en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Simon
3 corrections found
In 2008, the price of crude oil reached $100 per barrel, a level last attained in the 1860s (inflation adjusted).
This is incorrect: in inflation-adjusted terms, the previous peak that 2008 surpassed was in 1980, not the 1860s.
Full reasoning
A Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas article summarizing 2008 oil-price history states that crude oil first topped $100 per barrel on February 19, 2008 and then rose past $103.76 about two weeks later, "surpassing the previous inflation-adjusted peak, established in 1980." That directly contradicts the article's claim that the comparable inflation-adjusted level had last been reached in the 1860s.
So while 2008 did see oil reach $100 per barrel, the statement about that level being last attained in the 1860s is wrong according to the Federal Reserve source.
1 source
- Crude awakening: behind the surge in oil prices | Fed in Print
The first few months of 2008 saw crude oil prices breach one barrier after another. They topped $100 a barrel for the first time on Feb. 19, then rose past $103.76 about two weeks later, surpassing the previous inflation-adjusted peak, established in 1980.
Since then prices were relatively stable (below $50).
This is outdated and incorrect. Crude oil prices rose above $50 soon after 2015 and were far higher in later years.
Full reasoning
U.S. Energy Information Administration data contradict this sentence.
- EIA reported that Brent crude ended 2016 at $54/barrel, already above the article's claimed "below $50" ceiling.
- EIA also reported that Brent averaged $101/barrel in 2022 and $83/barrel in 2023.
Because prices exceeded $50 as early as 2016 and remained well above that level in later years, it is not accurate to say that since the end of 2015 prices were "relatively stable (below $50)."
2 sources
- Crude oil prices increased in 2016, still below 2015 averages - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Although the annual average West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price in 2016 was $43/b... the WTI price ended 2016 at $53/b... Similarly, Brent ended the year up $17 from the end of 2015, at $54/b.
- Brent crude oil prices averaged $19 per barrel less in 2023 than 2022 - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
The price of Brent crude oil averaged $83 per barrel (b) in 2023, down from $101/b in 2022.
American Economics Association
The organization is misnamed here. Its official name is the American Economic Association.
Full reasoning
The article names the organization as the "American Economics Association." The association's official website identifies it as the American Economic Association (AEA).
This is a naming error rather than a dispute about Simon's affiliations: the professional association exists, but its correct name is American Economic Association.
1 source
- About the AEA
The American Economic Association (AEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, scholarly association...