Amazon Book Sales and product complementarity
We know that right shoes and left shoes are complements but we are still learning about what market products go well together. At Amazon, You can already buy my book (Green Cities) that will be published by Brookings Institution Press in early August.
A Time Series of New York Times' Coverage of Global Warming From 1970 to 2006
Too many blog entries (including my own) offer cheap talk without doing any original hard work.
Trading a paperclip for a house! The Internet and the Extent of the Market
Adam Smith would be impressed with this dude http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/.
This guy started with a paperclip and through a series of bilateral trades he hopes to one day acquire a house. His website walks you through his trade by trade highlights of moving up and closer to his goal.
The New Urban Politeness Index: New York City Wins!?
In making cross-country comparisons, the Economist has given us the Big Mac Index and now Reader's Digest has given us the "rudeness" index. The people in New York have better manners than the people in Moscow.
Sex Offenders are a Very Local Public Bad!
Urban economists continue to use real estate prices to measure compensating differentials.
Gary Becker on Homeland Security and Incentives in the War on Terror
When considering the expected damage caused by a terrorist attack, how does urban population density affect Homeland Security's calculations? For example, if an attack in New York City will kill 100 times as many people as an attack in Omaha, should this affect the spatial distribution of Homeland S
Environmental Externalities and China's Coal Consumption
As China's economy grows, what are the likely environmental impacts for China and for the rest of the World? This New York Times piece does a pretty good job laying out the key issues.
What is New and Essential in Economics?
The marginal revolution has posed a good question; What is new and essential in economics? Our challenge is well stated by the nobel laureate George J. Stigler, in The Conference Handbook, 85 J. POL. ECONOMY 441, 442 (1977).
Thoughts on Sustainable Development
My students at the Fletcher School are fascinated by sustainable development. Unfortunately for them, I'm still trying to figure out what these words mean! The piece I report below is pretty interesting.
Bats Oppose Wind Power: Does the Coase Theorem Apply Here?
How much more wind power should the U.S invest in and where should these pretty wind turbines be placed? Not in Ted Kennedy's backyard on cape cod for sure, but where? At the University of Chicago, the wind blew hard off of Lake Michigan maybe the midway could become a useful space after all? The en
Building a Suburban Coalition to Fight Climate Change
We know that suburbanites drive more than urbanites and are more likely to drive fuel guzzling SUVs. The New York Times today tries to balance the playing field by pointing out an inconvenient truth. Climate change will make suburban patios nastier with more bugs and more weeds.
Irreversible Investment Under Uncertainty: The Case of New Nuclear Power Plants
Is building a new nuclear power plant a good investment right now? Game theorists would have a couple of different models here. Some would declare that there would be a First Mover Advantage.
Glaeser on NYC Traffic Congestion: Why Does the Center of Global Capitalism Price Scarce Goods Like North Korea?
New York City views itself as the epi-center of market capitalism. Thus, it is a pinch funny that it lags behind other major cities such as London in embracing road pricing.
A Future Vision of New York City as a Green City
This week New York magazine (not the one with the witty cartoons) has an interesting "science fiction" section discussing the future of New York City. What is striking about the published pieces is the emphasis on New York City's future as a "Green City".
