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Bryan Caplan: January 2008
An Author Archive by Month (39 entries)
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January 31, 2008
Economic Education
Bryan Caplan
Are you a great but untenured communicator of economic ideas? If so, here's a contest you should seriously consider entering. Good luck!... MORE
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Bryan Caplan
Arnold has just read my favorite novel. Here's my reaction to his reaction:What I like is the "in your face" defense of businessmen and the unremitting attack on the "looters" of government. Rand is uncanny in her depiction of government... MORE
January 30, 2008
Price Controls
Bryan Caplan
Yesterday I was explaining Singapore's clever approach to fiscal stimulus to Russ Roberts at lunch. During the explanation, I realized that I should probably back up and explain how tax cuts works in markets with price controls. But since I... MORE
January 29, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
A strange unintended consequence of the writers' strike: Dexter is coming to network TV! Given the shortage of programming, CBS worked out a deal with Showtime to air the controversial, beautifully written series. Of course there's going to be some... MORE
January 28, 2008
Social Security
Bryan Caplan
People who are freaking out about the rise in the dependency ratio will normally point to the fact that the ratio of retirees to the working-age population is going to sharply rise. The following graph, taken from Social Security Administration... MORE
January 25, 2008
Social Security
Bryan Caplan
Most economists will tell you that the real problem with Social Security is demography. (Here's William Poole). The fraction of people over 65 will keep rising, implying a growing dependency ratio. The problem is that this is only the ratio... MORE
January 24, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Megan McArdle's not happy with my defense of men against the charge of shirking on housework. If I held the view she ascribes to me - "that the partner in a marriage who cares less about something should always win"... MORE
International Trade
Bryan Caplan
If you don't like telling people No, a convenient alternative is setting conditions you know other people won't accept. Then the impasse is their fault, you see. Take free trade, for example:...Democrats do not flat-out oppose lower barriers to trade,... MORE
Finance: stocks, options, etc.
Bryan Caplan
How many times have I made this argument:"At your young age, you have enough time to recover from any dips in the market, so you can safely ignore bonds and go with an all stock retirement portfolio." This kind of... MORE
January 23, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The Economist blog shares one of its "favourite strategies for ramping down the gender war":Men don't need to do more housework and childcare to achieve equality. Women just need to do less. My dad used to change the oil in... MORE
Information Goods, Intellectual Property
Bryan Caplan
Here's a gem from the first article in Henderson's Concise Encyclopedia of Economics:The rise of the self-service store, for example, was aided by consumer knowledge of branded goods. Before the advent of advertising, customers relied on knowledgeable shopkeepers in selecting... MORE
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Bryan Caplan
Today I kick off Marginal Revolution's Book Forum on Tim Harford's new The Logic of Life. It's a great book, well-written and full of interesting arguments. In later posts (either here or at MR) I'll challenge several of his arguments... MORE
January 21, 2008
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Bryan Caplan
I just got my copy of David Henderson's Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. I've loved this book since the first edition, and now that I'm a contributor, I love it all it the more! But seriously, this book is fun to... MORE
January 20, 2008
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
Here's a thought-provoking passage from Ian Ayres' Super Crunchers:Like me, Ben Polak is passionate about the need to inculcate a basic understanding of statistics in the general public. "We have to get students to learn this stuff," he says. "We... MORE
Economics of Health Care
Bryan Caplan
Ian Ayres' Super Crunchers is full of neat material. But my favorite parts highlight the innumeracy of the medical profession. Most vivid example:[M]y partner, Jennifer, and I were expecting for the first time - back in 1994. Back then, women... MORE
Microeconomics
Bryan Caplan
Last week, Alex Tabarrok (who is co-authoring a principles textbook with Tyler Cowen) asked me for good examples of non-monetary incentives. Perhaps the best response is: "Do what I want, and I'll be your friend." Depending upon who makes the... MORE
January 18, 2008
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Tim Besley's Principled Agents? is supposed to get a full issue's worth of attention from The Review of Austrian Economics in the near future. Here's my review essay, and here's my favorite part (endnotes and references omitted):[P]olitical agency problems are... MORE
Growth: Consequences
Bryan Caplan
If you're a nerd over 30, you'll probably laugh at this. If you're a younger nerd, you had to be there. If you're not a nerd, why are you reading econ blogs on a beautiful Friday afternoon? HT: Don Boudreaux... MORE
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
Here's what Chris Hayes wrote about Ron Paul last month:But even if the Paul campaign doesn't point the way toward some lasting, powerful, paleo-cosmo libertarian coalition (and, really, let's hope it doesn't), he is at least providing libertarians with a... MORE
Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing
Bryan Caplan
I just came across a particularly bizarre Borjas post, entitled "Bloggers as Illegal Immigrants":It is not uncommon to see a Journalist (with a capital J) launch into a diatribe against bloggers and sometimes even call for regulations to stop "citizen... MORE
January 17, 2008
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Remember the scene in the first Austin Powers movie where Dr. Evil tries to hold the country hostage for one million dollars? That's how silly the presidential candidates' "economic stimulus packages" sound to me. And that's what I got to... MORE
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Is lack of self-control a problem in your life? Or just a convenient excuse? If it's the former, stickK.com is now happy to take your money to solve your problem - whether its losing weight, stopping smoking, exercising regularly, or... MORE
International Trade
Bryan Caplan
I second Arnold's recommendation of Alex's column in Forbes. But for me, the highlight is the way that he explains the link between population and economic growth, and the demand and supply of innovation. First, demand:The cost of developing drugs... MORE
January 16, 2008
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
Check this out: The 50 U.S. states have been renamed for countries with similar GDPs. You'll learn as much about America as you will about the world.... MORE
January 15, 2008
Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing
Bryan Caplan
I recently saw a bumper sticker that basically said that we should use the Beijing Olympics to shame the Chinese into releasing hundreds of thousands of North Korean refugees. This seems like a worthy cause that even American opponents of... MORE
January 14, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I just saw There Will Be Blood, and I can't stop thinking about it. The best scene is amazingly Randian for a movie based on an Upton Sinclair novel. Set-up: Daniel Plainview, the atheist oilman played by Daniel Day-Lewis, needs... MORE
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
The world - including the U.S. - can learn a lot from Singapore. (See here and here). But would I want the U.S. to become Singapore - that is, to replace our current package of policies with theirs? No. The... MORE
January 13, 2008
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Bryan Caplan
Scoff if you must, but I take great joy from most of the negative reviews of my book, especially the ones that analyze my psychology. They are often eerily perceptive. Here's a highlight from the latest one on Amazon: What... MORE
Economics of Health Care
Bryan Caplan
In The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford highly praised the health care policies of Singapore. But it wasn't until I read the section on health care in Ghesquiere's Singapore's Success that I realized how amazing the official numbers are. If the... MORE
January 12, 2008
Labor Market
Bryan Caplan
As I've argued before, the best way to fight negative stereotypes is for people unfairly subject to the negative stereotype to use in-group peer pressure to raise the bar. In short: "Stop making me look bad!" Over at Agoraphilia, Glen... MORE
January 11, 2008
Macroeconomics
Bryan Caplan
Tax cuts are a popular cure for unemployment, but there are strong reasons to doubt that they are a good way to achieve this goal. As I explained a while back:Where does the money come from? If the central bank... MORE
January 10, 2008
Labor Market
Bryan Caplan
What is a standard estimate for the wage-elasticity of labor demand? Anyone?... MORE
January 9, 2008
Economic Methods
Bryan Caplan
I've been singing Krugman's praises for years. Anyone who could write The Accidental Theorist has a lot of credit in my bank. But his latest column on the failure of betting markets is so beneath him, it hurts to read:[P]rediction... MORE
January 8, 2008
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Punishing politicians for bad weather seems like the height of illogic. But punishing politicians for responding poorly to bad weather makes perfect sense. The governor of Louisiana doesn't create hurricanes, but he can deal with a hurricane well or poorly.... MORE
January 7, 2008
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
Ron Paul is highly unlikely to be the next president. But could he become the Republicans' Nader? Suppose after being knocked out of the primaries, Paul runs on the Libertarian Party ticket. He's got a big war chest, and enthusiastic... MORE
Political Economy
Bryan Caplan
I just got back from LA, and Ron Paul's signature was everywhere. A random "Who is Ron Paul?" billboard. A mini-rally at the Palm Springs public market. A button on the collar of my flight attendant. I have to admit... MORE
January 5, 2008
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Of course I'm going to like an animated movie based on an autobiographical graphic novel about the Iranian Revolution. But virtually every critic who's seen this movie agrees: Persepolis is excellent. Don't miss it. My favorite part is when the... MORE
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
Arnold already quoted my favorite section from my Sunday editorial in the Washington Post, so let me quote my second favorite part:Pundits love telling us that voters are "fed up" with politics as usual. Candidates follow suit, insisting that --... MORE
January 2, 2008
Macroeconomics
Bryan Caplan
A lot, but Tyler's written a very fine postcard version:The Austrian story is that "the government distorted price signals to the market." Are those two accounts really so different? Do we need metaphysics to resolve that question? Take the classic... MORE
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