Category Archives: Economics

WHO GOT THE MF GLOBAL $1.2 BILLION?

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Philip

WHO GOT THE MF GLOBAL $1.2 BILLION? It has been months since MF Global filed for bankruptcy with an apparent $1.2 billion shortfall in customer funds that were supposed to kept separate from the company’s own funds. (James Giddens, the … Continue reading →

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THE STANDUP ECONOMIST ON MACROECONOMICS.

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Philip

THE STANDUP ECONOMIST ON MACROECONOMICS. Yoram Barzel, the standup economist, explained macroeconomics at a session of the American Economics Association annual meeting this year in Chicago. Here is a Youtube of it. There are a lot of in jokes for … Continue reading →

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THE STANDUP ECONOMIST ON POLITICS AND THE BUDGET.

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Philip

THE STANDUP ECONOMIST ON POLITICS AND THE BUDGET. I have posted here and here on Yoram Bauman, the Standup Economist. Here is his recent explanation of the budget deficit. The routine is more politics than economics. One of his points … Continue reading →

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STEALING USED GREASE.

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Philip

STEALING USED GREASE. I have posted here about the theft of the first cast iron building in New York City to resell the cast iron as scrap and here about the burning down of buildings in Saint Louis, Cleveland and … Continue reading →

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AN AGE OF BANK RUNS?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Philip

AN AGE OF BANK RUNS? Tyler Cowen at the Marginal Revolution economics site has a post on an article he wrote in the New York Times. He begins by saying that he asked some colleagues: “to identify the single most … Continue reading →

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THE DEFICIT CRISIS WAS NOT A CHICKEN GAME.

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Philip

THE DEFICIT CRISIS WAS NOT A CHICKEN GAME. I have posted several times about chicken games and how the debt ceiling crisis of last year was often portrayed as a chicken game both by journalists and participants. I posted here … Continue reading →

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“OLD-FASHIONED BOOM AND BUST”.

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Philip

“OLD-FASHIONED BOOM-AND-BUST”. Robert Samuelson had a recent Washington Post article (link via Realclearpolitics) about the explanations that have been given for the current economic crisis. He is still of the view that it resulted from an “old-fashioned boom and bust” … Continue reading →

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PRICING TO ELIMINATE PARKING SHORTAGES IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Philip

PRICING TO ELIMINATE PARKING SHORTAGES IN SAN FRANCISCO. When I posted here five years ago about how “There is no shortage of parking in Evanston”, I mentioned that San Francisco was experimenting with changing the price of parking. This New … Continue reading →

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GOVERNMENTS LETTING RAW SEWAGE EMPTY INTO WATERWAYS.

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Philip

GOVERNMENTS LETTING RAW SEWAGE EMPTY INTO WATERWAYS. This New York Times editorial discusses the problems raised by the fact that: “Like many older cities, New York has a combined sewer system where storm water and sewage are carried through the … Continue reading →

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WHY NATIONS FAIL.

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Philip

WHY NATIONS FAIL. The Economist (March 10) reviewed the new book by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, WHY NATIONS FAIL. The book takes on the explanation for why some countries have prospered in the last 300 years and others have … Continue reading →

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