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Request for requests
Comments are open, so please let us know what you are interested in reading about. The only promise is that of weak monotonicity, namely that your mention won't lower the chance of the topic being covered.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 21, 2008 at 11:43 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
What impact will algorithmic game theory have on economics?
Posted by: Johan at Apr 21, 2008 11:53:11 AM
Please continue your coverage of energy issues. Energy commodities especially seem to be in chaos right now. Gas prices are around 3.50 / gallon in Fairfax. Looking into power generation inputs... coal, oil and gas are all at record highs. Rate caps on power utilities only last so long, and then consumers will start to feel these costs passed to them.
Posted by: Geoff at Apr 21, 2008 11:58:49 AM
How does having the most well-developed system of intellectual property rights affect the United States in the global balance of trade in human capital?
Posted by: Michael Martin at Apr 21, 2008 12:01:27 PM
On Water:
Some showing that before you post again in favor of "water markets", you have read California Water Code section 1725 et seq., governing changes in points of diversion.
Or, more generally, that you have a way of reconciling your commitment to existing property rights with the destruction of property rights necessarily required for a water market.
(California does have a water market; however as it is largely between governmental agencies the market lacks liquidity.)
Posted by: Francis at Apr 21, 2008 12:01:53 PM
On mainstream versus "fringier" economic schools of thought (and schools themselves too if you like); and on different schools of thought generally, and your take on them; where economic theory is at present.
Posted by: liberty at Apr 21, 2008 12:04:58 PM
I would like to hear about Bruce Bueno De Mesquita in this election year.
Also The "woot" phenomenon (www.woot.com).
Posted by: valpodoc at Apr 21, 2008 12:04:59 PM
Personal DNA sequencing, implications, business models off the back of a collection of DNA
Posted by: John at Apr 21, 2008 12:05:15 PM
Food shortages in the US. Matzah shortage in San Francisco bay Area.
Posted by: KenF at Apr 21, 2008 12:05:41 PM
How about a post about Sallie Mae (SLM) and the student loan market?
Posted by: John at Apr 21, 2008 12:07:01 PM
What do you think of Erin Beinhocker's book on complexity economics and in general, the field of complexity economics?
Posted by: SKY at Apr 21, 2008 12:07:58 PM
Difficulties in cultural communication, translations, or other sorts of cultural confusions. Personal stories from your many travels abroad would be a plus!
Posted by: Gori Girl at Apr 21, 2008 12:08:02 PM
Could you write something about the presence and prospects of personalized pricing (and marketing?). It seems as e-commerce and better data-management play a key role.
Posted by: Chris at Apr 21, 2008 12:12:02 PM
Is taking a photo or video of an event for later viewing worth it, even if it means more or less missing the event in realtime? What's better, a lifetime of mediated viewing of my son's first steps or a one-time in-person viewing?
Posted by: jkottke at Apr 21, 2008 12:12:06 PM
What is your view, and the best empirical evidence, on standards of living between the US and the richest European countries, including health care?
Posted by: JP at Apr 21, 2008 12:12:54 PM
Nothing to do with economics, but I find it infuriating that assassinated former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has had his harshest allegations repeated publicly many times (Russian FSB blew up their own buildings, and trained al-Qaeda's number 2 just months before he became al-Qaeda's number 2 and set them on the path to 9/11), and yet no news publication will seriously consider the ramifications of them being true (i.e., there is really no such thing as home-grown Islamic terrorism on the scale that we see today). Ditto with assassinated dissident journalist Anna Politkovskaya (her allegations were just about the FSB's domestic terrorism – nothing on Ayman al-Zawahiri). And this despite the vindication of most everything both of them said (including both of them predicting their own deaths).
Posted by: Stephen at Apr 21, 2008 12:13:58 PM
Whether noted economist and blogger Tyler Cowen plays online chess and, if so, which websites?
Posted by: David at Apr 21, 2008 12:21:30 PM
More on classical music. I've loved classical for years, but have recently been trying to expand my listening repertoire, especially to avoid a quiet house now that I'm a freelancing fulltime. What do you think is the best way of discovering new (to me) composers/works/artists (that I would like)? What do you think of Pandora's newish classical capabilities? I have been impressed with its accuracy but infuriated by the fact that you can only get one movement at a time.
Posted by: nicole at Apr 21, 2008 12:25:17 PM
Why are books so outrageously expensive in Brazil?
Posted by: Acqua at Apr 21, 2008 12:32:38 PM
Explain exchange rates, in particular what affects them other than trade arbitrage.
Posted by: Ron Hardin at Apr 21, 2008 12:34:49 PM
Thoughts on the value of private vs. public schooling. Also, thoughts on the value of home schooling and how would it be possible to properly capture the costs?
Posted by: Dan at Apr 21, 2008 12:34:58 PM
Can the "new president" bring change? Public Choice versus Coordination problems.
Francis -- I just wrote this post on YOUR questions about water. (Sorry for the hijack Tyler...)
Posted by: David Zetland at Apr 21, 2008 12:36:16 PM
What language(s) is your daughter learning? What language(s) do you think she should learn?
Posted by: Acqua at Apr 21, 2008 12:38:11 PM
In celebration of the warm weather:
How does an office/shopping mall/theater decide how low to set its air conditioning? It seems like they've found a bizarre and expensive equilibrium where the "normal" indoor temperature is 63 degrees (in August) and everyone carries an extra long-sleeve layer to keep warm. How did it get this way, and is there some way to fix it?
Posted by: Ben M at Apr 21, 2008 12:38:19 PM
Recommendations re new jazz recordings
Posted by: J. Bogart at Apr 21, 2008 12:41:34 PM
I read two article in the Times yesterday. The first about The Wealth Trajectory: Rewards for the Few at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/business/20view.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5089&en=2a93956770cc9ddd&ex=1366430400&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
Talks about the growth of skilled workers has slowed:
Because growth in the supply of skilled workers has slowed, their wages have grown relative to those of the unskilled.
The second talks about the decline of the $20 wage: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/weekinreview/20uchitelle.html?ex=1366430400&en=ddcd89b85688beaf&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
In the second I saw this:
Even now, roughly 15 percent of college-educated workers find themselves in jobs for which they are overqualified, the Economic Policy Institute reports, and many of these jobs pay less than $20 an hour.
The first article speaks to a shortage of skilled workers. But according to the second story 15% of college educated workers are overqualified. How can both be true?
Posted by: Ajay E at Apr 21, 2008 12:44:35 PM
(1) Whether it is economically and/or politically sound for states with POSITIVE net financial wealth to maintain a sovereign wealth fund.
(2) Whether it is economically and/or politically sound for states with NEGATIVE net financial wealth to maintain a sovereign wealth fund (equity investments financed through increased public debt).
(3) If YES on (1), then please be very clear about why NO on (2).
Posted by: Johan at Apr 21, 2008 12:47:02 PM
The Washington Wizards in general and Caron Butler in particular as an extremely tiny benefit from the horrors of the drug war.
Posted by: Cisco at Apr 21, 2008 12:49:40 PM
Once you wrote: "I've grown tired of single topic foodstuff books, as they are now an overmined and overrated genre."
How about a list of said genre with your accompanying ratings.
Posted by: Jeff Egnaczyk at Apr 21, 2008 12:53:34 PM
Why is it that any proposal to expand health insurance (that I have heard about) seeks to thoroughly regulate the activity and have wealthy users subsidize the insurance of poor patients?
Poor people cannot afford many things and the normal policy in those case is to subsidize their demand, not reform the whole activity (e.g., food stamps). Would it be better to regulate health care industry to make it as efficient as possible (allowing for all the right incentives to control costs and research for new cures) and subsidize demand for the poor (e.g., health insurance stamps) instead of creating all of these cross- subsidies?
Thanks,
Ignacio
Posted by: Ignacio at Apr 21, 2008 12:54:10 PM
More brain-storming about income inequality as tied to (or explained by) education, as suggested by Mankiw. Seems a bit less than persuasive. Mankiw's ideas were discussed in the Florida blog (http://creativeclass.typepad.com/thecreativityexchange/). Here is my comment in that blog:
Developing good manners and using them well or a daily basis - socializing regularly for fun and profit will be key for those who go to law school and get the $160,000 job that lasts for three years. We will be going (and are going) to a society that requires each college grad or
law grad or the like to be entrepreneurial and to develop his or her own portable book of business (a rolodex or contact list of people one can network with over time to find work and get projects completed). That kind of skill st is developed mostly on the job, and not in Minkiw's EC 10 classroom, yes?
Suppose we wanted to set up a dream team (or teams) to deal with inequal wealth distribution, would we stock up with the most educated? Probably not first. What we want first are the most well connected and well heeled. The ones who network well, and continuously. The ones who lobby and work the system (Congress, Courts, Executive Agencies, State government bodies, Local governments). We then would branch out to ones with top international contacts, top language skills (Chinese, Arabic), top writers and speakers (eg Bill Clinton coming out of high school), top math/finance students, and then the top engineers and scientists (genetics, biotech, computer science).
Education is part of the cure - including making good tutors available for good prices, adjusting for legacy wealth, toning down sports as education (or "the way to get a college scholarship"), and need-based scholarships for pre-college years.
But equally important with education is one's legacy (relatives or friends who can act as angel investors, help find jobs, write recommendations), and one's family finances (coming from a family with say $1 mm of net worth aside from the house).
We should look hard at the Asian and Jewish communities as they thrive in places like CA - ideally there is a holistic approach, not just focused on education, but also finances, contacts, cultural values, classical music, the best in modern culture.
Posted by: cfw at Apr 21, 2008 1:03:50 PM
I'd like more analysis of the "food crisis." I have heard friends in El Salvador already talk about recent large run-ups in food prices. The article below quotes Joachim von Braun, the head of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), as saying "“World agriculture has entered a new, unsustainable and politically risky period."
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/The-new-face-of-hunger/299349/
Things are getting bad enough in the Philippines that they are lifting rice import quotas (what a concept!):
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/200804/s2210468.htm
Of course, they are continuing with "land reform" there anyway:
http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=2298
"Habito acknowledged that skeptics and oppositors of agrarian reform blame the program for an aggregate decline in agricultural investments and farm productivity since the enactment of Republic Act No. 6657"
I don't know if this "food crisis" is truly a serious problem, whether it is a brief fluctuation due to a drought in Australia, a longer-term problem leading from widespread biofuel subsidies, or a real long-term problem associated with Asian economic growth meeting lack of Asian agricultural productivity rises.
Posted by: Mr. Econotarian at Apr 21, 2008 1:04:44 PM
I'd like to know more about the basics of how the money supply works. Where would I start reading? Also, how specifically does government debt affect the economy and how do we know whether it's too high? Is inflation (due to printing money) the main problem, or are there other bad effects?
Posted by: Brian Slesinsky at Apr 21, 2008 1:09:36 PM
The economic future of the Euro and Europe as a whole. While currently quite strong, I don't see the European economy is as dynamic as the US or China. Also, the sheer weight of bureaucracy, both from the social-program-oriented national governments and the EU government on top of them, seems to be self-limiting. And did I mention demographic trends?
Posted by: Peripatetic Entrepreneur at Apr 21, 2008 1:14:31 PM
Natural gas and oil.
Posted by: C Coop at Apr 21, 2008 1:19:30 PM
Carbon Tax Vs Cap and Trade - more information on the economics of pollution
Posted by: DanC at Apr 21, 2008 1:27:02 PM
I've always been curious about how Tyler goes about choosing new books to read. Most people rely on recommendations from others, but Tyler seems like someone who generates a lot of recommendations rather than relying on them. What is your process?
Posted by: TLV at Apr 21, 2008 1:27:33 PM
I'd like you to address the economics of dating and finding a husband or wife.
Posted by: larry at Apr 21, 2008 1:29:55 PM
In "Great Dictator" there is a scene showing a clossed room within which Hitler and Mussolini are engaged in a ompetition: each person adjusts their chair to be on a higher plane than the rival while the public waits outside thinking that a great talk is taking place between the dictators.Similarly,we the reading public go through the papers of economists without knowing about the power struggle,academic quarrels,heirarchical relations (like in monkey societies),"you praise me so that I can praise you" policies and all nonsenses taking place in renowned university economics departments and also about the sufferings of students.An occasional posting on "inside stories" will be interesting.
Posted by: GVV at Apr 21, 2008 1:30:31 PM
Are you still doing a BBQ book? What's your thoughts on Texas Ribs & BBQ in Clinton, MD? And why do I not understand the appeal of Baltimore pit beef after shlepping out to Chaps a couple of weeks ago?
Posted by: Ted at Apr 21, 2008 1:32:50 PM
Tyrone on soft paternalism.
Posted by: bachwards at Apr 21, 2008 1:37:17 PM
Purchasing Power Parity (please).
Posted by: KL at Apr 21, 2008 1:37:35 PM
Economic influence of Pope and econ stimulus effects of Papal visits.
Posted by: Brandon at Apr 21, 2008 1:38:48 PM
I'm allergic to most seafood. What should I make for dinner?
Posted by: Steven Bass at Apr 21, 2008 1:43:52 PM
The critic James Wood--despite his formidable intellect and depth of knowledge, he's awfully obtuse. Discuss.
Posted by: Rue Des Quatre Vents at Apr 21, 2008 1:46:11 PM
The crowding out effect of government sponsored science R&D on private science R&D.
Posted by: subrosa at Apr 21, 2008 1:47:15 PM
Rent seeking behaviors of custodial parents and the family law industry:
1) Disenfranchising of parents (mostly Father's) during divorce to maximize financial gain.
2) Excessive child support awards (those far in excess of the incremental costs of raising children). In effect, "hidden alimony" which cannot be eliminated even as the result of remarriage or rehabilitation.
Posted by: Rob at Apr 21, 2008 1:50:09 PM
NBA predictions
Posted by: Hei Lun Chan at Apr 21, 2008 1:54:25 PM
Is reading MR via Google Reader stealing? If not, why put ads on MR? If so, who is doing the stealing, me or Google? In general what are the economics in splitting revenue between a (near-monopoly) content locator like Google and the content providers that give those searches value in the first place?
Posted by: msi at Apr 21, 2008 1:58:01 PM
The Metropolitan Opera has scored big by simulcasting to movie theaters. Is this good--can the Met do more good opera with the money, or does it kill off local opera companies? And why can't Harvard do the same--Mankiw can teach Econ 101 to all college freshmen in the country?
Posted by: Bill Harshaw at Apr 21, 2008 2:01:39 PM
1) Should the US be doing something to try and strengthen the dollar? What steps could our government take?
2)This article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120761416279896669.html?mod=fpa_mostpop doesn't seem to be telling the whole story. I would love to hear a non-ideological interpretation.
Posted by: Austin at Apr 21, 2008 2:04:09 PM
More Tabarrok! (Not to be confused with, "Less Cowen!")
Posted by: Bob Murphy at Apr 21, 2008 2:29:52 PM
Also, what are the implications of algorithmic information theory on economics, and particularly on bounded rationality models?
Posted by: QWERTY at Apr 21, 2008 2:48:29 PM
I'm an educator in the inner city, so I'd like to see more related to that:
-How easy/hard is it to get out of the inner city, given that you are likely to attend a monumentally crappy school?
-What are the long-term economic effects of being locked up without charges, as many of my students are?
-How much should poor students be willing to take out as loans to attend college?
-To what extent is the decision to carry a child to term a disaster for a 16-year-old?
And so on.
Posted by: James at Apr 21, 2008 2:51:22 PM
Petroleum and energy economics
Causes for variance in economic growth of U.S. states and regions
Geographic dispersion of residences and workplaces (aka Sprawl) and economic impacts
Airline industry economics, especially legacy vs low cost carriers and the role of government in ensuring protracted survival of poor performers
Posted by: John Dewey at Apr 21, 2008 3:03:14 PM
More "meta" stuff -- how to read, how to think, how to write, etc. Tyler's tricks on being a prolific, successful academic.
Posted by: Andy at Apr 21, 2008 3:04:51 PM
The economics of nothingness.
How does the increase in wheat prices affect anything when we face the anxiety brought on by pondering one's own death? When we die, will there have been an increase in wheat prices?
Posted by: mpkomara at Apr 21, 2008 3:07:32 PM
Will economics in the future rely more on simulation models and less on mathematical models?
Posted by: Michael at Apr 21, 2008 3:13:10 PM
newest crop of econ phd's just accepted their offers. what is the direction of the profession in your view?
Posted by: sniffles at Apr 21, 2008 3:13:30 PM
Revisit main/interesting topics, even if nothing has changed. There have been many great discussions and points brought up over the years. With readers coming and going revisiting these topics such as water rights, legalizing prostitution, academic incentives, etc would allow everyone to enjoy the topics with the greatest returns and would be a refresher. A great feature on the web page would be your top 50 posts that would allow people to do this on there own too.
Posted by: ss at Apr 21, 2008 3:20:19 PM
The economy of the middle east, excluding Israel, because there is a lot about the Israeli economy, but almost nothing about Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen and so on. Especially in the context of the resource curse and Leif Wenar's PPA piece. Any thing in this general subject would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Strider. at Apr 21, 2008 3:24:41 PM
How to become a rich man from knowing that inflation is higher than people realize.
Posted by: at Apr 21, 2008 3:32:36 PM
How might YouTube affect music listening habits?
I ask because I've been to several parties (in Europe) where the ambient music was decided by random guests finding their favorite songs on YouTube and playing them through the sound system hooked up to the computer.
Why has no one seemed to consider YouTube's role as an on-demand streaming music service?
Posted by: Jeff H. at Apr 21, 2008 3:35:51 PM
What is the best county music?
Posted by: Bill Russell at Apr 21, 2008 3:39:29 PM
I have a 9 year old girl in public school. What books can we read together to help her become a better person when she grows up? Not just a better student now, but more prepared for college, for financial responsibility, so she will make better choices and be a more informed citizen generally?
Or, if books aren't the answer, what should I encourage her to invest her time in to acheive the same?
Posted by: Dan at Apr 21, 2008 3:42:42 PM
I'm a university student who has just realized he is ignorant, uncultured and philistine. Some advice and introductory suggestions so that I may change my predicament.
Posted by: philistine at Apr 21, 2008 3:45:14 PM
What is the per mileage cost of riding a bike? And is riding a bike safer or more dangerous than driving?
Posted by: VC at Apr 21, 2008 3:57:40 PM
Importance of (minimum levels of) health/nutrition at early stages of life for productivity and Economic Development.
Posted by: Diego A. at Apr 21, 2008 3:58:41 PM
- The success of economists as head of state... does better understanding of economic principles equal better actions. Application to the US government.
- Should fewer students go to college? Should we provide more (on-average) financial aid to fewer students, or should we provide less financial aid to more students?
- Is a dramatically simplified tax code possible?
- Subsidies/tax breaks... for instance alternative energy. Corn ethanol is generally a bad technology, but perhaps it will result in something better.
- Economic impact of television on a household. Some families decide not to have a television... all else equal, do these families enjoy a higher level of economic achievement?
- Environmental Economics in general and specifically whether economics and environment can coexist aside from companies like Patagonia where green is key part of the marketing message.
Posted by: mkb at Apr 21, 2008 3:58:43 PM
your thoughts on bringing oxygen into the economy.
Posted by: Mason at Apr 21, 2008 3:59:09 PM
Economics and religious/moral principles - how christianity's social teachings intersect with economics. Islam's too. This could be a book, but I am interested in your first-cut-at-the-topic thoughts.
Posted by: paul at Apr 21, 2008 4:03:57 PM
Prognostications, and links, on how globally rising food prices should be, and instead will be, handled in poor countries.
Along similar lines, consider this article in the NY Sun titled Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World. Note that the breadbasket they are talking about is the US.
Every economist knows instinctively and instantly what the cause is, but it is not until you get to the third (i.e. final) page, third to last paragraph (talk about burying the lead) that the uneducated reader gets a clue what is really going on.
We are going to be seeing more and more of these illiterate stories in the media as time goes by, we really need economists in the spotlight like TC and AT to spotlight the clueless analysis and explain to the masses what is happening and why.
Posted by: happyjuggler0 at Apr 21, 2008 4:06:30 PM
Recent Yale art projects in the news...you might want to disable comments.
Posted by: Bill at Apr 21, 2008 4:06:31 PM
"Verify your comment
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below.
This test is used to prevent automated robots from posting comments."
Since I saw this when posting my last, please discuss the nature of robots that are not automated, since they must be distinguished from those that are.
Posted by: Bill at Apr 21, 2008 4:08:49 PM
I am also interested in what you think of Erin Beinhocker's book.
Also, do you think that at some point low skilled workers who complain of globalization taking their jobs will ever actually move out of the country to find manufacturing jobs in significant numbers?
Posted by: Dave at Apr 21, 2008 4:13:14 PM
Why does the U.S. have so many lawyers per capita and is that a net negative or positive?
Posted by: Joe at Apr 21, 2008 4:25:04 PM
NAFTA. I know you posted about NAFTA on its anniversary, but that was a fair few years ago.
With it becoming an issue during this election, and it becoming an increasingly accepted opinion by many talking heads that NAFTA has been bad for the US and/or bad for Mexico/Canada, it would be wonderful to have some setting-straight of the record.
Posted by: Jeff Akston at Apr 21, 2008 4:26:00 PM
Bangladesh
Posted by: at Apr 21, 2008 4:40:46 PM
How much does it cost to renounce U.S. citizenship to become, say, Swiss? Albanian? Is this happening more than it was 20 years ago?
Posted by: mpkomara at Apr 21, 2008 4:51:12 PM
Canada-US dollar parity and high Canadian prices.
How quickly will the system re-equilibrate (as in Canadian prices going down to US prices) and in which ways (i.e. what goods and how fast)?
What determines the speed of this change? Most obvious changes are in book prices to me - but Canada still very expensive...
Posted by: Mark at Apr 21, 2008 5:04:16 PM
Development economics. Some sample questions:
- How much do we understand about the "micro-level" trends that impact growth?
Do we know enough to design a survey, get 1,000 responses, and guess from those responses whether there will be growth? What would the survey questions be?
Of course we have some "macro-level" proximate explanations (the "poverty traps" etc.) as offered by Paul Collier and folks like him.
But what about the "micro" level? Can I predict, based on watching the behavior of 100 people in a country, whether that country will grow?
What aspects of behavior are most informative?
- "Conscientiousness" of individuals?
- The predictability/regularity of the public transit system?
- Whether prices are posted publically at restaurants?
- How often the people of the country feel sad versus angry?
- How many hours are in the average workweek?
- Availability of drugs or alcohol?
- Influence of religion on the average citizen's life?
Obviously many of these have a correlative, not causative, relationship, to growth.
But in any case it would be interesting to start breaking down the big complicated question of "which countries will grow?" by finding small-scale patterns which have some explanatory power.
Posted by: mk at Apr 21, 2008 5:14:54 PM
Are prices always the best way to allocate scarce resources?
Are there conditions where queuing or other methods of allocating scare resources superior.
Posted by: spencer at Apr 21, 2008 5:22:35 PM
why do only government actions have unintended consequences?
Cann't markets or private actors also have unintended consequences?
Why do libertarian solutions never have unintended consequences?
Posted by: spencer at Apr 21, 2008 5:25:52 PM
The 40 hour work week was established as the "norm" by the same federal legislation that established the first minimum wage. So why do so may economist that argue strongly against the minimum wage never attack the
40 hour work week? Essentially every argument against or for the minimum wage also applies to the 40 hour work week.
Posted by: spencer at Apr 21, 2008 5:36:00 PM
How can I filter through the junk predictions about trans/post-humanism?
Posted by: Charlie at Apr 21, 2008 5:39:07 PM
how about 10 best books under 150 pages?
Posted by: Ya'ir at Apr 21, 2008 5:40:56 PM
What goes into and explains current perception of the state of the economy (in any time period, not just Q2 '08)? Why is this quarter vs. last quarter or this year vs. last year given so much weight, as opposed to longer-term trends and absolute numbers? For example, if GDP in year 1 and year 2 are 100x and 120x, respectively, and GDP in year 9 and year 10 are 200x and 200x (or 200x and 199x), why do people in year 10 look back at year 2 as the golden age and complain about how much life sucks in year 10?
Posted by: Bjartur at Apr 21, 2008 5:48:16 PM
Milton Friedman, Stephen Colbert, Milton Friedman
Posted by: David at Apr 21, 2008 6:06:41 PM
The claim by Austrian economists that fractional reserve banks are equivalent to counterfeiters, and the Fed is just the head counterfeiter.
Posted by: Mike Sproul at Apr 21, 2008 6:16:05 PM
Tax incidence and the "terror tax" on oil -- when it costs more to get a barrel of oil from Nigeria because of the need to defend against MEND, who pays?
Posted by: Don Marti at Apr 21, 2008 6:27:49 PM
Dittos to subrosa. More killing of the sacred cows.
Elsewise, considering this is one of my few frequented sites, an objective observer could conclude I find value in the existing content---more of the same. Economics is economics, and if it's not, then it ain't economics! (translation: it's all the same stuff, and if it ain't, then what's the point in trying to systematize it?).
Posted by: Andrew at Apr 21, 2008 6:36:15 PM
The organic food movement -- causes and implications.
Posted by: Phil at Apr 21, 2008 7:07:34 PM
Sociology as an academic discipline. Its strengths, weaknesses, and future. Same questions for other disciplines.
Posted by: Michael Bishop at Apr 21, 2008 7:33:27 PM
Heuristics you use, during your travels or otherwise, to measure overall quality of life or real wealth in a country and happiness of those who live there (as an alternative to GDP or the UN metrics).
Posted by: Sean at Apr 21, 2008 7:53:14 PM
If I go to China and exchange my money on the black market at a market exchange rate, then change it back at the official rate, do I have a potential source of an infinite amount of money? Or do the Chinese have some way of preventing this?
Posted by: Nick at Apr 21, 2008 8:30:29 PM
Why do people do work or exchange things for free? (Examples: FreeCycle, couchsurfing, open source programming, Wikipedia, In Rainbows). How would an economist explain what seems to be a growing number of examples of "free culture"? Can we expect free software, free journals, and so on to be sustained, or will this all disappear in a few decades?
Posted by: sadielou at Apr 21, 2008 8:42:40 PM
Why do most speculative fiction authors suck at presenting believable economics in their world building. Who has the most plausible economic system in their stories and what are the most common sins due to having no clue as to what economies are.
Posted by: TW at Apr 21, 2008 9:02:17 PM
I would really like to know your opinion on the new energy proposal put forward by President Calderon in Mexico, it seems to me it is on a level similar to the tax reform: it will end up being worse than the old system, and will be accepted because of the political situation the country is in right now.
Posted by: Chaps at Apr 21, 2008 9:02:54 PM
Dollar for dollar, what would be the best policy or program to encourage highly intelligent people to have more children? I am only interested in things that would have some chance of being adopted.
Posted by: Pearl Yonick at Apr 21, 2008 9:12:45 PM
You observed in an EconTalk podcast that much of what drives decisions could be described as an "economics of affiliation", or words to that effect.
While the concept is not new, I thought your use of 'affiliation' to describe it was striking, giving the idea much greater depth.
Could you please you write about the "economics of affiliation", perhaps looking at: i) commercial affiliation, say where we pay significantly above production costs for a brand names ii) how those brand names market themselves, iii) sporting, political or community group affiliations, i.e. people come to associate themselves with movements or teams they may only play an indirect role in yet car about very deeply.
Posted by: Brendan at Apr 21, 2008 9:15:05 PM
I second the complexity request, specifically a discussion of the Santa Fe Institute's work on economy as a complex system.
Anything on the recent work of Thaler/Sunstein, Ariely (human irrationality) compared and contrasted with the work of Gigerenzer (people are ecologically rational) and the implications for the rationality assumption in economics.
Posted by: Bob at Apr 21, 2008 9:15:30 PM
Recommendations for "lesser known" baroque music.
Posted by: Jamie C at Apr 21, 2008 9:28:01 PM
I have two suggestions. How is the government going to deal with the national debt and the fiscal time bomb that is the baby boomer's retirement. Greenspan said that we cannot possibly pay all of the benefits that have been promised. My second suggestion is the affect on society of people not getting and married and having kids because
their careers demand so much time.
Posted by: adam at Apr 21, 2008 9:39:50 PM
cost/benefit of advertising
Posted by: xiat at Apr 21, 2008 10:13:08 PM
Is there a pop econ book that puts game theory in terms a lay person can understand?
Posted by: greg at Apr 21, 2008 10:17:30 PM
How about Tyler Cowen tackles the health care system.
It's one of the tougher "markets" to get one's head around. I look to school choice for education (augmented by vouchers), but vouchers simply won't work in health care. The poorest are also the least healthy and would demand considerably higher vouchers than would be tolerated. Either a massive amount of poor people will die or be removed from the work force due to debilitating conditions and diseases or the vouchers will be very large.
The single payer system has its share of problems and I would be interested in what market design you think would be appropriate.
Posted by: Publius at Apr 21, 2008 10:26:55 PM
1. Causation in economics;
2. Intersection of Economics and Logic (?);
3. Dworkin vs. Posner - philosophy of law;
4. I second the more how to's;
5. why not the economics of philosophy;
6. rationality;
7. more history of language stuff; and,
8. keep doing what you are doing!
Posted by: yakov at Apr 21, 2008 10:28:48 PM
Under what circumstances is a degree from Harvard (or Williams, or another school commonly regarded as "top tier") worth the money?
Does it remarkably increase your chances of getting a job in investment banking?
Will it pay off if you know what you want freshman year and begin networking aggressively to find others to help you get there?
If you're a budding scientist, does the access to high-powered labs provide a sufficient return on investment?
If you just want a sound liberal arts education, are you better off reading books, visiting museums and art galleries, working on projects you enjoy, making interesting friends, and investing your tuition money in tax-sheltered retirement funds?
What if you don't fit into any of the above categories and just want your expensive degree to be a golden passport to success? Is it likely to be one?
Posted by: carlhollywood at Apr 21, 2008 10:55:42 PM
I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the justification for and effects of limited liability (corporations, LLCs, etc.) and bankruptcy laws.
Posted by: Steve at Apr 21, 2008 11:27:19 PM
1. What are the arguments for and against a gold standard (or equivalent)?
2. Why do even rich people in New York have to beg and plead to get their kids into good private schools? If there is a "shortage" of good private schools, what is holding back supply?
Posted by: Paris at Apr 21, 2008 11:34:19 PM
I am a bit late to this party, but I would like to hear Tyler's take on Bryan Caplan's ongoing natalism debates.
Specifically, I would like to hear Tyler's response to the (Parfit) argument that since it is impossible to know whether non-extant children would "want" to be born, we can't weigh their costs or benefits of existing in our fertility decisions. If we accept this idea, then it seems hard to argue with Caplan who extols the "selfish" reasons for parents to have children (because parents will eventually want grandchildren, for one thing).
However, it seems to me that the net benefits or costs of a person's existence are likely to trump the selfish reasons for parents to have children. Many smart people dismiss this with a wave of their hands, saying that existence is usually a net benefit. But then look at Hamlet's soliloquy or Buddhist philosophy.
The creation of a human life (and from that life many more future generations) is likely to be the greatest legacy of benefit or harm we leave the world--not a decision to take lightly. What do you say, Tyler?
Posted by: david jinkins at Apr 21, 2008 11:46:29 PM
We usually measure income based on education. But how does education today compare to education decades ago? I understand students have become better test takers. But it seems like college curricula are now dumbed down to teach remedial high school material. In this case it is not surprising wages have stagnated.
Posted by: Steve Heston at Apr 22, 2008 12:12:20 AM
Is China a communist country (because they say so) or a right wing "fascist" country because they have private enterprise and property (i.e. they are "just like" Nazi Germany)?
Are most of the world's current crises really due to "the subprime mess" or to rising energy costs coming at the end of a period of relatively easy credit?
What does the completion of the LHC by CERN mean? Will anyone really benefit from this work? Is there a point at which the theories are so esoteric that they will never provide any utility to us average folk? Alternatively: Is Big Climate sucking up too many research resources? Or not enough?
Why do the US (a wealthy country) and Africa (a poor continent) put out more influential modern music than Asia (a populated continent of both wealthy and poor extremes)? Wasn't there some famous comment about division of labour and the extent of the market? Or is this just my Western POV?
Are Ubuntu and Google poised to make everyone's favorite illegal monopoly obsolete?
Re: Google street view and the ubiquity of camera phones: is privacy dead? If so, what does it mean? Do we have to go to Second Life to let our hair down?
Posted by: Eric H at Apr 22, 2008 12:31:18 AM
Two things:
1. What is Austrian economics exactly and what is their methodology.
2. How does money work exactly. I kind of understand it but not really. Are there any special economic insights.
Posted by: assma at Apr 22, 2008 12:34:46 AM
What will regional Mexican food look like in 10 years? 20 years?
Posted by: Peter Couvares at Apr 22, 2008 1:01:02 AM
Could you discuss “Hitting or Missing the Retirement Target: Comparing Contribution and Asset Allocation Schemes of Simulated Portfolios,” by Harold J. Schleef and Robert M. Eisinger?
They conclude that the standard shift of retirement funds from stocks to bonds as one nears retirement does not raise the expected value of ones portfolio.
Is that news? I thought the shift was to reduce volatility toward the end of ones career. How could it possibly increase expected value? They advise a fixed allocation between stocks and bonds based on their research, so it is not just academic research.
NY Times review: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/business/yourmoney/20stra.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
(I am relying on the Times here to save $9.95 on the paper, but the Times couldn't be wrong...)
Posted by: Helicase at Apr 22, 2008 1:06:00 AM
Since you are a proficient linguist, more on the future of languages:
1. Will we end up with one lingua franca, and will it be English or Mandarin? (or maybe latin, or ido as a neutral choice!)
2. Will people still speak their own mother tongue as well as English/Mandarin
3. Relatedly: having millions of languages is inefficient. But is there an optimal level of diversity (10, 20, 100 languages?), or is a monoglot world the "best" solution?
Posted by: Neal at Apr 22, 2008 4:24:26 AM
Are remittances overrated? Is there a dark side to them? Say, a noticeable reduction in labor supply via an income effect? Or: do remittances generate some of the same perverse incentives that, say, natural resources at times generate?
Posted by: U at Apr 22, 2008 5:20:04 AM
1. How much of intelligence is 'cache' and how much 'processor?'
2. What would the US look like if citizens used hedonics research to make life decisions?
Posted by: Milk for Free at Apr 22, 2008 10:53:45 AM
How much does undergraduate economics equip you to understand current economic events? Does it permit you to disagree blithely with a) your relatives, b) editorials, c) movie stars? Or are the models too simple to rely on?
Posted by: ionides at Apr 22, 2008 11:38:33 AM
- Anything on Labor Markets
- Public vs. Private schools/universities
Posted by: Brian at Apr 22, 2008 2:41:17 PM
Is it meaningful to say "people are starving because we are burning their corn in our cars"? Is it any different than people starving because we are using our money to persuade people to work in iPod factories instead of on farms?
As a hypothetical, what would happen if rich people didn't waste their money on yachts and houses with 26 toilets, but spent it only on essentials? Would they bid all the food away from poor people, having nothing else to spend their money on? I don't know if it makes sense to imagine a world where people are wealthy without producing anything besides food.
Posted by: Noumenon at Apr 22, 2008 7:56:53 PM
How much does policy research affect policy and what are the mechanisms? Different groups need convincing: legislators, civil servants, voters, philanthropists, other academics. Which groups convince which groups?
Posted by: Michael Bishop at Apr 22, 2008 8:25:41 PM
What policy changes, have the best chance of significantly weakening the relationship between parents human capital and their children's human capital?
Posted by: Michael Bishop at Apr 22, 2008 8:29:10 PM
The other week there was a "blog for pay equity" day. It's the sort of thing that I should have addressed, given my blog's focus, but I have mixed feelings. Feminist writers tend to just quote the 77 cents on the dollar figure as evidence of sexism, and their solution so far is to strengthen legal recourse for women who are explicitly being paid less for equal work. As far as I know, most of that 23 cent gap is about men and women doing different jobs, or women working part-time. That's probably not all about employment discrimination. But I also don't think we can yet conclude that women make less because they choose to make less. So should we still worry about pay equity? If yes, is there anything we should do about it?
Posted by: Allison at Apr 22, 2008 9:34:20 PM
Do you think that Six Feet Under has a conservative message?
Posted by: Olivia at Apr 23, 2008 9:24:58 AM
Do you think that Six Feet Under has a conservative message?
Posted by: Olivia at Apr 23, 2008 9:25:39 AM
How do homeless people decide who gets to stand on a particular corner and beg for money? Is it a first come first serve thing? Is there competition over lucrative corners? Is there a homeless people hierarchy, or are they generally too mentally ill to concern themselves with such things?
Posted by: Laura at Apr 23, 2008 10:16:28 AM
Prizes and global warming.
Newt Gingrich is proposing a billion dollar prize for a hydrogen car.
That seems small and narrow.
What is the current cost of oil imports? About a 100 billion a year? What are the costs of global warming?
Why not a prize of a hundred billion dollars or more? The invention should be as cost effective as oil. The amount of the prize would be based on the percentage of oil reduction. So if we reduce oil consumption by 50% we award 50% of a 100+ billion dollars.
A lot of devil in the details.
But what is the worst case scenario? The prize winner would have made the invention with or without the prize? So what? We would be paying only a small percentage of the total social benefits of the invention. That doesn't seem so bad. We should be happy no matter what.
Posted by: someguy at Apr 23, 2008 12:04:15 PM
Why do we need a representative government anymore? It seems like people have enough free time, resources and access to information at this point in history that we could each vote on the issues that we care about and abstain from voting on others if we don't care. For example, I envision a secure internet website where any citizen can just log in and vote on the issues that concern them. If they don't care, they don't vote, but every issue needs a certain number of votes (a quorum, if you will) to pass. People get email reminders when it's time to vote and voting remains open for, oh, a week or so.
It seems that the representative government was instituted out of necessity - obviously, colonial farmers weren't going to ride to D.C. or mail in a vote every week - but now this is no longer an issue and citizen input can be acquired cheaply and efficiently. Why keep it around when there is an option out there that can truly be called "self-governance"?
Posted by: Allison at Apr 23, 2008 1:14:55 PM
I would be interested in a post on The Beaux' Stratagem and economics, specifically as it relates to the character of Lady Bountiful. I have not seen the play and am taking a chance that you know something about this. I came across the term, "Lady Bountiful" and can get it's usage, but I am unfamiliar with context at the time and how it remains active in our lexicon today.
Posted by: mthomas at Apr 23, 2008 3:08:09 PM
I hope I'm not too late to add a request. It's not clear to me where to put it, if not here.
The most common argument against a balanced budget amendment is that it would tie the federal government's hands when it comes to fiscal policy. But is that really such a bad thing? Our political system leads to abuses of the ability to have unbalanced budgets; there are real doubts about the effectiveness of fiscal policy; economists are uncertain at best about the long-term consequences of running an enormous national debt; and the debt (on top of social security) puts a burden on future generations. Why not require a balanced budget or place enormous political hurdles in the way of government borrowing--perhaps requiring a congressional super-majority?
Posted by: Tom at May 4, 2008 6:24:43 PM
What do you think of Top Chef? I am an addict!
Posted by: wintercow20 at May 6, 2008 8:22:53 AM
Short of going back to college for an MBA or masters degree in economics or operations research, where should a professional go to study these sorts of things? I help develop pricing strategies for a large corporation, and I'd like to find a seminar along those lines.
Posted by: Statius at May 6, 2008 11:32:09 PM
I'm going to Beijing for the Olympics, what/where should I eat?
Posted by: Kevin at May 9, 2008 7:45:55 PM
Hi Tyler,
Should the "Nobel Prize" in economics no longer be offered?
I recently read the article "The pseudo-science hurting markets" by Nassim Taleb.
http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/FT-Nobel.pdf
Please tell me this guy is on another planet or at least scaremongering because he compares economics with astrology!
I'd really like to hear your thoughts on the article.
Thanks,
Alex
Posted by: alex at Jun 6, 2008 4:15:05 AM
