In the spirit of talking about big issues that affect the little people, NIWA says ordinary NZers should be very worried about climate change: Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said climate change likely will cause a decline in the production of malting barley in parts […]
I’ve just come across a post from a week ago by Dani Rodrik which previews a forthcoming book by Larry Bartels. The post includes this fascinating diagram: What this diagram shows is the percentage growth in income under a Republican and a Democratic administration over the course of a four year Presidential term. It gives […]
Every election time you hear the same old story that rational people don’t vote. Why is it that so many people mix up rationality with selfishness? Over at Vox a pair of political scientists set the record straight: If you think your preferred candidate could bring the equivalent of a $100 improvement in the quality […]
I recently mentioned that prospect theory tells us that most people are risk seeking in losses. CPW commented that this seems to be at odds with the fact that people buy insurance. After all, if people like risky losses, why would they pay money to avoid them by purchasing insurance? According to John Nyman the […]
It can get a bit depressing talking about negative externalities all the time. It’s important not to forget that solving problems like climate change isn’t just about internalising negative externalities, we can also harness positive externalities. Apparently a ‘green’ club is installing a dancefloor that will use the kinetic energy of people dancing to power […]
Economics seems to endure an awful lot of criticism for using models which simplify reality. I really like the analogy Free Exchange draws between economic models and geographical maps: If a map included every detail in the geography (trees, country roads, etc.) it would be intractable, rendering it useless. Maps do give you a sense […]