The performance of stock markets during the coronavirus pandemic seems to defy logic - until one considers possible explanations based on crowd psychology.

We are feeling the anxiety effects of not one pandemic but two - the COVID-19 pandemic and a pandemic of anxiety about its economic consequences. The two are different, but inseparable.

An inflation target of a few percentage points may seem to promote stability - but we need to consider that it may have the opposite effect on the stability of our judgments.

There are now nearly 2,000 cryptocurrencies, and millions of people worldwide are excited by them. As with past monetary innovations, a compelling story may not be enough.

The time has come for national governments around the world to start issuing their debt in a new form, linked to their countries' resources.

The winner of this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago, is a controversial choice. For some in the profession, the idea that psychological research should even be part of economics has generated hostility for years.

Will alpha eventually go to zero for every imaginable investment strategy, as suggested by Swedroe & Berkin's The Incredible Shrinking Alpha? The idea of financial singularity may seem inspiring, but real world markets are nowhere close to it.

Those who warn of grave dangers if speculative price increases are allowed to continue are right, even if they can't prove there is cause for concern.

Just as it is hard to make a blockbuster film every time, no leader can consistently shape the narratives that affect the economy. But they need to try.

As one of the winners of this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, I'm acutely aware of criticism of the prize by those who claim that economics is not a science.