Showing archive for: “News & Social Media”
Journalism as advertising
This NYT article about management problems at the Tribune came with the following ad: “The finest journalism in Chicago? The New York Times, as low as $3.70 a week.”
Congratulations…but let’s not over do it
I was waiting to write something about today’s announcement of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics being awarded to Diamond, Mortensen, and Pissarides. Josh has already provided his thoughts and provided links to comments by Ed Glaeser and Steve Levitt, respectively. As they describe it, the honorees’ research provides a theory of unemployment, explaining why ... Congratulations…but let’s not over do it
Coase and the 800 Pound Man
Ronald Coase has been on my mind quite a bit lately. His ideas have made a couple of recent appearances in my business organizations class. As I’ve explained before, we spend the first day of Bus Orgs contrasting F.A. Hayek’s The Use of Knowledge in Society, which argues that central planning is destined to fail because planners cannot gather ... Coase and the 800 Pound Man
Sometimes words escape me
In a reply to a comment on my post about the proposed burning of the Koran, I condescendingly lectured someone about their claim that the First Amendment might not protect Koran burning because it was akin to shouting “fire” in a crowded theater. Turns out, the commentator has company on the Supreme Court. In an ... Sometimes words escape me
The troubles with business journalists
Chrystia Freeland had some interesting thoughts on this in Sunday’s New York Times: Too much of the top business writing (e.g., Michael Lewis) reports from the inside, based on cooperation with the insiders. Mikael Blomkvist would disapprove. So-called investigative reporters like Gretchen Morgenson obsess over individual wrongdoing instead of root causes. (Don’t get me started.) ... The troubles with business journalists
State Antitrust Law in Action
A predatory pricing case in California under Section 17043 results in a $21 million fine awarded to one newspaper, the Bay Guardian, in a suit against a competitor, San Francisco Weekly (HT: Reason). The suit alleged that the SF Weekly was selling advertising below cost for the purpose of harming a competitor. A summary of ... State Antitrust Law in Action
Paul Krugman spouting nonsense
In this morning’s New York Times, Professor Paul Krugman laments the state of America, and, as a remedy, proposes . . . surprise! . . . more government spending. He writes: “When we save a schoolteacher’s job, that unambiguously aids employment; when we give millionaires more money instead, there’s a good chance that most of ... Paul Krugman spouting nonsense
Lessons from Cambodia
This is a little off-topic, but it’s something I gotta say. Last month I visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh and came away deeply impressed with the importance of confronting the consequences of abandoning civilians to ruthless and lawless regimes. The linked website has a picture of a sign at the school converted ... Lessons from Cambodia
A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics
I’ve been, for some time, a behavioral law and economics skeptic. Sometimes this position is confused with skepticism about behavioral economics, as in — believing that behavioral economics itself offers nothing useful to economic science or is illegitimate in some way. That’s not true. Now, I have some qualms about the explanatory power of some ... A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics
Externalities and Future Selves
Paternalism is a turn-off. We humans seem to have an innate desire for autonomy, a desire that generally leads us to resist efforts by elites to force us to make “wise” decisions. It’s rhetorically useful, then, for opponents of a proposed regulation to demonstrate that the rule at issue aims merely to save folks from ... Externalities and Future Selves
Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
Chris Hoofnagle writing at the TAP blog about Facebook’s comprehensive privacy options (“To opt out of full disclosure of most information, it is necessary to click through more than 50 privacy buttons, which then require choosing among a total of more than 170 options.”) claims that: This approach is brilliant. The company can appease regulators ... Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
What’s the Best Way to Pop a Bubble?
[NOTE: I was drafting this post when Henry Manne posted his open letter to Fama and French. I’m hesitant to post over Henry’s important letter, particularly since TOTM was down yesterday and lots of folks may not have seen the letter. I’m doing so only because this post is a good follow-up to Henry’s points ... What’s the Best Way to Pop a Bubble?
