Do Good Seattle Retail Ideas Succeed in Manhattan?
Starbucks has taken its business model (expensive good coffee) and exported this concept to every major city around the world. I was just in London and didn't have to walk far to find a Starbucks (namely 300 feet).
A 13 Year Old UCLA Undergrad Publishes His Autobiography
Below, I supply a photo of Moshe (not Buchinsky) Cavalin. He is a 13 year old UCLA student who has just published a best selling autobiography. At age 13, my autobiography would have been a pinch thin.
Debating the Short Run and Long Run Consequences of Raising the Marginal Tax Rate
Economists should have something smart to say about the consequences of making our tax code more progressive.
Nude in San Fran
Are the people of Los Angeles tough on their San Francisco nude associates?
"I brought my out-of-town guests here to show them an ‘only in San Francisco’ experience,” said Maggie Cahill, 53, a technology manager at a bank who stood scrunching her nose at the scene with friends from Los Angeles.
Picking Green Winners; How Did the DOE Evaluate Solyndra's Loan Request?
Everybody now knows that the DOE blew it when it guaranteed roughly $530 million dollars of loans to the "green" solar firm Solyndra. But, we do not know what criteria the DOE used to judge whether this was (ex-ante) a good use of public funds. Read this letter sent to Secretary Chu in 2010.
My Macro Questions for Prof. Robert E. Lucas
Some things do not change. Back in October 1988, I wasn't the best macro student in Prof. Lucas' class. This morning I tried to raise my game and read through his interview in today's WSJ. I didn't think it was a very informative interview. Here are the questions I would like to ask him.
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Immigrants and Poison Use in Cities
The NY Times has published a politically incorrect piece about immigrant purchase and use of poisons in big cities. Typically living at high density and facing a rodent problem, some immigrants turn to purchasing powerful poisons to solve their problem.
California Ends an Innovative Energy Program
This news was not good news. California is phasing out a surcharge on electric utility customers that was earmarked to subsidizing purchases of energy efficient appliances and for paying for basic research.
There may be a serious lesson here.
Declining Deaths from Natural Disasters
2011 has been a terrible year for natural disasters but for those of you who need some optimism, read this report about long run trends in deaths from natural disasters. I was happy to see that the author has read my 2005 RESTAT paper the "Death Toll from Natural Disasters".
Green Tea
PERC's Terry Anderson has a smart OP-ED in today's WSJ. Here is a line from his last paragraph; "
It is not enough to strut your stuff in clothes made of recycled materials while driving your hybrid to an environmental protest.
A Green Bargaining Game and Electric Vehicle Exports
As China's domestic durables market grows, this nation will use its increasing market clout to extract better terms of trade for those multinationals who seek to sell there and seek to qualify for government incentives from the Chinese government.
But Will the Planet Notice West Hollywood's Fur Ban?
After 25 years away, I returned to the LSE and had a great time. Both the International Growth Center and the Department of Geography and the Environment were wonderful hosts.
Forget the Future? Pension Uncertainty and Scaling Back Today's Consumption
When I was an undergraduate, I was taught that in a closed economy that C+I+G=Y. Given that I'm back at the LSE, I've been pondering this deep macro identity. Government spending, G, is going to decline as we try to cut the deficit.
Can Urban Dog Owners Be Shamed Into Scooping Poop?
In my blog post from yesterday, I documented that London has a $150 fine for littering. Today, as I report below, I see that London is also engaging in "green peer pressure" to nudge dog owners to scoop up their dog's poop. The photo says; "What sort of dog owner are you?" There are two choices.
Green Cities and Credible Crime and Punishment
In the late 1960s, Gary Becker published this paper on the economics of deterrence. Expected fines induce good behavior. As I was walking in London this morning, I saw this poster and took a picture of it. While its a pinch blurry, you should see a shoe that just stepped in someone's gum.
An American in England
After a 25 year absence, I returned to the LSE campus today. I couldn't resist entering their bookstore. When I was 20 years old, I spent a fair bit of $ there. Now that I'm 45, I know most of the authors of the books they have in stock.
New Metrics For Ranking Green Cities
I'm always looking for new ways to track city quality of life. This article from the NY Post talks about the recent reduction in smoking rates in NYC. That's a good new indicator. Two more indicators that I'm having trouble collecting data on are dog poop and public spitting.
My Climate Change Adaptation Talk at LSE
Here is the announcement for my talk at the LSE next Tuesday afternoon. There's several different ways to approach the broad question of how will Europe adapt to climate change.
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Economists Who Write Letters to Newspapers
I've always liked the letters to the editor that Donald Boudreaux posts to his blog. He needs to reveal what % are actually published! In my attempt to make my mom proud of me as a "public intellectual", permit me to point you to My letter in today's LA Times.
Liberal Cities Do Block Economic Development: The Case of Woodstock NY
This article by Peter Applebome has an excellent lead; "If they had decided to pave paradise and put up a parking lot, the issues might have seemed simpler.
Competition Between UCLA and USC
The rankings are in and UCLA has lost out to cross-town rival USC in the great US New & World Report Rankings. As a UCLA faculty member, I view this defeat to be a good thing. Competition makes us stronger and I believe that UCLA has been complacent.
Green NASCAR?
Does Al Gore watch the Indianapolis 500 race? Millions of people do but do people in Berkeley and Santa Monica? I don't watch the race. The thought of watching other people blow out their tires as they race 500 miles doesn't interest me. But, perhaps I am wrong for being such a snob.
A Return to the LSE
25 years ago I embarked on spending my junior year abroad at the London School of Economics. I arrived in London in September 1986 not knowing what to expect. I knew that the LSE was a serious place but I had never met Ph.D.
A Nice Economist
If you read my quote in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal, I hope that I come across as a nice fellow. When the WSJ contacted me about their story, I was told that I couldn't mention my own books or Glaeser's Triumph of the City (because he is a co-author of mine).
Travel by Bikes in Cities
On 9/11, I have nothing smart to add to the national discussion so I will change topics. Note the picture below. It graphs time trends in the share of workers who commute by bike. There are large differences across liberal cities with respect to biking shares.
