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Assorted links
1. New Yale econ classes (open, on the web), including Robert Shiller on finance.
2. How good is Shane Battier? (by Michael Lewis), and comment by Al Roth. So why aren't the Rockets better is my question.
3. China markets in everything fact of the day, hat tip to this very good China law blog.
4. NEA arts money ended up back in the stimulus bill.
5. Gramophone magazine, all the archives from 1923, now on-line and searchable.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on February 15, 2009 at 10:08 AM in The Arts | Permalink
Comments
T-Mac is either unhealthy or unmotivated, and Battier missed a lot of time. Artest has also missed several games, and has terrible shot selection.
Posted by: at Feb 15, 2009 10:22:59 AM
wrong counterfactual: how much worse are the rockets without him? The answer: bad.
Posted by: at Feb 15, 2009 10:50:30 AM
I tried to calculate what percentage of the stimulus was arts money, and my calculator went into scientific notation ;-). I think in this context $50 ~= 0.
Posted by: odograph at Feb 15, 2009 10:51:58 AM
Although Lewis is probably right that it's considerably easier to act selfishly in basketball than in baseball - particularly for, say, a point guard - there is no shortage of ways to be a selfish baseball player. A right fielder could go for an outfield assist when he'd have a much better chance of stopping the trailing runner, a third baseman could try for a spectacular play when it's wiser to just knock the ball down, and of course anybody can go up to the plate swinging for home runs rather than base hits. The difference, maybe, is that in baseball there is a set of much more formalized conventions about what to do in certain situations - hit the cutoff man, look back the runner, lay down the bunt, etc. - whereas basketball places more emphasis on individual actors, and in the cases of superstars, their "artistry." Basketball players have fewer conventions, and freer rein.
I'd be interested to see a breakdown of 'selfishness' by position in basketball. It's easy to imagine a selfishly counterproductive guard or center, but hard to imagine a center who would have the capacity to do much outside his prescribed role.
Posted by: Will at Feb 15, 2009 11:29:17 AM
The Rockets have been plagued by injury, but it's a good question whether the moves of our "genius" GM, including adding the aging Artest, have actually improved the team. There's no question Battier was a smart addition, but otherwise I'm not sure our team's record gives us the right to crow about how smart we are.
On the other hand, the NBA is a star league. Much of your success is determined by luck in the draft (e.g., the Spurs getting Tim Duncan, the Cavs getting LeBron) or attracting the rare top free agent (e.g., Shaq to the Lakers, Garnett to the Celts). I actually think Morey is a good GM who has made the Rockets better at the margin. But in the NBA, being better at the margin only gets you to the playoffs; it's the stars (like Garnett) who are needed to convert your seeding into a championship.
Posted by: mrshl at Feb 15, 2009 12:14:06 PM
If I recall correctly the NEA once gave money to performance artists who gave the cash away to beggars. Thus, this could be one of the more effective parts of the stimulus bill.
Posted by: Alex Tabarrok at Feb 15, 2009 12:42:05 PM
"I tried to calculate what percentage of the stimulus was arts money, and my calculator went into scientific notation ;-). I think in this context $50 ~= 0."
I'm still waiting for my $300,000 bailout check from the government. The government would only have to steal one tenth of a penny from every other person in the U.S.
Posted by: Where is my bailout? at Feb 15, 2009 12:47:58 PM
I love the Michael Lewis article. It's interesting to wonder when (if?) the corporate world will be able to analyze executive performance the same way. Right now, a lot of it seems to be being in the right place at the right time.
Posted by: Greg at Feb 15, 2009 4:23:32 PM
@Greg
"when (if?) the corporate world will be able to analyze executive performance"
As soon as Robin Hanson starts his prediction market for CEOs. Stay tuned. Better yet, finance him so we can start it now.
Posted by: StreetWalker at Feb 15, 2009 5:22:08 PM
The Lewis article was a thing of joy to read. Thanks for the headsup.
So this guy, Morley, went to MIT Sloan Business school. Is the MIT MBA much more quantitative than most MBA programs? What kind of education are business professionals getting in that program compared to Chicago, Kellog or Harvard, out of curiosity?
Posted by: jason voorhees at Feb 15, 2009 6:31:38 PM
Since you are random linking, a discussion based on musings over a Road to Serfdom pamphlet produced by GM back in the day is worth a quick look. . .
Posted by: Bob W. at Feb 15, 2009 7:20:16 PM
I love everything Michael Lewis writes. And I cannot wait for The Blindside to come to theaters. This article changes the way I watch basketball.
Interesting that the Mavericks use their own plus-minus system and Shane is nowhere to be found. But Jason Kidd is the second best in the league over the past 5 or so years by their count.
Posted by: BoscoH at Feb 15, 2009 11:18:27 PM
Why aren't the Rockets better? Tracy McGrady.
Posted by: John Sterling at Feb 16, 2009 10:02:42 AM
