Forget the "Kyoto Protocols" and Get Ready for the "Harvard Protocols" to Mitigate the Threat of Climate Change
Great things are expected from great people and Great ideas are expected from great institutions. Harvard is raising the stakes here promising to deliver a new global climate treaty in return for a payment of $750,000 per year.
Objectively Judging One's Intellectual Progress
Have you ever wondered whether your work is getting better over time? I'd like to believe that my research is getting better, but how do you test this optimistic claim? One method would be to look at where the work is appearing.
Crime and Punishment: Hot Cars, Young Kids and Distracted Parents
I've always been interested in differential sentencing for the same crime. Here is an example of an academic study investigating this;
Sentencing in Homicide Cases and the Role of Vengeance
Author(s) Edward L.
Why Are New York City's Best Public Schools Better than Los Angeles' Best?
At the NBER Summer Institute meetings, one has the opportunity to talk and talk and talk some more. Now that I'm back in Los Angeles, I'm resting my voice after a lot of talking.
How "Green" is Renewable Energy?
Renewable Energy will require some land for wind turbines, solar panels and the like.
Famous Economists Ranked by Google Trends
At the NBER Summer Institute today, one researcher presented a nice figure using Google Trends to highlight mentions of the hybrid vehicle tax credit.
Boston's Charles River is Swimmable Again!
A Forbes editor was kind enough to tell me that it's "old news" that the greeness of older U.S center cities such as Boston, New York and Chicago is on the rise after decades of offering an environmental gross out. My point didn't merit publication in their "On My Mind" section.
Is Public Transit Dangerous?
Paris is providing 10,000 bikes to help ease traffic congestion.
A Return Trip to Boston
Tomorrow, my wife and I fly back to Boston for the first time in 8 months. We will be cleaning up our house to prepare to move out of it and attending some NBER Summer Institute conferences. I will not be blogging for the next 10 days.
Does the New Hybrid Lexus drive like a Porsche and sip fuel like a Prius?
What share of consumers really think about the "global consequences" of their purchases? Do consumers want to feel a "warm glow" about doing the right thing regardless of the true impacts caused by the product they choose?
The New York Times offers a review of the new Lexus.
Drought in the American West
Since moving to Los Angeles in January 2007, I haven't seen much rain. My UCLA colleague Glen MacDonald has written a nice piece for the Los Angeles Times sketching whether this is a blip or a preview of the future under climate change.
His piece raises an interesting piece of social science.
The Market for Lemons Revisited: The Case of the Cardboard Steamed Buns
Sellers sometimes have more information than buyers about product quailty and cost scrimping. Economists continue to debate how important such asymmetries are in insurance markets and used goods markets.
Foreign Real Estate Bidders and Superstar Cities
In Today's New York Times, David Leonhardt picks up on a theme that I've been arguing for a while now. Foreign buyers are bidding up housing prices in Superstar cities ranging from New York, to Vancouver to Los Angeles.
Beauty Investment in Cities: Part II
Every week is exciting at UCLA. The director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment, Mary Nichols, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold to a key position in implementing the state's AB32 law on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. This is a very important job and the Gov. made a great appointment.
The New York Times Stages a One Sided Debate on Roland Fryer's Incentive Program
In today's New York Times, Prof. Barry Schwartz writes an editorial about the "crowd out" effects of incentive pay. He cites some evidence that paying people for effort and for doing "good deeds" can have the unintended consequence of reducing effort and thus on net can backfire.
Green Consumers and the Race Between Quantity and Quality of Consumption
Who has a small ecological footprint? A poor person does because they can't afford much. If a rich person buys a lot of stuff but each of these purchases are "green", does this add up to a large footprint? The New York Times takes up this issue today.
