Tesla Motors' IPO Means that We Can Track the "Green Economy" in Real Time
Tesla Motors produces electric vehicles. Yesterday, it had its IPO and its current market share price is higher than expected .
Vote "No" on California's Proposition 23!
As you may recall, I have written a pretty good paper analyzing voting patterns on California's environmental initiatives (see Kahn and Matsusaka 1997 ). So, given that I'm a self proclaimed expert on this stuff --- I must ask that you vote "No" on Proposition 23 in November 2010.
Can an Economist Avoid Being a "Hubristic Gasbag"?
I've now realized that nobody will like my forthcoming book (Basic Books September 2010) titled climatopolis . The Right Wing of the political spectrum will be unhappy that I believe the climate science that climate change could be a real threat to our society (if we don't change our ways).
30 Years Have Past Since the Movie Airplane Opened!
Time flies. For a quick proof, you can read this nerdy article about the making of the 1980 hit movie Airplane. "Do you like gladiator movies?" As a 14 year old, I think I knew that the pilot was a strange dude.
For a second piece of evidence, consider Han Solo from Star Wars.
A City Slicker in Sequoia National Park
Imagine a place where your Blackberry doesn't work and you don't care. A place with 1700 year old redwood trees that even your 9 year old son thinks are pretty cool. This place exists. It is called Sequoia National Park . I now know more about central California than I thought I would ever know.
Climatopolis is Roughed Up by Publishers Weekly
It is clear that Publishers Weekly is not a big fan of my work. I sense an ideological bent to the short review below. My book made this reviewer angry but he/she doesn't explain why. Part of me is pleased by this response.
My January 2010 Talk at the UCSB Bren School on Adapting to Climate Change
In January 2010, I had the honor of giving a speech at the UCSB Bren School. I'm not sure if I was the most dignified guest but I had a great time and made many new friends.
I believe in teaching by counter-example.
If Beijing and Shanghai Are Too Expensive for Young Men to Buy Homes then New Cities will Thrive --- Phoenix Revisited
The Song Remains the Same. The members of Led Zeppelin were wiser than we thought. Today, young men in Beijing and Shanghai are finding that they cannot afford to buy a tiny apartment . Their girlfriends are dumping them unless they can buy a car and an apartment.
Do We Agree that a Multi-Billion Dollar Fast Train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas Would be a Good Keynesian Investment?
I'm hoping that Peter Gordon and Ed Glaeser will join me in endorsing spending government billions so that I could have the option of taking a fast train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas . Some policies just feel like a "free lunch" and this would appear to be classic example.
Determining the "Optimal Regulation" of Methyl Iodide Use in Agricultural Production
There are costs and benefits of using chemicals for growing food such as California strawberries.
There are risk costs of using Methyl Iodide;
"“I’m not in blanket opposition to the use of pesticides, but methyl iodide alarms me,” said Theodore A.
Does Money Matter?
Have you noticed that economists continue to ask the same question in many different settings? When public schools spend more money, do students receive a better education? Rick Hanushek has written on this.
Is Biomass a "Green" Energy Source?
The Devil is in the Details.
Disaster Compensation Fund Claims as a Test of Corruption Activity in the U.S
Similar to his job after the 9/11/2001 attacks, Kenneth Feinberg has been called in to be King Solomon again. He will divide up the $20 Billion BP dollars among the "victims".
How Will President Obama Get His "Groove" Back?
What can President Obama do to get back on his "A-game"? He can't call the "A-Team" (but he could hire Mr. T for the CEA). He is losing the fight with the BP Oil Well. He has invested heavily in ungrateful allies in Afghanistan.
Priorities over the Life-Cycle
I live in Los Angeles and tonight is game 7 of the NBA Championship Playoffs. My team, the Laker, is playing my old home town's team (the Boston Celtics). In the past, this would have been a very big deal to me but I find that I don't care.
Bill Gates Applies Peer Pressure on the Super Rich to Nudge Them to Give Away 50% of Their Wealth
For people worth more than a billion dollars, is there a declining marginal utility from income? Bill Gates is trying to start a virtuous collusive cycle. He wants the world's richest people to give 50% of their income to some big pot of $. The details are here .
Do Economists Influence Public Policy?
We are in a deep recession and the President wants to create jobs. Most economists would say that allowing real wages to fall will help to stimulate such job growth.
UCLA Graduation 2010
On Saturday June 12th 2010, I attended the UCLA Econ Department's graduation ceremony. Here is a photo of me and Jason Barbato. For those of you with a strange taste for photos of economists, you will note that Kathleen McGarry can be seen to the right of the photo.
Risk and the Life of the Modern Teenager
Each of us has to pick our poison. There's many bad choices for teens to choose from and now the dimensionality of the set has increased as we now have the option to take a solo boat ride around the world like this risk loving 16 year old from Sherman Oaks.
Differentiated Products, the Global Supply Chain and Enriching Bad Guys in the Developing World
Can "sunshine laws" that expose the true supply chain for a product set off a virtuous wave that helps to mitigate global inequality and unfairness? I hope so. Stanford offers us a case study.
Shrek as a Symbol of Information Asymmetries in Global Supply Chains
Are all products lemons? When I taught intro econ, I'd give the example of the hot dog seller. If she sells you a "bad dog", you know it two hours later and you are sick the next day. In this case, quality is immediately verifiable and the seller knows this.
The Right Tail of the Home Price Distribution Near UCLA
You want to see some expensive West Los Angeles homes? Take a look at this webpage . UCLA is the "heart shaped" object east of the 405 highway, south of Sunset Blvd, and north of wilshire blvd and west of Beverly Hills. We live just east of campus but not in one of these homes.
We Are the Champions, My Friend
UCLA's Women's Softball have won again ; National Title #106 for UCLA. While I have never won a sports trophy, my students have. I'm proud to say Megan Langenfeld (one of the stars of the game) is one of my students this quarter.
Is China's Military Getting Antsy? The Chain of Command Question in Non-Democracies
This article scared me. My read of this piece is that the Chinese military leaders are talking tough and feeling cocky. In terms of labor and capital, they run an impressive army.
Genetic Distance and the Search for the Next Supermodel
Genetic Distance helps to explain why pairs of countries experience common economic outcomes. Talent scouts have rediscovered the geography of DNA as they search for the next supermodel.
Links for Today Gone Wild
Apparently, bloggers are supposed to act as intermediaries connecting readers to useful stuff to read. So, I guess I'm like a banker. Permit me to do my job.
Is the NY Times Politically Correct? A new look at the extreme right tail of the math aptitude distribution .
How Do Superstars Meet and Fall in Love?
The Model Iman and David Bowie are married. How did they meet? This article explains: "Iman was living in Los Angeles when she and Mr. Bowie were fixed up by their mutual hairdresser." Now, we know.
UCLA is mourning the death of coach John Wooden . He lived a long life and achieved great things.
Spock vs. Homer Simpson
Dan Ariely has written a new book and the New York Times gives it a favorable review review here . For details about this book click here . The reviewer hints that Dr. Ariely has bundled in too much autobiographical material about himself.
A Glimpse of my Childhood House
I was born in Chicago and at age 2 moved to New York City. From age 7 to age 18, I lived in Scarsdale, New York at 159 Brite Avenue and now that house is up for sale and the sales price is not low. According to Zillow, the sellers are being quite aggressive in how they have priced their home.
Shrek as the Poster Dude for California's Department of Toxic Substance Control's New Regulations
Is Shrek really dangerous? The Christian Science Monitor says "yes". This case study is an excellent example of what California's Green Chemistry Initiative is attempting to protect us from.
Paul Krugman, Movie Star?
I know that Dr. Krugman is a very talented man but I never thought of him as the new Brad Pitt. The NY Times reports that he has a cameo in the new hip movie about a rock star traveling across the country to arrive in Los Angeles' sunset strip. This could set quite a precedent for economists.
Green Housing Development in the San Francisco Bay Area
This article celebrates a new local land use policy in the SF Bay Area requiring new housing to be low carbon in terms of transportation use , residential energy efficiency, and generating solar power.
A Silver Lining of the BP Oil Spill?
Keynesian stimulus is in vogue. The Obama Team is quite smart. I wonder if the BP Oil Spill was an intentional action taken to increase the demand for environmental economists to help raise our salary (and thus our aggregate Consumption "C") during these tough recession days.
The Gores Case Study Offer Demographers the Opportunity to Shine
Demography is an under-appreciated social science research field. UCLA is quite good at it.
Do Owls Scare Crows? They Better
Do you remember in Caddyshack when Bill Murray battled the gopher? We face a similar challenge with some noisy crows. So, my brilliant wife has devised a plan to fight back. Recall that the owl is no friend of the crow. So, we are blowing up owl balloons and getting ready to launch them.