Larry Ribstein, In Memoriam
I knew Larry from attending many conferences together for many years and from reading and profiting from his work. I always enjoyed seeing him and considered him a friend. This news is devastating. I had recently discussed his work on movies, and tried to induce him to edit a special issue for Managerial and Decision ... Larry Ribstein, In Memoriam
Carrier IQ: Another Silly Privacy Panic
By now everyone is probably aware of the “tracking” of certain cellphones (Sprint, iPhone, T-Mobile, AT&T perhaps others) by a company called Carrier IQ. There are lots of discussions available; a good summary is on one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker; also here from CNET. Apparently the program gathers lots of anonymous data mainly for ... Carrier IQ: Another Silly Privacy Panic
Privacy Again
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a long article-debate on privacy. The strongest pro-privacy is Christopher Soghoian of the Open Society Institute. He confuses commercial privacy with government privacy: “The dirty secret of the Web is that the “free” content and services that consumers enjoy come with a hidden price: their own private data. Many of ... Privacy Again
Political Calculations
Just came across a very interesting blog-website, Political Calculations. Lots of very interesting data, such as the trend in inequality in the U.S. since 1994. (There is no increase and no trend.) Certainly worth a look.
Bill Niskanen RIP
My friend and colleague William Niskanen has passed away. Bill was a founding Public Choice scholar, and his theory of the budget maximizing bureaucrat is still important and still correct. It has been cited over 5000 times. He hired me at President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers and went from there to the Cato Institute ... Bill Niskanen RIP
FDA Medical Device Approval
The New York Times today has an article on approval of medical devices. The take is that venture capitalists want a more efficient process. The tradeoff mentioned is between faster approval for investor returns versus safety of devices if they are approved faster. There is no mention in the article of the benefits to patients ... FDA Medical Device Approval
New York Taxis
The New York Times reports that the most recent price for a taxi in New York medallion is $1,000,000. Wikipedia reports that there are 13,237 licensed cabs in New York. (A “medallion” is the physical form of a taxicab license.) This means that the present value of the rents created by limiting taxicabs is $13,237,000,000 ... New York Taxis
Global Warming
I think the discussion of global warming has been seriously remiss. Those opposed to massive cuts in economic activity through programs such as “cap and trade” have argued that global warming is not real. But whether or not it is real, the debate should be refocused. First, there are possibilities for cheaper methods of limiting ... Global Warming
99%
The Occupy Wall Street idiots claim that they represent the 99% of the people who are normal, not among 1% super-rich. They have it backwards. They are actually among the bottom 1% of the society, the 1% losers.
The Ides of March
Just saw the movie The Ides of March. Very nice. After Larry’s disucssion of the shabby treatment business receives in the movies, it is nice to see politics receive the same treatment. This movie is based on a play “Farragut North” written by a Howard Dean staffer and the actors are well known liberals (e.g., ... The Ides of March
A Macro Conference
I was invited to attend the Financial Times Global Conference “The View From the Top: The Future of America” and since I was in New York anyway I thought it would be fun. I don’t hang around with macro types much, and even less with liberal macro types. I will not summarize the entire conference, ... A Macro Conference
Amazon and Internet Commerce
Stewart Baker at the Volokh Conspiracy has a very interesting post on the new Amazon browser. He thinks it might revolutionize doing business on the Web, with a tremendous increase in security. This increase in security will entail a loss in privacy, so let’s hope the privacy guys don’t stop it.
