The media keeps running articles that Greta Thunberg and a majority of the world's young people worry that "society is doomed" because of climate change. I understand that they seek to create a political movement to enact a global carbon tax.

The Washington Post has published a piece stating that the Secretary of Transportation, Peter Buttigieg, is the big winner of the Biden Infrastructure Bill as he will be attending many ribbon cutting ceremonies as grateful local mayors shake his hand.

Bill Gates argues that we were insufficiently prepared for COVID-19.

The Biden Administration is about to enact a new infrastructure law that will spend more than $1 trillion dollars on rebuilding America's infrastructure. Cities such as Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit and St.

A few thoughts about the pending Infrastructure Bill.

What Criteria Will be Used to Allocate the Money?

An efficiency criteria would state that it should be allocated to those places and on those projects within such places that offer the greatest economic and quality of life impact.

The Low Tide Beckons

No more Economics Talk 

I will Tweet later.

Imagine if there is an infectious disease that spreads within cities but not across cities.   Throughout the COVID crisis, the city specific infection rate has varied across cities at each point in time.

My wife and I own a well known Electric Vehicle that monitors our driving in Southern California.

Politico reports on the policy challenge that the Biden Administration faces.  There are thousands of Haitian immigrants living in squalid conditions under the Del Rio International Bridge.

A dynamic incentives issue arises.

The Biden Administration has made an announcement that it seeks to protect outdoor workers from extreme heat exposure.   What does the theory of compensating differentials in real estate markets and labor markets teach us about exposure to high temperatures.

I maintain two assumptions.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is opening retail stores in cities.  On one level, this poses a puzzle because Amazon's rise was fueled by its cost savings due to the fact that it is a virtual store.  Over the decades, Amazon has assembled a huge database about each of its customers.

Michael Mann has co-authored a witty letter to the Wall Street Journal.  Here is a photo for you to appreciate his insights.

His letter makes an analogy between climate change and Clint Eastwood in the first Dirty Harry movie.

In a series of pieces, I have explored how the for profit insurance industry can accelerate climate change adaptation progress. Here is my recent RMS interview. Here is my 2017 co-authored Harvard Business Review piece.

A few months ago, I posted a Twitter tweet about how to use REPEC data to rank academic couples.  I followed a symmetric transparent method.  My criteria takes the REPEC Ranking for one spouse + REPEC ranking for the other spouse.  I treat them as equals.

Across all of the world's economists;

#9 in Environmental Economics

#25 in Urban economics

#4 in Resource Economics

#27 in Energy Economics

John Cochrane recently posted an important blog post sketching out his claim that climate change will only have a small impact on world GNP over the next 75 years.   He argues that the trend growth (3% growth for 60 years) will swamp the effect of climate change).

Consider a University of Chicago Econ 301 homework assignment situated in Summer 2021 in the American West.

"You own a $500,000 home in a fire zone in the American West.  You owe $X on your mortgage.

John Cochrane has posted an important blog post about adapting to climate change.  His piece mainly focuses on macroeconomic issues.  For decades, John was colleagues with Bob Lucas and those familiar with Robert Lucas's optimistic work on economic growth will see a correlation.

A nuanced blog post about the damage that we will suffer because of climate change.

Cliff Winston sent me a copy of his forthcoming book Gaining Ground --- so I read it.  This is an optimistic book that celebrates the constructive role that markets play in improving our quality of life.  A theme throughout the book is the synergy between market forces and government activity.

From 2017 to 2019, I served as the Chair of the USC Economics Department.  Josh Aizenman served before me and he taught me the ropes.  Under Josh's leadership, great things were already taking place at USC Econ and I built on this momentum.

Back in 2011, my old friend Enrico Moretti published his important New Geography of Jobs book.  You can read a synopsis here.  Along with many other urban economic scholars, I am fascinated by how different geographic locations compete for jobs and people.

In May 2021, I am quite aware that I am now an "old guy" in the academic economics profession. While this has obvious costs, it offers at least one benefit.  I can blog and offer "big thoughts".  

With that preamble, let's begin.   We face a serious climate change adaptation challenge.

I have co-authored a new book that argues that the answer is "YES" but there are many people who disagree with this claim.

At Johns Hopkins University, I taught Urban Economics in Spring 2020.

California real estate is desirable.  I own property there.  Zillow teaches us that it has the most valuable land in America with a Zillow average price of $644,000 in April 2021.     The national Zillow price is $276,000.

In February 2021, Johns Hopkins University Press published my new co-authored book Unlocking the Potential of Post-Industrial Cities.

A blog post that responds to Noah Smith's provocative piece titled Why Has Climate Economics Failed Us?.   It raises a deep question.  What is the point of climate economics research?  I will respond below.  Dr. Smith's piece also throws some low blows.

In this blog post, I'd like to sketch out some "rules of the game" to raise the likelihood that Americans will earn a good rate of return on the $2 Trillion dollars that the Biden Administration has proposed to be spent on infrastructure.

A case study about petty crime.  A risk neutral thief will steal if the expected benefits are greater than the expected cost.  The expected cost of theft (for those without a guilty conscience) equals the probability of detection multiplied by the $ punishment if caught.

In their important book: The Race Between Education and Technology,  Claudia Goldin and Larry Katz use a supply and demand framework to discuss changes in the U.S labor markets over the last 100 years.

The Economist Magazine's March 13th 2021 issue has a great story about drone use and drone expenditure.

The piece starts by talking about Tom Cruise in the movie "Top Gun" and says that manned airplanes are expensive.

I really like Paul Krugman's NY Times piece from today.   It focuses on his predictions about the short term future of cities.   Here is a quote from the Nobel Laureate. 

"So the best bet is that life and work in, say, 2023 will look a lot like life and work in 2019, but a bit less so.

I have moved my climate change economics blogging over to Substack.  

In February 2021, we published our urban economics book ;

You can read chapter One and watch several relevant urban economic growth videos posted here.

I am delighted to announce that my new book Unlocking the Potential of Post-Industrial Cities has just been published.  For those who have an active Twitter account, you can request a free e-book by filling out the form here.

This blog post will sketch out some optimistic economics 101 lessons for how to reduce the risk of future Texas power blackouts without building a single new power plant.

My Research and My Books
My Research and My Books
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