Environmental and Urban Economics

I'm not sure why the NY Times requested a review of Jeff Madrick's new book but Dr. Krugman wrote an interesting review.   Mr. Madrick charges mainstream economists with damaging America.   That's a tough thing to say about  a group of Ph.D. doctors.  Didn't we take the Hippocratic Oath?  Dr. Krugman names Chicago names in his piece calling out Cochrane, Fama and Mulligan.  What is going on here?

Here is a direct quote from Amazon with the publisher praising Mr. Madrick's work:

"A bold indictment of some of our most accepted mainstream economic theories—why they’re wrong, and how they’ve been harming America and the world. Budget deficits are bad. A strong dollar is good. Controlling inflation is paramount. Pay reflects greater worker skills.

The New York Times is angry that its reporters have been banished from China and that people in China cannot access the NY Times website.  Fortunately, the NY Post can fill this void (I am kidding).  In today's NY Times there is a long piece about the Hong Kong democracy protesters.

Back in 1986, I was a student at the LSE.  Each day I read the Guardian and the Telegraph newspapers and learned an early lesson in media slant.  The correlation between the news and headlines on these respective left and right wing newspapers was about .1.   Today, I've achieved something that few University of Chicago Econ Ph.Ds can claim.  I have published in the London Guardian and here is the piece.

The University of Chicago's Harris School has a strong set of researchers who are actively involved in local and national policy making.  This announcement offers one example.  Ben Keys and others will discuss what the City of Chicago should do to redevelop the land being occupied by 55,000 vacant homes.

You do not have to be a "Big Data Scientist" to realize that you should start by making a map.  These homes will not be randomly distributed across the city.

Here is a new report  highlighting some climate change induced water challenges that California is likely to face over the next 80 years.  A pessimist would say; "we are doomed."  An optimist would say;  "Thanks for the "heads up"", now what are the new money making opportunities created by this anticipated challenge?"    For example, the report features some discussion of snow melt and water runoff (see page 23).

Time is our scarcest asset. If you seek to waste 4 minutes contemplating the future of the Midwest then I encourage you to listen to my short radio interview.     For decades, millions of people have been moving away from the Midwest to the South and West.  In future decades, in part due to climate change, such regional trends may reverse.  Again, the key idea here is the "system of cities".  The U.S features hundreds of cities that compete for the skilled.

The NY Times reminds us that the California Dream is expensive.  Early in the article, an interesting fact is presented and Richard Green of USC makes a key point:

"In much of the state, a two-bedroom apartment or home is virtually impossible to acquire with anything less than a six-figure salary.

“It’s hard to imagine how all of California doesn’t become like New York City and San Francisco, where you have very rich people and poor people but nothing in between,” said Richard K.

I am listening to Aerosmith's song "Rag Doll" and Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" while I write this B- blog post.   A number of news articles are picking up my "quote" about the rise of environmental refugees.   I'd like to set the record slightly straight.  First, for economists who only know Arrow and Debreu, the term "environmental refugees" may not be part of their standard lexicon.

While I am pleased to be quoted in this NY Times article,  I'm a pinch surprised by the quote.  I am a home owner in LA. I would not have made this big bet of all my life's savings if I thought that LA is doomed in the face of climate change.   I do not have a crystal ball and I can't claim to have perfect foresight concerning the exact names of those cities that will thrive in our hotter future.