For all those who care about inequality

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/10-25-HouseholdIncome.pdf


Very clear.

Nice discussion on the economics of a fancy restaurant

http://andrewgelman.com/2012/01/econ-debate-about-prices-at-a-fancy-restaurant/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-06/the-economics-of-celebrity-chef-grant-achatz-the-ticker.html 

I agree with them, but probably the restaurant doesnt care about the issue of overpricing that much...with a first naive approach they are happy. It saves face.

Mankiw's arguments on taxation

So far, I do not see the real content of this proposal.

http://www.economics.harvard.edu/files/faculty/40_Spreading%20the%20Wealth%20Around.pdf

How is it suppose to be determined the social valuation of people's contribution? 

In case of a disagreement, how is it to be settled?

The way it is formulated, it seems to me that it is a rationalization of the outcome of a market economy, adorned with the recognition of the typical market failures.

It seems to be that the emphasizes is put on individual's freedom (I know this seems out of context, but I don't really think it is ; notice the context in which it is introduced, for instance, the references to the competitive equilibrium as the core - if you don't like it, you can walk away) above any sense of ethical criteria leading to compensation.

Equality as the route to excellence in education?

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

I had never thought about debt in this way...

Again, shame on me

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/debt-is-mostly-money-we-owe-to-ourselves/

Mankiw replies

http://www.economics.harvard.edu/files/faculty/40_whatdobudgetdeficitsdo.pdf

Cochrane's view of Greece

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-22/bad-ideas-worsen-europe-s-debt-meltdown-commentary-by-john-h-cochrane.html

Anticompetitive behaviour...performed by consumers

http://cheaptalk.org/2011/12/14/amazons-price-check-app/

Does unemployment mean people want to work less?

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/are-employers-unwilling-to-hire-or-are-workers-unwilling-to-work/

I am not convinced at all. I would say that the burden of proof is on the side of those arguing that unemployment in the current recession is coming from the supply side (workers not wanting to work). Given the importance of the issue, the evidence presented by Casey Mulligan is, in my opinion, circumstancial.

Further evidence:

http://www.nber.org/papers/w17584

Thoughts?

Nice article on the effect of politician's background on their political stand

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/growing-wealth-widens-distance-between-lawmakers-and-constituents/2011/12/05/gIQAR7D6IP_story.html

Merry Christmas

...may Ron Paul be wrong

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/12/ron-paul-portfolio.html

Bribes

Some good practices seem to be catching...

http://evanlieberman.org/2011/12/21/i-paid-a-bribe-kenyan-website/

A bright future for econ PhD's (?)

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/19/job-market-economics-phds-flat

Sometimes it is weird, but it makes me smile most of the times

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2465&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+smbc-comics%2FPvLb+%28Saturday+Morning+Breakfast+Cereal+%28updated+daily%29%29

Rogoff on Capitalism

As expected, but note the conclusion, different from what I have ever heard from "mainstream" economists...

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rogoff87/English

Too small to be noticed?

http://evanlieberman.org/2011/12/16/the-silent-crisis-that-is-swaziland/

Economists on drugs

Please note that some of the answers are: I don't have a freaking clue.

http://www.igmchicago.org/igm-economic-experts-panel/poll-results?SurveyID=SV_56aH8qtNcQdaRve

Andrew Gelman on Freakonomics

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/id.14344,y.0,no.,content.true,page.3,css.print/issue.aspx

Daron Acemoglu on inequality

Worth reading.


http://thebrowser.com/interviews/daron-acemoglu-on-inequality?page=1

Casey Mulligan on unemployment benefits

I like the style of Prof. Mulligan. The evidence is clearly stated and the argumentation is not misleading.

My caveat to his reasoning is: wouldn't we want to wait until bad times are passed to return to pre recession uemployment benefits?

Or is his argumentation deeper than what is exposed in the post and I have not realized?


Supply and Demand (in that order): Millions Caught by the Social Safety Net: Copyright, The New York Times Company Despite the severe recession, relatively few people saw their living standards fall into poverty, th...

Mind tricks

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/myts7/what_is_a_mind_trick_you_know_of/

(via cheap talk)