Environmental and Urban Economics

I suggest you read pages 244 and 245 of Climatopolis where I discuss my relationship with Quentin Tarantino.

source

"In fall 2050, Pete Carroll will be entering his 41st season as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. As he walks the streets, he will notice that the outdoor summer temperature reminds him of his days at USC.

Crisis creates opportunities. Basic Books has just published Edward Kohn's book that highlights how a heat wave helped to make Teddy Roosevelt a star.

Now, I know who I am. I thought that I was this guy but now I know that I am a urban sociologist.

Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War, by Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. Pp. xxvi, 215. Illus., tables, append., notes, biblio., index. $27.95.

In the Spring of 2010, the USC Deans did not tell me that the great 1970s musician Steve Miller would be joining their faculty. They should of. I live my life at the margin and this would have been quite valuable information. I recently taught my son the words to "Jungle Love".

I am back in Berkeley after several days in Novato. From Novato, we went to Pt. Reyes to climb all the steps to the lighthouse. To our surprise, there was no fog and we spotted two whales who swam by.

When I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, I was impressed by the fact that each of the senior faculty had a "research program". These ambitious fellows sought to answer a single question and took years crafting their papers. At the start of my career, I didn't imitate them.

I am in Novato, California. My friends at UCLA won't see me on campus for a few more weeks. In this post, I'd like to return to an old theme that is at the intersection of economics and sociology. The topic is the costs and benefits of living and working in a "diverse" environment.

Here is a Climatopolis Podcast .

Recent Media Coverage and Accolades:

The prolific writer and Luskin Scholar Matthew Kahn regularly contributed to the Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times on topics including the non-organic Egg McMuffin and a cost/benefit of California’s Assembly Bill 32, the Global

I received a C in philosophy in college and never pondered the subject again until now. Their wise men seemed to argue in circles and just talked and talked about "talk and more talk". The NY Times offers some more talk about talk . I see that UCLA has made some serious investments in this subject .

Capitalism will help us adapt to climate change, economist says

By Alison Hewitt

Capitalism has caused climate change — and it will also help the world adapt in order to survive the impending shake-up, UCLA Professor Matt Kahn argues in his new book, "Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in th

Who am I? Where am I? I can answer the 2nd question. I'm at the UC Energy Institute . A great set of energy economists are sitting around here and it is my job to lower the average. While Berkeley is not a glamorous town, it is a mildly productive place.

This article discusses progress taking place to make electric vehicles easier to recharge and to convince the public that it is safe to recharge them in bad weather conditions.

Here is the official webpage for my new book (Basic Books). You can read an excerpt there and judge for yourself whether it is new and interesting. Soon, I will stop blogging for a couple of weeks but when September 1st rolls around, I will have a lot to say.

The math nerds are working in ever larger open source groups to solve tough math problems. Could economists with our love of "private property" gain from mimicking these "hippies"?

The internet solves a co-ordination problem and lowers transaction costs in searching for "nerd partners".

What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for publishing a book that interests people? Your timing has to be right.

On his radio show yesterday, Rush Limbaugh expressed his disgust with my new NBER paper joint with Matt Kotchen. You can judge for yourself here . Rush baby, I was hoping you were going to invite me onto your show to discuss Climatopolis! I guess that's not going to happen.

U.S wheat prices are rising as Russia's exports are falling as their unexpected heat wave must have reduced Russia's yields. See this . Such price "volatility" should offer new opportunities for Wall Street guys trading in futures markets.

Richard Freeman once asked; "Are Your Wages Set in Beijing?". Now, the NY Times is asking lawyers the same question but pointing to outsourcing to India as the competitor (source ). The interesting issue here is the generational gap.

Moscow is not enjoying its heat wave . Up until now, the people of Moscow have said "Nyet" to air conditioning and living and working in buildings that are well ventilated and offer some relief from rare heat waves.

Here is the UCLA Econ Summer 2010 Newsletter. It is filled with decent gossip and details about the department that folks like to talk about.

I am wearing makeup and I'm not sure that it helps. I look like Richard Nixon crossed with Boy George but that is the price for appearing on a video about my new book. I'm grateful to UCLA for giving me the opportunity and I don't forget who has been nice to me.

Most people in the United States live in a metropolitan area. There are over 300 to choose from and over 80% of the population lives in one. Each metro area, whether it is Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston or NYC, represents a distinct collection of industries.

Through the magic of Google Books, chunks of the Costa and Kahn 2009 social capital book can be seen here or here . Read the preface --- Dora let me write that.

The book has received a number of favorable reviews .