Urban environmental concerns are often used as a justification for blocking new housing construction in major cities. New tall buildings may block out sunshine and impede others' views from their existing buildings. New housing may crowd out public gardens.
Suppose that people trusted strangers in urban areas. In this case, people would be more likely to use public parks, public transit, and perhaps even be willing to send their children to public schools. Private clubs, private transit and private schools have a "selection" effect of excluding others.
Resources for the Future will soon publish a book titled: "Zoned Out Regulation, Markets, and Choices in Transportation and Metropolitan Land Use" by Jonathan Levine. I'm not sure if Peter Gordon is going to love this book.
With everyone blogging about Ben Bernanke's virtues, I thought about going against the grain and asking why does the Fed need a boss who is an A+ academic economist? Robert Barro wrote a funny Wall Street Journal piece several years ago documenting that the economy grew the fastest when there was no
The world is urbanizing. I'm almost done writing a book on the environmental consequences of this trend. My "Green Cities" book explores whether urban growth mitigates or exacerbates local and global environmental indicators such as air pollution and greenhouse gas production.
In the mid-1990s, Al Gore and Larry Summers debated the merits and fairness of exporting trash to Africa. Could people in Africa be made better off if the United States sent them money and garbage? This issue is back in the news.
It is interesting to compare garbage to dirty manufacturing.
It is interesting to compare garbage to dirty manufacturing.
Today the New York Times published a pro-gas tax editorial. I agree with almost all of its substance except I’m confused by its first sentence.
Hurricane Katrina will offer an excellent test of George Akerlof’s work on adverse selection in the used car market. Over 500,000 vehicles in the New Orleans area were flooded. Used car buyers beware! You may be purchasing a “biohazard”.
Risk perception plays a key role in economic decision making both for consumers and producers. Post 9/11, people were afraid to fly and the airlines lost billions. Since the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, people have been afraid to live and work near "Ground Zero".
Foreign Affairs Magazine has made the wise move of displacing one more piece about Kissinger and actually allows an economist to speak his piece. In reviewing Ben Friedman's new book, Joe Stiglitz reveals himself to be an ethical economist. As a Chicago Economist, I was impressed.
Today was the day I dread every fall term. Am I the only micro teacher in the world who hates teaching our perfectly competitive model and monopolist model? Our job is to explain and predict human behavior.
The New York Times published a piece on 10/10/2005 documenting that Climate Change could sharply reduce the cost of shipping goods across continents because ships could pass through holes in the Artic Ice Caps.
Economists like to estimate production functions. The education production function literature asks whether students' test scores rise when more money is spent on inputs such as teachers.
In 2001 the Nobel Prize in economics was awarded for research on the consequences of asymmetric information. I don’t really care about the used car market but I do care about urban governance.
New Orleans has an odor problem. The New York Times provides a graphic discussion of the quality of life challenges this city faces in the short run. Perceptions of quality of life will play a key role in determining whether the skilled return to New Orleans.
A productive municipal government produces output using relatively little labor and other inputs. One important output is garbage collection. In the past, New York City was not a productive municipal government.
The United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (http://www.ehs.unu.edu/) has issues a press release claiming that by the year 2010 the world will need to cope with as many as 50 million people escaping the effects of creeping environmental degradation.
Can a good blog help a young researcher gain tenure by improving her academic writing? Given our time budget constraint, you might assume that blogging and doing research are substitutes. But could the two activities be complements? The Becker-Posner blog provides one model.
Urban economists have recently examined how housing supply regulation affects home prices. In particular, supply side restrictions especially when implemented in highly desirable locations drive up home prices (see http://www.nber.org/digest/sep05/w11129.html).
Suppose that Kahn won the Nobel Prize, I would love to be handed a million dollar check and receive a nice write up in the New York Times praising my past research. For one day, my mother would be quite proud of me.
How will New England's middle class and poorer families change their spending patterns this winter when heating bills are higher than usual? These families could follow Harvard and increase their budget allotment to such costly fuels.
The New York Times Editorial Page usually focuses on saying something critical about President Bush. Today the Times was kind enough to focus on the environmental benefits of competition, corporate experimentation and avoiding "group think".
Here are some data from the New York Times documenting crime progress in New York City in recent years. The data also shows that NYC compares quite well with other major U.S cities. Detroit is the "Murder Capital" of the U.S with a murder rate over 5 times as high as NYC.
New York Magazine has a great article about the recent success of Columbia’s Economics Department
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/urban/education/features/14642/
The article highlights the hard work of the Department Chair and the commitment of resources by the University to fund the Economics
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/urban/education/features/14642/
The article highlights the hard work of the Department Chair and the commitment of resources by the University to fund the Economics
Gary Becker has posted a concise optimistic statement on his blog that all “Oil Drummers” should read.
“Neo-Malthusians who fear larger populations typically stress the effects on pollution and on the demand for non-renewable resources, like oil and natural gas.
“Neo-Malthusians who fear larger populations typically stress the effects on pollution and on the demand for non-renewable resources, like oil and natural gas.
Many environmental economists are fascinated by the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis. This idea claims that economic development is "foe" and "friend" of urban environmental quality.
This week's Economist Magazine has a piece on recent trends in manufacturing. In richer nations, a declining share of workers are employed in this sector.
New Jersey Chemical Leak Disrupts Morning Commute
By JOHN HOLL (source 9/30/2005 New York Times)
"A chemical leak at a swimming pool chemical plant in Kearny, N.J., this morning snarled the morning commute by closing the Pulaski Skyway and had local officials warning of potential health risks to r
By JOHN HOLL (source 9/30/2005 New York Times)
"A chemical leak at a swimming pool chemical plant in Kearny, N.J., this morning snarled the morning commute by closing the Pulaski Skyway and had local officials warning of potential health risks to r
