Environmental and Urban Economics

How does a recession end? The cliché story told about World War II is that there was exogenous sharp increase in demand and America’s factories went back to work to supply the needed war supplies.

In that case, the government sent clear signals concerning what it needed and in what quantity. In 2009’s recession, the signals are more murky. You don’t have to be a good game theorist to foresee a complicated signaling game. Each business, ranging from cars to banks, must ask itself; “what is the probability that we will get a government bailout? If we get one, how big will it be? Can we, and should we, take actions today to increase or at least not decrease the likelihood that we receive a government bailout/handout?”.

Here is a blog I read; Glaeser on War

Dora Costa and I have a new book recently published by Princeton Press . The book focuses on the causes and consequences of social networks during the U.S Civil War. In the final chapter we discuss what is known about the "dark side" of social capital. Bernie Madoff represents an example of what we didn't talk about. In our chapter, we discuss examples such as the Ku Klux Klan and terrorist groups. Both groups are aided by the close social ties between their members.

My wife and I have owned a Los Angeles home for 6 months now. The UC is our lender. According to the paperwork we received today, at the rate that we are paying down our principal debt we will own this home outright in 100 years. I take a long term perspective. I don't believe that Bernie Madoff invested any of my money.

While the world looks to Washington for a bailout, I have my eyes set on San Francisco. The Annual Economics meetings are taking place in a city that I like.

More environmental economists should follow Scott Barrett's lead and work on the social science of geoengineering. Here is Scott's paper . What can economists add to this "science stuff"? We have studied choice under uncertainty and this appears to be classic example. You can talk about Knightian Uncertainty but the analysis will quickly return to what Marty Weitzman discusses here .

The New York Times Letter to the Editor are always funny. There is true competition to publish there and the cream of the crop usually are pretty good. This one gets an A+.

To the Editor:

It is amusing that Andrew M. Cuomo, who owes his whole career to his dad, may not get the Senate seat of Hillary Rodham Clinton (who owes her whole career to her husband) because David A. Paterson (who owes his whole career to his dad) may give it to Caroline Kennedy (who owes her whole career to her dad).

I am a 1987 graduate of the LSE. I wasn't the only American walking around there. The joke was that LSE stood for Let's See Europe. I studied economic history and econometrics there. I don't believe that I was Dudley Baines or E.H Hunt's best student but I did learn a few things and I met some very smart people who helped push me to work harder and to not be so smug. The LSE continues to help me. For both of my books, they have been kind enough to spread the word to their vast network.

Do you ever wonder what causes what? I know that my lectures cause my students to fall asleep but I'm not sure what else I know about causality. Robert Gordon asks a tight causal question in his new nber working paper; "Did Economics Cause World War II?"

Did Economics Cause World War II?

Robert J. Gordon

NBER Working Paper No.

When I was a graduate student over 15 years ago now, my midwestern university didn't offer any courses in international trade or environmental economics. I have tried to overcome my upbringing by doing some work at the intersection of these fields. I will let you judge whether this empirical work is good. My new NBER paper (joint with Lucas Davis) on Trade and the Environment .

If you are a labor economist, I would encourage you to take a look at our paper.