Oklahoma Radio and Climate Change Adaptation
Perhaps I should move to Oklahoma? I had a great talk with Trent England in this radio segment. We spoke about urban quality of life and the free market's role in improving our quality of life during a time of increased climate risk.
Who Bears the Incidence of Hurricane Harvey's Economic Damage?
Here are some questions that I do not know the answer to: How much economic damage will Hurricane Harvey cause? Given that 11 trillion gallons of rain have fallen on Houston, will Houston's long run economy be injured? How quickly do modern cities bounce back from natural disasters?
More closely
Could Certain Yoga Mats Raise Women's Infertility Risk?
Here is a scary news piece claiming that exposure to certain types of yoga mats increases a woman's risk of being infertile. This claim is based on this technical research article.
Read the Asian Development Review
While economists fixate on the top 5 "general journals", there are several other journals that publish interesting research. Take a look at this special issue of the Asian Development Bank's main journal. I"m proud of my paper on climate change adaptation and urbanization.
President Trump's Buy America: Lessons from Public Sector Bus Procurement
President Trump's team seek to renegotiate parts of NAFTA to encourage the revitalization of U.S manufacturing. How is consumer welfare affected if there is some domestic protectionism to keep foreign imports out? In our 2015 paper, we explore this theme in the case of public transit buses.
Econometrics vs. Statistics
We are teaching our 16 year old son the dark art of econometrics. I asked him the following question. Nutritionists claim that eating peanut butter makes you fat.
Misallocation vs. Solving Co-Ordination Failures: The Case of China's Investment in Industrial Parks
China's economy is growing faster than the U.S economy. Yes, China is "catching up" to the rich U.S but what role does the activist, rich and powerful Chinese Communist Party play in explaining this? There are two different views on this subject.
China's Transition to a Human Capital Economy
The NY Times has published an interesting piece about the rise of Chinese Tech companies.
Can an Economics Blog Evolve?
My term as the Chair of USC Economics starts this week. Proper decorum suggests that I should no longer be blogging. I've decided on a compromise path. I will no longer write about current events or politics or my humor. I will write about my own research and about activity at USC Economics.
The Economics of Policy Reform
Economists are much better at pointing out "Hicksian Pareto Improvements" in policy rather than pure "Pareto Improvements". Road pricing and pollution permit pricing represent the former but are unlikely to be the latter.
An MIT Engineer Discusses Economic Issues Related to Climate Change Adaptation
Elfatih Eltahir holds an endowed chair at MIT in Civil Engineering. His new paper has been written up in Time Magazine. Here is his Google citation page.
Three Cheers for Free Market Environmentalism at PERC
One of the first environmental economics book that I read was Terry Anderson and Donald Leal's Free Market Environmentalism. This book's clear cases helped me to appreciate the power of Coasian logic in understanding environmental challenges.
