Category Archives: Economics

A PSYCHOLOGY JOURNAL BANS THE USE OF SIGNIFICANCE TESTS.

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Philip

A PSYCHOLOGY JOURNAL BANS THE USE OF SIGNIFICANCE TESTS. I have posted, including here and here, about how scientists can rig statistical tests to make it easier to show that a result is “statistically significant” (that is, that the result … Continue reading →

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WHEN ANNOUNCING A GOAL IS ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE IT.

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Philip

WHEN ANNOUNCING A GOAL IS ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE IT. Some 50 years ago, when I was studying economics, the field of development economics was coming into existence. A fundamental question for research was what countries should do to grow. It … Continue reading →

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OVERWHELMING POPULAR SUPPORT FOR GREECE’S NEGOTIATING STRATEGY.

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Philip

OVERWHELMING POPULAR SUPPORT FOR GREECE’S NEGOTIATING STRATEGY. This article on Reuters by Deepa Babington and Karolina Tagaris shows that the negotiating strategy of the new Greek government headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is extremely popular. They say: “An opinion … Continue reading →

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AN APPRAISAL OF GREECE’S NEGOTIATING STRATEGY.

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Philip

AN APPRAISAL OF GREECE’S NEGOTIATING STRATEGY. I posted here about the new crisis over whether Greece will leave the Eurozone. I noted that these “chicken games” often result in negotiated settlements and also that some of the Greek negotiating tactics … Continue reading →

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COMPARING AMERICA’S NEW ARISTOCRACY WITH BRITAIN’S OLD ONE.

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Philip

COMPARING AMERICA’S NEW ARISTOCRACY WITH BRITAIN’S OLD ONE. The Economist (January 24-30) had a cover story on “America’s New Aristocracy” which is devoted to worries about “meritocracy”, a term coined by a British sociologist in the 1950’s. The lead article … Continue reading →

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IS GREXIT A CHICKEN GAME? (COMMENT).

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Philip

IS GREXIT A CHICKEN GAME? (COMMENT). I posted recently on the new negotiations between Greece and the European Union, and Dick Weisfelder commented here that the new Grexit crisis possibly should not be considered a chicken game because the two … Continue reading →

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PATTERNS IN ROCK PAPER SCISSORS AND IN FOOTBALL.

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Philip

PATTERNS IN ROCK PAPER SCISSORS AND IN FOOTBALL. I note that Mark Cuban, in this article by John Breech (February 5), supports my post yesterday about Seattle’s using an element of randomness in its play calling in the last 26 … Continue reading →

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REDUCING THE MURDER RATE IN CHICAGO.

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Philip

REDUCING THE MURDER RATE IN CHICAGO. David Bernstein and Noah Isackson had an investigative report on Chicago’s crime statistics in Chicago magazine (April 7, 2014). They led off the article with the story of a woman whose body had been … Continue reading →

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BEACHY HEAD—CUTTING THE SUICIDE RATE IN HALF.

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Philip

BEACHY HEAD—CUTTING THE SUICIDE RATE IN HALF. Megan McArdle told the Beachy Head story here on the Bloombergview site. Beachy Head is a town in England that has dramatic cliffs. Because of the cliffs, it had a high suicide rate. … Continue reading →

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WHY ANNOUNCE AN AUTO RECALL ON A SATURDAY?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Philip

WHY ANNOUNCE AN AUTO RECALL ON A SATURDAY? I often see references to what is apparently a Washington cliche: bad news is released on a Friday or Saturday because Saturday and Sunday are slow newsdays. On Saturday January 31 the … Continue reading →

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