Environmental and Urban Economics

USC's Price School was kind enough to invite me to give a speech in late January 2012 about China's Future Green Cities.   Here is the YouTube Video.  At first, I tried to be dignified but after a while I start to crack a number of pretty good jokes.

Forget the 1% and OWS.  The new key number in life for the people of Los Angeles is 3%.   In Los Angeles, it is easy to evade paying for riding the subway.  Turnstiles are unlocked, security is lax and commuters often hop over or pass through undetected (source).

For those who care about my views on China's environmental future, you can read a funny USC article here.  I won't be blogging for several days because I'll be in NYC.  You may see me in midtown on Thursday or perhaps at the Federal Reserve on Friday.  I look forward to seeing you.

Here is a photo from my USC speech.  I promise that next time I will wear a necktie.

In 2011, Meyer and Renee Luskin made an extremely generous gift to UCLA.  Roughly 1/2 of this gift was allocated to the UCLA Luskin School of Public Policy.  This was a very wise investment.   The other 1/2 has been allocated to a new conference and guest center.

In this blog post, I would like to review some algebra focused on university investment of finite capital.

According to this website,  the project will have a total cost of 152 million in upfront construction.

Who knew that Grist has a free markets libertarian streak?  This piece  by Tom Horton makes  a lot of sense.  He argues that sea level rise along the Virginia coastline should nudge an organized retreat and the growth of wetlands.  But, he notes that government disaster relief efforts offer insurance and will have perverse effects as we adapt to climate change. Here is a quote from the end of his piece.

If you were the Earl of Grantham would you be a benevolent daddy to your large staff of serfs and house maids?  The NY Times has a very funny piece focused on altruism  and class at Downton Abbey.   Is Robert Crawley a special case?  We don't see him interacting with other members of his class and these other fat cats making fun of him for his progressive views.  He certainly didn't inherit his worldview from his mother (Maggie Smith).

The rise of micro blogs in China helps to educate the public about product issues such as the bullet train accident or the milk safety scandal and this reduces the likelihood that the State can suppress  information.  Such "sunshine" increases political accountability and thus improves the quality of governance.

In Rio De Janeiro, the following sequence has often taken place.  "It's the typical tale of doomed Carnival romance: Boy spots girl in the sweaty crush of a street party. Moments later, they're locked in a passionate embrace. Then the crowd surges, and the human tide wrenches them apart, forever." 

source      But, this story has a happy ending!  The NY Times reports that a new Internet blog has started that allows these "short term couples" to reunite.

Now that I've turned 46, young economists ask me "big think" questions about where I think the field of energy economics should go.  Since nobody reads this blog, I can confidently sketch an answer without causing any trouble.

Everybody knows that we are now accessing better micro data.  Read Ito's paper or my paper with Dora to get a sense of the great dependent variables that researchers are accessing.