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Bryan Caplan: May 2008
An Author Archive by Month (35 entries)
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May 31, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Heard of Riptopia? It's a CD-to-mp3 conversion service - just what every iPod junkie needs. Good news: I've tried it, and it works. Here's how: You buy it on Amazon, and they send you some CD spindles. You fill the... MORE
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
...was riding the Hasenhorn in the the Black Forest town of Todtnau. Fifteen minutes in a skilift to the top of a mighty mountain in the middle of nowhere, followed by a three kilometer toboggan track back down to the... MORE
Growth: Consequences
Bryan Caplan
I've often heard Robin Hanson called a "space cadet" or even a "replicant." So it's pretty dramatic to see him throw cold water on his fellow cadets:Sigh. The US government spends more on space research than on NIH and NSF... MORE
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
How would people's preferences change if they knew more? Political scientists usually attack this question using the so-called "Enlightened Preference" method. (See Scott Althaus' Collective Preferences in Democratic Politics for a fantastic survey of this large literature). The gist of... MORE
May 30, 2008
Growth: Consequences
Bryan Caplan
I like the first two weeks of Growthology, the new blog by Tim Kane and Bob Litan. Highlights from what is perhaps its best post so far:After 12 years, Peter Carlson is leaving his job as a journalist covering magazine... MORE
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
I like the first post on the new blog, The Rational Optimist:Some say we need pessimists, to see what’s wrong with how things are, and push for positive change. Yet pessimism and cynicism actually foster resignation, despair, and a sense... MORE
May 29, 2008
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Bryan Caplan
I like to catch up on the classics on vacation. Tyler recommended Gogol's Dead Souls. I normally despise blogs with big block quotes, but for the best passage so far in this very very good work, I'll make an exception:Of... MORE
May 28, 2008
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
Raphael Franck, a French Israeli professor, has been visting at the Public Choice Center for the last two years. He leaves for good on Saturday. And in the true GMU spirit, we've worked out a bet as a going-away present.... MORE
Economic Methods
Bryan Caplan
Tyler's said this before, but it still flabbergasts me:It's funny how Bryan thinks he can cite my actions as evidence against the correct belief. That's absurd; for instance I also don't act as if determinism is true, but citing that... MORE
Energy, Environment, Resources
Bryan Caplan
A reader sent me a gated article claiming that Japan's version of the gax tax holiday passed roughly 100% of the savings on to consumers. But I can't find any confirmation on google. Does anyone know anything about this? Links?... MORE
Economics of Health Care
Bryan Caplan
Check out these true Monty Python-esque dialogues between a series of hospitals and a guy who wants an affordable colonoscopy. First dialogue:Conversation with Stanford Hospital: Me: My wife needs a colonoscopy: Could you give me a price on it? Stanford... MORE
May 27, 2008
Cost-benefit Analysis
Bryan Caplan
I gained five pounds in Europe. And it was optimal. Partly, that's just because the food was both good and different from what I can easily get in Virginia. The fundamental reason I gain weight on vacations, though, is that... MORE
Economics of Health Care
Bryan Caplan
If Michael Moore really wanted to challenge our preconceptions about health care, Sicko would have been a documentary about health care in Singapore. Nick Schulz just pointed me to a very good summary of how the system works. It's not... MORE
May 26, 2008
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
Here's a true conversation between me and Tyler Cowen, filtered through several years of memory:Tyler: People like to think they're special, but we're all pretty much the same. Me: No we're not. Some people are really great; others are simply... MORE
Labor Market
Bryan Caplan
From the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly:[S]ome producers fear that a strike is inevitable - especially since an estimated 80 percent of SAG members are unemployed and thus have nothing to lose by walking out.This is a cute quip, but... MORE
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
I'm back from Europe. Though I'm still playing catch up, here are a couple of observations from my travels: 1. I've often heard people claim that "You can become American, but you can't become French." All my experience in France... MORE
May 13, 2008
Cross-country Comparisons
Bryan Caplan
Tonight I'm headed to Europe for the first time since 2001. Unlike Tyler Cowen, I can't provide lists of the five best long-haired archaeologists from Monaco. So you'll have to settle for my list of the Best Things European. Here... MORE
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
I just finished re-watching The Bridge on the River Kwai. If you've never seen it, it's all about Colonel Nicholson (played by Alec Guinness), a British officer with Principles. Nicholson refuses to try to escape from his POW camp, because... MORE
Energy, Environment, Resources
Bryan Caplan
Krugman says that since we're not building up inventories, the high price of oil isn't a bubble:The only way speculation can have a persistent effect on oil prices, then, is if it leads to physical hoarding -- an increase in... MORE
May 11, 2008
Behavioral Economics and Rationality
Bryan Caplan
Arthur Brooks, of Gross National Happiness fame, is now guest blogging for Freakonomics. So this seems like the perfect time to disclose his hidden secrets of happiness - the "a-ha" surprises you'll find on a close reading of his book:... MORE
May 10, 2008
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
From Fatal Misconceptions:And why did organizations that proclaimed family planning as a human right fail to oppose increasingly coercive policies in India and China? Why, instead, did they provide friendly advice and support, and defend them to all the world?... MORE
May 9, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Unlike the last French arthouse movie I saw, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is excellent. If, like me, you find it hard to believe that the average quadriplegic is fairly happy, this movie will convince you. In fact, it... MORE
Family Economics
Bryan Caplan
Here's a deeply important passage from my favorite survey of the time diary literature:One of Galinsky's more surprising findings centered around a question she posed to both children and parents: "If you were granted one wish to change the way... MORE
May 8, 2008
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
There are actually a couple spots left at the IHS seminar I'll be doing this summer. Email John Thrasher (jthrashe at gmu.edu) directly if you want in. My topics:The Myth of the Rational VoterPublic Choice and Public GoodsThe Case Against... MORE
May 7, 2008
Energy, Environment, Resources
Bryan Caplan
I've finally made the Gray Lady: Today's New York Times features my op-ed inspired by Sunday's post, "I'll Shill for Hillary." I hope critics don't misrepresent me as an economic apostate; I'm not dissenting from the standard analysis, just taking... MORE
Price Controls
Bryan Caplan
How expensive will gasoline have to get before the federal government brings back price controls? My guess is $5.50. What's yours?... MORE
Economic Education
Bryan Caplan
1. I'll be in Europe for the first time since 2001 for Jon Elster's conference on "Collective Wisdom: Principles and Mechanisms" at the Collège de France in Paris. (It's open to the public, but space is limited). My wife and... MORE
May 6, 2008
Microeconomics
Bryan Caplan
Amazon has been charging $19.77 for my book for almost a year. But very recently, they cut the price to $19.47. Why $.30? Why now? Ideas? P.S. If someone who actually works for Amazon knows the answer, won't you please... MORE
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
A while back I argued that trade policy would be better under Hillary than Obama:My assumption is that neither candidate would actively promote free trade, so the greater evil is the candidate who can "get things done." Given Obama's winning... MORE
May 5, 2008
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
Here's Tyler:I ask Bryan: would he still take the advice that his 12-year-old self might have taped to a door?My answer: Definitely, especially if my time capsule from 1983 contained advice about how to treat kids. You can say "hindsight... MORE
Labor Market
Bryan Caplan
The latest issue of Dan Klein's Econ Journal Watch is out, featuring a brainy symposium on gender balance in the economics profession. (For my general view, see this). I particularly liked psychologist John Johnson's contribution. Highlights:The dominant model of vocational... MORE
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
One of my favorite footnotes in Brian Doherty's Radicals for Capitalism:Patri Friedman, grandson of Milton and son of anarcho-theorist David, is even today actively planning to launch artificial sea platform communities, which he's calling seasteads, currently hoping to start one... MORE
May 4, 2008
Political Economy
Bryan Caplan
Hillary's having trouble finding an economist to back her suspension of the gas tax. But she need look no further - I'll rise to the challenge. Here's my economic case for the tax cut: 1. The American people want to... MORE
May 3, 2008
Politics and Economics
Bryan Caplan
Matthew Connelly's outstanding Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population nearly brought a pro-democratic tear to my elitist libertarian eye. Trotsky once wrote that:In a country where the sole employer is the state... [t]he old principle: who does not... MORE
Economic Philosophy
Bryan Caplan
From Matthew Connelly's Fatal Misconceptions:X was asked whether this was fair to the poor. "Well, as you know," he replied, "there are many things in life that are not fair, that wealthy people can afford and poor people can't." But... MORE
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