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In this article from Harper's Magazine, author Kevin Phillips argues that official federal policy has altered the way that the government collects and reports statistics in order to artificially lower the reported unemployment rate and the rate of inflation. This "Pollyanna creep" misleads governments, businesses, and individuals making decisions about the U.S. economy, which is in much worse shape than we realize.
Posted by Robin Gault
In late 2006 Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the [U.K.] Government Economic Service issued a comprehensive review, "The Economics of Climate Change." Stern describes his conclusions as "essentially optimistic... if we act now and act internationally." The report, along with critiques and responses, is available here.
Robin Gault
The March 23, 2007, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education has several articles on proposed solutions to the shortage of donor organs for transplantation. The use of "spare" kidneys from living donors has increased but is nowhere near meeting demand. One possible barrier to more transplants from living donors is that the donor is not compensated and in fact bears the cost of any ongoing health problems from the surgery. The idea of arranging for some time of payment has generated interest among economics and surgeons.
Posted by Robin Gault
Neuroeconomics combines neuroscience, economics, and psychology to study how we make choices. Specifically it looks at the role of the brain when we make decisions, categorize risks and rewards, and interact with each other. Jedediah Purdy of Duke University School of Law has posted The Promise (and Limits) of Neuroeconomics to SSRN.
Abstract:
Neuroeconomics — the study of brain activity in people engaged in tasks of reasoning and choice — looks set to be the next behavioral economics: a set of findings about how people make decisions that casts both light and doubt on widely accepted premises about rationality and social life. This essay explains what is most exciting about the new field and lays out some specific research tasks for it.
To read the full abstract or download the article click on the title above.
Posted by Jon Lutz
In a recent book by Richard Lanham The Economics of Attention: Style and Substance in the Age of
Information, Lanham suggests that in the future the most precious resource of the new information economy won't be information but style. There is so much information that it is style what will get peoples' attention. With this shift intellectual property will become more important than real property. The fields of liberal arts and humanities will become more important because they study how human attention is allocated.
Posted by Jon Lutz
We are hearing an increasing number of references to "peak oil," the theory that we have reached the point where, because oil is a finite resource, production will begin to decline and the cost of extracting oil will increase. The theory does not say that oil production will stop abruptly, but that decreasing supply coupled with increasing demand is likely to cause economic and social disruption. Useful nonpartisan websites for more information include the international Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, the ASPO-USA, EnergyBulletin, and the Peak Oil webpage set up by Congressmen Tom Udall (D-NM) and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). Not everyone is taking the prospect calmly. The introductory page at Life After the Oil Crash,the website of Hastings Law grad Matt Savinar, begins, "Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon."
Posted by Robin Gault
What can we learn about the likely policies of prospective Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke from the way he manages his own money? Plenty! Read about it here.
Posted by Trisha Simonds
"Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers
have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist." The Law Library owns this title as does Strozier, but both libraries have wait lists. Purchase your copy at Amazon.
Posted by Trisha Simonds
