economics

Welcome new graduate students!
Yesterday, Frank Atkins and I made teaching and research assistant assignments for our graduate students. In doing so, I am reminded of the lessons taught by the Simpsons on graduate education.

-By rob on 2013-01-11

The "Heart of Economics"
I'm currently teaching a course on "the economics of social problems." It can be a tricky course because I need to communicate to students that, for example, poverty is about more than low income. Its also about opportunities, happiness or well-being, cognitive adaptations (i.e., beliefs) and more.

With this in mind, I found today's piece in the NY Times by Ed Glaeser interesting. He writes:-By rob on 2013-01-11

Stiglitz on Democracy Now
Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz appeared on Democracy Now this morning. Among other things, he discusses his new book his views of the U.S.economy on the one-year anniversary of the stimulus package.-By rob on 2010-02-18

Oscar Nomination for Daniel Ellsberg
A documentary film about Daniel Ellsberg (the Most Dangerous Man in America) has been nominated for an academy award in the documentary category.-By rob on 2010-02-03

Keynes-Hayek Smackdown
Here's a new video from Russ Roberts explaining the differences between the ideas of J.M. Keynes and F.A. Hayek... in a manner the kids can understand.


-By rob on 2010-01-26

Health Codes Violations, Single Motherhood, and the Breakfast I had Last Week
I'm currently teaching Economics 349: the Economics of Social Problems. I thought I'd use our department blog to help raise some examples of the types of issues that arise in the Calgary area which relate (even tangentially) to the course. (To those students in the course, some of this stuff may serve as fodder for term papers.)
-By rob on 2010-01-19

Canada's Music Industry
According to a recent report by the Martin Prosperity Institute:-By rob on 2009-12-18

Nobel Prize Predictions
Here's the listing of predictions from Thomson-Reuters for the Nobel Prize in Economics:

ERNST FEHR (University of Zurich)MATTHEW J. RABIN (University of California Berkeley)WILLIAM D. NORDHAUS (Yale University) MARTIN L. WEITZMAN (Harvard University) JOHN B. TAYLOR (Stanford University) JORDI GALI (Pompeu Fabra University)-By rob on 2009-12-15

2009 MacArthur Foundation Genius Awards
The MacArthur Foundation announced its genius awards today. MIT economist Esther Duflo was one of the winners.-By rob on 2009-12-15

Did Taxes Killed the Beatles?
The Beatles are in the news (again). On 9.9.09 their Rock Band game was issued and the 40th anniversary of their break-up is approaching. In a new article, Daniel Finkelstein discusses the Beatles as a "triumph of capitalism." He argues that Brian Epstein's management of the band, and particularly the management of how and when the Beatles name was used in association with a product, made the band a huge commercial success.
-By rob on 2009-12-15