With the housing crisis, the high cost of gasoline, the slide of the US dollar, inflation and unemployment rates creeping up, the economy has been in the news a lot in recent months. Keeping tabs on where the economy is going and the impact it will have on the label converter can be very challenging. Luckily, there is plenty of help with literally thousands of blogs devoted to this topic. Here is a review of five of the most popular economics blogs.

Greg Mankiw's Blog (http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/)

Greg Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard and his blog is one of the most popular economics blogs. You might think a Harvard professor would write esoteric dissertations on highly complex economic issues that only the learned few could understand. Nothing could be further from the truth, which probably helps explain the popularity of this blog. He writes in simple language that any high school student could understand. Mankiw is a prolific blogger, writing virtually every day, often though a post is just a quick reference to an article he has read elsewhere. He doesn't try to hide his politics, and many of his posts cross the line from economics into politics. Regardless of your political persuasion, you will learn a lot about the economy by reading his blog.

EconLog (http://econlog.econlib.org/)

EconLog has been recognized by Forbes magazine as the premier economics blog. It is part of the Library of Economics and Liberty (EconLib), a free market think tank dedicated to advancing the study of economics, markets and liberty. Authors Arnold Kling and Bryan Caplan provide lively discussion on a broad range of topics such as the high price of gasoline, health care, the environment, financial markets, social security, and economic growth. Subscribers to this blog are rewarded with some of the most interesting and thought provoking writing out there.

The Adam Smith Institute Blog (http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/)

The work of Adam Smith is alive and well in the blogosphere more than 200 years after his death. The Adam Smith Institute is the UK's leading innovator of free market economic and social policies. Its blog attempts to reflect non-partisanship, although the authors' political views are often quite apparent.  Recent posts have discussed the European Union's views on free trade, the state of the National Health Service, and the future of London as a financial hub. One cool feature this blog has is     that it regularly features a roundup of news from other economics blogs from around the world.

The Angry Bear (http://angrybear.blogspot.com/)

Most of the blogs I read while researching this column (including the three above) lean to the right politically. However, the Angry Bear describes itself as a "slightly left of center economic commentary on news, politics, and the economy." This blog started in February 2003, which is ancient as far as blogs go, by someone who refers only to himself or herself as AB (as in Angry Bear). Today, AB no longer writes for the blog, instead there's a team of around 10 bloggers who contribute regularly. What is great about the Angry Bear blog is that it promotes a lively discussion with many blog posts receiving more than 50 comments from readers.

Freakonomics Blog (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/)

Freakonomics is the name of a 2005 book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen Dubner. It has been described as a blend of pop culture and economics. The Freakonomics blog is by the same authors and is far and away the most popular economics blog. It is among the top 50 most read blogs on the planet. Part of the New York Times collection of blogs, the tagline for the Freakonomics blog is "The Hidden Side of Everything." Recent posts have discussed the honor system payment scheme pioneered by the rock band Radiohead last year, the recent increase in income volatility, and the fight against global warming. If you want an economics blog that is irreverent, reflects popular culture, and is fun and easy to read, then Freakonomics is for you.

Peter Renton is the founder of Lightning Labels Inc., an all-digital label printer in Denver, CO, USA. He is also the co-author of the company's blog at blog.lightninglabels.com.