London's Policy Exchange to publish "Living for the City" Next Week
London's Policy Exchange will publish a good book next week. It is titled "Living for the City". I know its good because the book includes an essay of mine that builds on some of my Green Cities' book key themes.
Media Bias? Why Aren't Academic Economists Being Quoted on Climate Change Policy?
Climate Change mitigation and adaptation policies are in the news. Below, I give a link for a long UK report. Today, the New York Times has a long front page article about the challenges for achieving "green innovation" to reduce greenhouse gases per dollar of world GNP.
Preparing to Pre-Empt a World Flu Epidemic
Usually, I am bored by the New York Times editorial page. It is too predictable and negative for my tastes. But, on saturday I found a rare interesting unsigned editorial that I reproduce below.
Self-fulfilling Prophesies and Global Carbon Trading
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, polluters need incentives encouraging them not to pollute. A credible global carbon trading market would provide such an incentive encouraging innovation and adoption of emissions reducing techniques.
The Harvard Crimson's Analysis of Clean Toliets and Public Health
This article claims that empirical researchers discovered that only 83% of adults wash their hands after going to the bathroom.
Odd Environmental News: Treated Sewage to be Used to Build a "Natural Buffer" Near New Orleans
A couple of years ago a talented Tufts University PHD student named Kayo Tajima wrote her thesis on the market for "night soil" in Japan long ago. Urbanites would sell their waste to farmers who used it as a nitrate input in growing agricultural products.
Bridging Social Capital and Cultural Divides
In his research on social capital, Robert Putnam has made the distinction between bridging and bonding.
Behavioral Economics, Self Control and Diabetes
Behavioral economists have not devoted enough attention to the self control problems of type 2 diabetics and people at risk to become type 2 diabetics. Intuitive lifestyle modification (exercising more, smoking less, losing weight) could reduce the likelihood of diabetes.
Green Cities: The 45 Minute Lecture
Can a 160 page book be boiled down to a 45 minute lecture? I doubt that Hollywood is going to call me to turn my new book Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment into a movie so its up to me to make this book a "multi-media" experience.
Job Suburbanization in New York City and Commuting Patterns
New York City is the last U.S city that looks "monocentric". A majority of the metropolitan area's jobs are still downtown but this New York Times article suggests that NYC's employment is sprawling.
Hong Kong, Air Pollution and the Coase Theorem
Hong Kong has a population of roughly 7 million people. Suppose this population has 125,000 live births each year.
Some Thoughts on Field Experiments as a Research Methodology
All great institutions face the challenge of re-inventing themselves. Otherwise, they age and must rest on their past accomplishments. Yesterday, I had the chance to learn more about the research agenda of one of the University of Chicago's Economics Department's new leaders.
300 Million People in the United States: The New York Times Approves
Today, the New York Times editorial page embraces its inner Julian Simon. This editorial celebrates the benefits of U.S population growth fueled by immigration. Optimism on this page is relatively rare these days.
Unintended Consequences of Driving Restrictions: New Lessons from Mexico
As we celebrate Ned Phelps' well deserved prize, I wanted to blog about creative research investigating regulation's unintended consequences. Mexico City banned driving specific vehicles one day a week. Has this caused air quality to improve? Lucas Davis argues that it has not.
Are there Too Few Prizes in Academic Economics? A Suggestion for Inflating Beyond the Nobel Prize and the Clark Medal
Academic economics has a prize for older guys (the Nobel) and a prize for young people (the Clark Medal) and nothing for the middle aged. Paul Samuelson won the nobel prize at the tender age of 54 but most winners are much older. The Clark medal goes to a star under the age of 40.
Russia Offers a Data Point for the Chicago School of Regulation
While monday's nobel prize in economics is the hot blogger topic of the moment, I have no urge to comment. I'll stick with my picks from last year (if you forgot my dudes then see www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2005/09/more_nobel_priz.html).
Evaluating Programs to Reduce Diarrhea in rural Kenya by Improving Source Water Quality
I managed to attend an environmental economics seminar at Harvard yesterday. Michael Kremer presented a draft of his new paper "Spring Cleaning: Results from a Randomized Evaluation of Source Water Quality Improvement." (joint with Miguel, Leino and Zwane).
Don't Call it Sprawl --- A Review of Tom Bogart's new book
Cambridge University Press has just published William T. Bogart's new book "Don't Call it Sprawl: Metropolitan Structure in the 21st Century". As a recent book author, and as a dude who is cited on 11 separate pages of the Bogart book, I feel that I am qualified to review this book.
Signaling and the Congressional Medal of Honor (The Back Cover of the October 2006 Journal of Political Economy)
Well, I'm a good enough economist to publish on the back cover of the JPE! For the second time, the JPE has graciously published my submission for their back cover (see October 2003 for the 1st time). Here is my new foray into game theory.
Starbucks Learns About The Cost of Hyperinflation and some "Green" Economics
At Starbucks today, I saw a funny sign. Starbucks declared that they would no longer accept any vouchers for a free ice coffee.
