I have wondered whether recession reduces the median voter's desire to enact costly environmental regulations to mitigate local and global externalities and this new California PPIC New Survey supports this conjecture. I've been writing a applied econometrics paper on exactly this topic.

The McKinsey Consulting firm has identified a big free lunch for how to earn a very high rate of return for making investments in energy efficiency. Roughly 35% of the gains is said to be possible from the residential sector.

I have a question for the partners of McKinsey.

Not all of us have the same motivations. Gerald Gardner's consulting will look familiar to some labor economists. But, he did his study for the "right reasons" (to help the underdog rather than to make a buck).

Suppose I give you information about what movies I have enjoyed in the past, and you observe my answers to your survey questions about whether I am a Rambo guy or a guy who likes to cry at the movies.

Keynes didn't appreciate that it is hard to cut government spending once you start spending during a recession, so how will our budget deficit vanish to remove the temptation to print loads of new currency? This quote from Yahoo today suggests that taxes will rise sharply in two years but if I antic

Dora and I have liked the "fact" that our retirement plan at UCLA is a defined benefit. The cliche is that if we stick around that when we retire that we will receive 75% of our highest salary. How will this be financed? This NY Times article makes me nervous.

Now that I'm studying evolutionary biology, my list of creatures who are pretty good at adapting to climate change includes; toucans and camels. Is that an exhaustive list? I hope not but that's why we do research. I'm focusing now on a rare species called humans.

Applied economists who care about causality must solve fundamental "missing data" issues. We never observe outcomes for paths not chosen. But, suppose you observe no outcomes at all.

Economists such as Greenwood, Goldin, Becker, Costa and Ramey have been writing about household production trends over the last 100 years but let's hear from Nixon and Khrushchev as reported in Safire's NY Times piece today.

Nixon: “I want to show you this kitchen.

To augment my sharply cut UC salary, I will be moving to Beijing for September. I will take a job as a barista at a Starbucks in Beijing. It remains an open question whether I will return.

Professor Obama sees an inefficient health care system. Health is a prominent example of "household production theory". You do not have an innate desire to take blood pressure medication. Such a drug is an "input" into feeling good and not having a heart attack.

This Columbia Univ. research project sounds interesting.

My Colleagues at UCLA Sociology have taken a gutsy stand on what the future UC funding priorities should be. I agree with their points and I bet that 98% of the UCLA economics department would also agree.

Comparative advantage is a fascinating topic to economists. What is California's economy's strength? I have naively assumed that it was in skilled industries (i.e Google) but this article says that our future is with Cheech and Chong.

What sectors will produce new "green jobs"? Now I know the answer --- the boating sector! I have always been worried about boater used toliet paper polluting our water and now I can rest peacefully.

Reality Television offers an optimistic "yes" . In ongoing work, I will be linking what I learn from watching that show to my recent work on the micro-economics of climate change.

People love pointing out hypocrisy. Why? I have no idea. In this NY Times article, heavy doctors wrestle with how to give advice to young patients on weight loss.

My interest in beliefs and behavior mainly focuses on how environmentalists live their lives relative to a Dick Cheney.

To my friends enjoying the very cool air conditioning in the Sonesta Hotel, I say hello. If you yearn to hear what I have to say then go here.

Fonzie's Daughter gets married = Happy Days! and Henry Winkler now looks like Richie's dad Mr. Cunningham from the show. I have not seen the older Fonz in Brentwood but now I'm looking out for him. Here is a celebrity candid photo from the wedding.

The LA Times has an article today stating that communities such as Compton and Lynwood are not happy about the doubling of residential water prices over the next two years.

Wasn't that a Styx song? Well, if the answer is "yes" then I would suggest watching this several times this weekend on Book TV.

The new issue of The Economist has some tough things to say about academic economists. Does the current deep recession show that we are bozos? Do our public disagreements over optimal policy (i.e Krugman vs.

Joni Mitchell worried that paradise was being turned into a parking lot but in cities such as Seoul the parking lots and roads are now being turned back into urban green paradise . These cities are rediscovering their water amenities that lie beneath paved areas.

Varshney & Associates have issued a new consulting report available here that presents new cost numbers on what California's AB32 (carbon mitigation) regulation will cost the average household and the average small business. The authors report enormous cost numbers.

It takes some guts to walk into another nation and tell them that they should change their own environmental and energy policy for their own good.

Lee Ohanian has a nice piece in a recent issue of Forbes.

Much has been said about globalization's consequences but the "guinea pig" effect has been downplayed. London has made some smart transit moves in recent years and people give Jay Walder some of the credit. NY City has now made him the boss of its transit system see Jay Walder's MTA Appointment .

Paul Ehrlich has emphasized the environmental impacts of population growth. Jared Diamond has emphasized the environmental impacts of per-capita income growth.

This is a good test of behavioral economics. You can buy this tennis estate for $8.8 million. Now $8.8 may strike some as expensive but the seller is offering a "lifetime supply of tennis balls" to the person who buys this home. I understand complementary goods and this is a nice case.

If you really have no plans next weekend, then you can watch my Eco Barons Interview with Edward Humes . I received a free mug for participating in this interview at the UCLA Book Fair this summer.

I am very happy to share this news. While UC President Yudof did announce our pay cuts today, I am still optimistic about the future of my part of UCLA.

"Yudof will present the plan to Regents at a meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday, and the board will vote Thursday.

This is funny. Make sure that you read the comments. They are better than the entry itself. In a city of 8 million people, LADWP has found 4000 law breakers who are violating the water use rules during the current drought.

Chris Knittel is my kind of guy. I even like his new paper.

I am worried about the following strategic logic. The NY Times is reporting that the G-8 nations have failed to agree on an international carbon target.

The Los Angeles DWP has a big ad in the LA Times today announcing its electricity pricing tiers for Summer 2009. It says that the DWP Service Area covers several different climate zones.

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