From the NYTimes ‘The Map and the Territory’ by Alan Greenspan (Binyamin Applebaum) “The marked increase in risk taking of a decade ago could have been guarded against wholly by increased capital,” he writes. “Regrettably, that did not occur, and…
Category: Economics
Correlation and computation
For those of us who need ordinal measures in addition to the usual cardinal ones. Efficiently Computing Kendall’s Tau
How many books in a Book?
George R. R. Martin has been a prolific writer, but—like many readers—I’ve only read his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series known more popularly by the first book’s title “A Game of Thrones” and I’m only a little ways…
Does the platform matter?
In Edinborough, Kevin Spacey Goes All House-of-Cards on engaging with content. Previously (and similarly), on Colbert Not a TV Show but funnier.
Watterson on maximization
We’ve heard it before, but it’s still a good review A cartoonist’s advice of the choices that people (can, if not should) make.
Levitt, Porter, and Detroit
No explicit cite of Michael Porter, but it’s always good to see Levitt part of the story and more. Sometimes the best that a company can hope for is death (Financial Times) “Levitt did not recognise that competitive advantage, rather…
One of each from The Economist
From micro The Utility of Bad Art we find that perhaps we’re not as unintelligent as psychologists (and behavioral economists) may have thought. From macro Guidance on Forward Guidance we find things not so different in Britain compared to the…
North Korea, from the Freedom of Information Act
Engaging the enemy, with Planet Money. Stamps, Jeans, Beer: What Americans Want From North Korea (blog) Episode 474: The North Korea Files (podcast)
Fordlandia
New information On Henry Ford's 150th Birthday, a Look Inside His Failed Utopia (Gizmodo) to add to the piece I’ve been using to discuss vertical integration for some time now. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The New Yorker)…
Poverty, India vs China
“Economists talk of targeting subsidies at those below the Tendulkar line. But for politicians, the aim of subsidies is to win votes.” Why no applause for 138 million exiting poverty? “And clearly you win more votes by extending subsidies to…