Increases in the minimum wage help the poor.

25. Increases in the minimum wage are associated with increases in unemployment among the lesser educated. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, and Bureau of Labor Statistics

26. Increases in the minimum wage are not associated with increases in unemployment among the better educated. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, and Bureau of Labor Statistics

27. Price of Gasoline Conventional wisdom The price of gas is rising.

28. The price of gas rose more than seven-fold from 1967 through 2005. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2003 (Table 725), 1996 (Table 759) 1995 (Table 775).

29. Per-capita disposable income has risen more than ten-fold from 1967 through 2005. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (via www.economy.com).

30. For gas today to be as expensive as it was in 1967, gas would have to cost more than $3.25 per gallon. For gas today to be as expensive as it was in 1981, gas would have to cost $4.00 per gallon. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (via www.economy.com).

31. Social Security Conventional wisdom People need Social Security to insure they can survive retirement.

32. Expected tax payments and benefits reflect the likelihoods of employment and mortality. Expected annual Social Security tax payments Expected annual Social Security benefits Compiled from data published in 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Bureau of the Census, and provided by the Social Security Administration

33. Expected annual benefits from privatized account This chart assumes that 100% of the worker’s current Social Security taxes are diverted to a private investment account. Expected annual Social Security tax payments Compiled from data published in 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States, U.S. Bureau of the Census, and provided by the Social Security Administration

34. Religion, Biology, Politics, and Economics: The Struggle of Reason with Emotion copies of this presentation can be found at www.business.duq.edu/faculty/davies