Category Archives: Economics

AN ECONOMIST MEASURES THE USE OF “AND”.

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Philip

AN ECONOMIST MEASURES THE USE OF “AND”. Economists like to measure things. When Paul Romer thought that his research staff at the World Bank was using “and” too much, he told the staff: “To drive home the importance of focus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

PAUL ROMER AND THE USE OF “AND”.

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Philip

PAUL ROMER AND THE USE OF “AND”. This post by Tyler Cowen on Marginal Revolution gives some more background on Romer’s clash with the World Bank staff. Romer objected to bank staff members trying to pile their own pet projects … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

A REBELLION BY ECONOMISTS AGAINST CLEAR COMMUNICATION?

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Philip

A REBELLION BY ECONOMISTS AGAINST CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS? Make of this what you will. After the 2016 article, Romer gave up his position as manager of the research department at the World Bank. This article by Andrew Mayeda at the Bloomberg … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Leave a comment

ROMER’S VIVID WRITING ABOUT MACROECONOMICS.

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Philip

ROMER’S VIVID WRITING ABOUT MACROECONOMICS. The joint Nobel Prize to Romer is a little surprising because Romer is a fierce controversialist and must have made many intellectual enemies. I posted here about Romer’s 2016 article which began by saying about … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Politics | Leave a comment

WILLIAM NORDHAUS AND PAUL ROMER HAVE WON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS.

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Philip

WILLIAM NORDHAUS AND PAUL ROMER HAVE WON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS. Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution has good short summaries of the careers of Nordhaus and Romer. I have posted several times on Romer, never on Nordhaus.

Posted in Economics, History, Politics | Leave a comment

RECYCLING GLOSSY MAGAZINES.

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Philip

RECYCLING GLOSSY MAGAZINES. The Economist (September 29, 2018) had a special section devoted to recycling waste. The section cites Scott Smithline, who oversees recycling at California’s Environmental Protection Agency, to the effect that “many people do not know what is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Science | Leave a comment

A STATE OF THE ART STATISTICAL STUDY OF EATING A MARSHMALLOW.

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Philip

A STATE OF THE ART STATISTICAL STUDY OF EATING A MARSHMALLOW. Tyler Cowen at the Marginal Revolution website linked to a study of “delay discounting” at the Frontiers of Psychology website. The paper is by William Hampton, Nima Asadi, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN ECONOMICS RETRACTS HIS ENDORSEMENT OF SOME STATISTICAL STUDIES.

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Philip

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN ECONOMICS RETRACTS HIS ENDORSEMENT OF SOME STATISTICAL STUDIES. One of the changes that has occurred in the last ten years in the use of statistics is the increased emphasis on whether a study can be replicated. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Science | Leave a comment

ENFORCING THE LAW IN NEW YORK IN 1968.

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Philip

ENFORCING THE LAW IN NEW YORK IN 1968. When I moved to New York about fifty years ago, another young lawyer, who had lived in or near New York City all his life, gave me some background information on how … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Politics | Leave a comment

WHY DON’T LOCAL GOVERNMENTS RAISE THE PRICE OF PARKING TO GET RID OF CONGESTION?

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Philip

WHY DON’T LOCAL GOVERNMENTS RAISE THE PRICE OF PARKING TO GET RID OF CONGESTION? I have posted several times about my first lesson in economics, I repeat it often: “There is no shortage of parking in Evanston. The problem is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Leave a comment