Paul Romer on Urban Growth and Option Value
Paul Romer has posted an important blog post on the urbanization process. In the case of the nation of Colombia, he seeks to help the leaders of this urbanizing nation to create the necessary conditions to have productive and "livable" future cities.
A New Book on the Risks Caused by Climate Change
The Risky Business Project is not a Tom Cruise vehicle. Instead, it is a group of talented people who are deeply worried about the consequences that climate change will pose. This group has now released a new book. Here is its Amazon webpage.
Imitation and the Diffusion of Good Management Techniques
Social learning is an important and interesting research and policy subject. Suppose a big city mayor implements road pricing to mitigate the traffic congestion externality.
A Career in Economics?
The AEA has posted a new 8 minute video making the case that a career in economics is both intellectually challenging and perhaps offers the prospect of having a job. You can watch it here.
A few thoughts;
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REPEC Fantasy Econ Departments Transactions: I Couldn't Sell Thomas Piketty
For a finite price, I tried to sell Thomas Piketty but I can't find a buyer. Economists of the world sign up for REPEC Fantasy Economics.
First Impressions
USC's fall semester has just started and I have already taught for 4 hours, met with students and colleagues, attended lunches, seminars and cracked jokes and tried to teach the power of price theory applied to environmental and urban topics.
Will China Transition to "Higher Quality" Growth?
Eduardo Porter makes some bold predictions in today's NY Times. He writes; "A totalitarian regime may be good at deploying capital and labor to deliver raw economic growth.
The Consequences of Durable Housing: Evidence from Tokyo's Suburbs
Back in 2005, Ed Glaeser and Joe Gyourko published an important paper on the asymmetric implications of durable housing. Detroit was their favorite example. During the 1950s as the car industry boomed in Detroit, developers built houses that could last for 75 years.
A Great Ken Arrow Celebration Video
Columbia University celebrates the contributions of Ken Arrow (a PhD graduate of the program). This video is worth watching. You will see three Nobel Laureates and other superstars discuss his influence.
Singapore at Night
How much do urbanites value "green space"? Do they value it less if it is very hot outside? This article argues that Singapore's high daily heat reduces the joy that their urbanites gain from proximity to green space.
Managing Expectations
The NY Times has published a long piece making the case that China's President Xi has promised too much to his people. While we all wish that there was an all knowing benevolent leader to protect us from risk, such a leader doesn't exist.
The Tianjin Blast Highlights the Benefits of "Sprawl"
Somebody once said; "the solution to pollution is dilution". The NY Times reports that in Tianjin, China that people lived too close to noxious and risky chemical facilities. One way to have a physical separation between industrial activity and people is to encourage suburbanization.
Does Water Scarcity Pose a "Limit to California's Growth"?
Adam Nagourney appears to be an adherent of the ideas of the Club of Rome. In his NY Times front page piece today, he worries that California cities that encourage growth are exacerbating the "water crisis" by increasing demand during a drought that is likely to persist.
Investing in Natural Capital to Offset the Challenge of Sea Level Rise
Professor Ed Barbier has published an important policy piece in a new issue of Nature. He discusses his involvement with an entity created after Hurricane Katrina.
Should the United States Morph Into Sweden?
The NY Times appears to be on a crusade to transform the U.S economy into a kinder and gentler Sweden. Read this article and judge for yourself.
My New Start at USC
This blogged stopped for two weeks as I was on vacation. This morning I took an Uber to USC and the person who drove me was the 1st round NFL pick by the NY Giants back in 1991. Given that I used to follow that team, we had a good talk about many issues including the permanent income hypothesis.
A PERC Conference on Climate Change Adaptation
Terry Anderson's book Free Market Environmentalism played a key role in my early thinking about Coase and environmental economics. For years, Terry was in charge of PERC and I greatly benefited from my first visit to PERC in Bozeman MT a few years ago.
The Economics of Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change
Michael Roberts is a top agricultural economist. Here is his Google Scholar page. He earned his Ph.D. at the UC Berkeley. UC Berkeley is a major trainer in agricultural and environmental economics and it is center of behavioral economics. This blog post will touch on both of these topics.
Paul Krugman's Revealing Review of an Early Piketty Book
Back in the 1990s, Tomas Piketty wrote a short book about economic inequality. Harvard University Press has now published an English translation.
Achieving Accountability Through DNA Testing of Dogs and Dog Poop
One Brooklyn apartment building has solved its Commons Problem by having its 175 dogs all be registered and DNA tested. This has created a database that can be cross-checked when a new unwanted sample of poop is left in the commons areas.
Do Supply Curves Slope Steeply Up? If "Yes", then Why?
Cornell's Robert Frank has written many times about the "arms race" for status goods.
The Chore Wars Revisited: Contrasting the Perspective of Sociologists and Economists
Millennial Men are dudes ages 18 to 35. In surveys, they have stated that they would like to live a balanced lifestyle of working but also spending significant amounts of time at home rearing their children.
