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Economics and Culture
A Category Archive (131 entries)
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November 10, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I've been an opera fan for two decades, and I've never heard of macroeconomic events affecting the world of opera - until now. The DC Opera is cancelling (or at least delaying) the American Ring:"Seven years ago, Washington National Opera... MORE
October 1, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Amidst all the chaos, I forgot to remind readers about the premiere of season 3 of the incomparable Dexter. (Here are all my previous posts on the show). If you like drama infused with philosophy, psychology, and (of course) economics,... MORE
August 27, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
A while back I questioned Robin Hanson's view that virtually everyone wants to imitate the rich in order to raise their status. Robin recently told me that he's "updated," so I'll stop calling it "Robin Hanson's view." But I still... MORE
August 11, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
With The Watchman movie coming out in March, you're going to be hearing an awful lot about the writing of Alan Moore. Despite all the publicity, though, his lesser-known Tom Strong series won't be getting much attention. And that's a... MORE
August 8, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Next week, I'll be in Indianapolis for GenCon, the world's biggest gaming convention. Which reminds me of one of my pet theories: The best games are inter-disciplinary, combining economics and psychology. Games of pure strategic reasoning like chess are dry.... MORE
June 23, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
One of the best paths to success in Hollywood these days is to direct an obscure foreign film. Angelina Jolie's latest movie is directed by Timur Bekmambetov, whose Night Watch was seen by everyone in Russia, plus me and Tyler... MORE
June 4, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
It's very unpleasant to be an irreligious kid in a religious family. Every week - if not more often - you have to remain silent in the presence of dogmatic nonsense. You can't even get things off your chest during... MORE
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
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
April 29, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
When I'm old, I want to be the octogenarian that the Young Turks come to with their crazy new ideas. I don't want to be the senior professor that the whippersnapper assistant profs avoid. Above all else, I never want... MORE
April 26, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
From Mark Steyn's paranoid but enviably well-written America Alone:The question for today's Europe is whether the primary identity of their fastest-growing demographic is Muslim or Belgian, Muslim or Dutch, Muslim or French. That's where civilizational confidence comes in: if "Dutchness"... MORE
April 25, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The one good thing about this boring, boring movie was walking out!... MORE
April 22, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Will Wilkinson's not too happy with my lecture on "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids." Frankly, we seem to be talking past each other, but I think it's worth trying one more time. From his latest comments, point-by-point:There are perfectly... MORE
April 21, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I've just uploaded two new talks to my "Fun Lectures" webpage: 1. Lecture notes for my Friday FEE/GMU Econ Society seminar, "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids." If you were at the talk, reports on any change in your desired... MORE
April 14, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Happiness researchers usually find that kids have a negative effect on happiness. By the time the result gets blogged, it's tempting to say, as Will Wilkinson does, that "children make us miserable." But how big is the estimated effect of... MORE
April 10, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The most fascinating characters in the world are econ profs, but you'd never guess this from watching feature films. So on one level I'm happy to see that The Visitor, which arrives in theaters tomorrow, dares to make its protagonist... MORE
April 7, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Kerry Howley has some thoughtful doubts about my ongoing debate with Will Wilkinson. And happily they're easy to address one at a time: 1. Here's Kerry:I’m perplexed, though, by Bryan’s statement that “most people are hyper-aware of the important arguments... MORE
April 5, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Will Wilkinson has a lot to say about my views about kids - and as you know, I'm never one to avoid a friendly debate. So get ready for my point-by-point reply: 1. Will says I misintepreted his original point.... MORE
April 4, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
At risk of provoking more psycho-analysis... In 1996, the GSS asked: If the husband in a family wants children, but the wife decides that she does not want any children, is it all right for the wife to refuse to... MORE
April 3, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
All-around nice guy Will Wilkinson takes me to task for my defense of Jamie-Lynn Spears. Will starts with a little psycho-analysis:But I’m afraid the theory is at bottom mostly a theory of why Bryan thinks his wife should have more... MORE
March 31, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
A lot of folks are outraged that Jamie-Lynn Spears is pregnant. I fail to see the problem. Jamie-Lynn is clearly not going on welfare; her single motherhood will not financially burden any of the people who are complaining. And at... MORE
March 30, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
A while back on blogged on the fascinating fact that the religious gender gap is bigger in more advanced societies. In societies where men and women are "socialized" to be the same, they are actually more religiously different. (In case... MORE
March 28, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
When I was reading some famous quotes about newspapers, I came across Jefferson's famous line that, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate... MORE
March 24, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I often go to movies alone. Tyler convinced me to try, and I haven't looked back. So naturally I'm delighted to hear that S.C Noah Uhrig has found that "Cinema Is Good for You":Using data from wave 12 of the... MORE
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Over at the Freakonomics blog, Ian Ayres lists Emerson as a famous opponent of tipping, and offers this quote as evidence:I sometimes succumb and give the dollar, yet it is a wicked dollar which by and by I shall have... MORE
March 22, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Reading Tim Harford's "Is Divorce Underrated?" in The Logic of Life got me wondering about the root causes of divorce. I want to create a list of "main" root causes, not partition logical space; at the same time, I want... MORE
March 18, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
In The Logic of Life, Tim Harford repeats an argument about divorce that I've often heard economists make. One of the challenges that Gary Becker tackled, he explains, is the sharp increase in divorce. Tim goes on:Some commentators have blamed... MORE
March 14, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Last time I checked, there weren't any ads for popular DVDs in the American Economic Review. But after watching the first few discs of plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck, I feel inspired to write a pulpy pitch for economists. Here goes:Watch...... MORE
March 12, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
All the parents of multiple children I know admit that they stress less about - and do less for - the later arrivals: "We went crazy baby-proofing when we had our first baby; but by the time his sister came... MORE
March 5, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons and the father of the thousands of role-playing games it spawned, has died. And while I think he made a bundle off of his ideas, he only got a small fraction of the... MORE
March 3, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
It's "kidult":While many people in their forties have families and responsibilities, an increasing minority still resemble teenagers. Scary, wrinkled, grey-haired teenagers, with some kind of terrifying premature ageing disease, but teenagers nonetheless. It’s enough of a phenomenon to have been... MORE
March 1, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Patri son of David son of Milton begins by approvingly quoting Stu:When I have a problem that concerns one of my kids... I could visualize my child standing on the other side of a line, next to "The Problem", with... MORE
February 26, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
"Why are People Having Fewer Kids? Perhaps it's because they don't like them very much." That's the title of Ron Bailey's latest piece which very bluntly says what I suspect a lot of people are thinking:[M]odernity essentially transforms children from... MORE
February 7, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I first read a draft of Tyler Cowen's In Praise of Commercial Culture 15 years ago. Back then, I thought he was mostly crazy. A combination of my reverence for classical music and Randian contempt for modern culture made me... MORE
February 5, 2008
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
If you write extensively, you've probably had the following experience: You sit down to work on a project, but the good words don't flow. Either you're blocked, or you repeatedly write and erase. Four hours later, you have nothing to... 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 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
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
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
December 26, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The holidays are the perfect time to step back and ponder the generation gap. How can people born forty years before you (or forty years after you) seem like they come from another world? If you're looking for answers, I... MORE
December 20, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I can't believe how much I disagree with Steve Levitt's goals as a father. Here's a line-by-line contrast:[Steve] I care most about raising kids who are happy and successful as adults, even if that happens to mean that they aren’t... MORE
December 17, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
After watching the finale of its second season, I'm ready to stick my neck out and say that Dexter is the best show in the history of television. As an aficionado of plot, I am in awe; but it excels... MORE
December 14, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Robin was very impressed by Malcolm Gladwell's piece on IQ and the Flynn effect in The New Yorker. I wasn't; Gladwell leaves out a lot. (He also falsely attributes a bizarre view to Murray and Herrnstein, which the magazine has... MORE
December 13, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Am I the only Saw fan in the world who thinks that Enchanted is the best movie of 2007? P.S. The movie is far better than the trailer.... MORE
December 12, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Seen through the lens of men's rights, this quote (from Do I Want to Be a Mom?) is unintentionally outrageous:My youngest son just turned eighteen. This is when you want them to develop opinions and morals and hopefully somewhere in... MORE
December 6, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Here's a great Posnerian sentence:I would be inclined to search as hard as possible for nonmoral costs before concluding that morality is a major motivator of behavior, especially with regard to crimes, like tax evasion, that do not have an... MORE
November 29, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Tyler makes a spot-on plea to meet people before you write about them:I'd like to propose a new research convention. Anytime a writer or blogger talks about what The Right or The Left (or some subset thereof) really wants or... MORE
November 13, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Many psychologists embrace the "gender similarities hypothesis" - the view that we tend to overstate the differences between men and women. My colleague Garett Jones pointed out a thorough meta-analysis by Janet Hyde, claiming that - with the exceptions of... MORE
November 6, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
If you want to role-play and study social science at the same time, don't miss this weekend's HeroCon in Glen Burnie, Maryland. (FYI: This is a convention for the Hero System role-playing game, not the NBC show Heroes). Admittedly, there... MORE
October 19, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
In fact, if you don't laugh at these jokes, I wonder whether you're really one of us.... MORE
October 6, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Here's a thoughtful question from an unabashed golddigger:Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But... MORE
September 4, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Another Baumeister gem:One test of what’s meaningfully real is the marketplace. It’s hard to find anybody making money out of gender differences in abilities. But in motivation, there are plenty. Look at the magazine industry: men’s magazines cover different stuff... MORE
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
If you read nothing else about gender this year, read "Is There Anything Good About Men?" by Roy Baumeister. It's wonderful from beginning to end. Highlights:When I say I am researching how culture exploits men, the first reaction is usually... MORE
August 31, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
On recommendation of fellow gamer (and noted sociologist) Fabio Rojas, I've just read Gary Fine's Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds. The book's 25 years old, but still remarkably fresh. You've got to love this passage:Because of their complexity,... MORE
August 30, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Democrats who study public opinion usually conclude that if their party wants to win elections, it should focus on populist economic policies, and ditch the culture wars. Over at Class Matters, an activist independently reaches the same conclusion: Left-wing activists... MORE
August 20, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
GenCon ended yesterday, but I've already been scooped by the competition - noted sociologist and legendary Pandaemonium Game Master Fabio Rojas. Don't miss his amusing comparison between GenCon and the American Sociological Association. Highlights: * ASA: People study socially marginal... MORE
August 6, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I'm puzzled where Arnold gets the idea that I'm an "atomist." Was it Tyler who wrote this?Perhaps the greatest truth about human nature that you do not find in the typical economics textbook is that people are sheep. Most human... MORE
August 3, 2007
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
In this interview for The American, Tyler Cowen speaks of many things. I believe he uses a term like "idea junkie" to describe the type of person who reads books by Gladwell, Levitt, and so on. He talks about the... MORE
July 31, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
According to Russ Roberts:Annual [opera] admissions are now estimated at 20 million, roughly the same attendance as NFL football games (22 million, including playoffs, in 2006–07).I'm incredulous. How can a hobby enjoyed by me and a few octogenarians be competitive... MORE
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
Marie Connolly and Alan B. Krueger write, Concert revenues became markedly more skewed in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982, the top 1 percent of artists took in 26 percent of concert revenue; by 2003 that figure reached 56 percent.... MORE
July 30, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
My Comic-Con epiphany: Economics doesn't really have superstars. Even if Adam Smith himself showed up at the American Economic Association meetings, he wouldn't have thousands of economists fall on their knees in awe. But that's basically what happened at Comic-Con... MORE
July 20, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Scott McCloud is often called "the smartest man in comics," but how does he measure up in economics? In his Reinventing Comics, McCloud re-invents the wheel of path-dependence to explain the dominance of superheroes in the American comics industry. McCloud's... MORE
July 10, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Jane Galt doesn't think you could have a good t.v. show about journalists at the Economist:But even if you rely heavily on political or human-interest plotlines, there is no way to make a whole show about journalists work on television.... MORE
July 6, 2007
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
Bryan writes, The puzzle of declining family size in the face of rising wealth remains. Since I'm currently steeped in Gregory Clark, let me throw in my two cents. From Clark, we learn that in England: 1. Prior to the... MORE
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The GSS asks: "What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have?" So who wants more - men or women? Survey says: Women want .05 children more. That's a lot smaller difference than my... MORE
July 5, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
It may well be the biggest puzzle in evolutionary psychology: Why do humans have fewer kids when they get richer, when their extra resources allow them to support more? Robin blogs a new explanation from Ted Bergstrom:Because of a genetic... MORE
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Mankiw writes:Kinsley and Libby share two, significant characteristics: They are both very smart, and they both care deeply about public policy. I am willing to bet that if they ever sat down over a cup of coffee, they would like... MORE
June 26, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Over at Free Exchange, I ask "What's the best way to transport success?": Purely hypothetically, suppose you’ve written a pretty successful book published by Princeton University Press, and been favorably profiled in The New York Times Magazine and The Economist.... MORE
June 12, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Would you feel uncomfortable striking up a conversation with a stranger? How about over the Internet? If you're like me, you're a lot more outgoing over the Internet than you are in real life. At the same time, though, I... MORE
May 22, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
One of my best friends at Princeton was Gordon Dahl. He's the kind of guy who never says anything stronger than "My goodness." His favorite show, as far as I recall, was "Touched By An Angel." But now he's got... MORE
May 20, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The first draft of my graphic novel, Amore Infernale, is now complete. To say that it would be cool to have it illustrated and published is a great understatement. It would be... the coolest thing in the history of mankind!... MORE
May 15, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Mitt Romney: "I cannot imagine anything more awful than polygamy." Here's the clip, with Steven Colbert's hysterical response. Which reminds me: Season two of Big Love starts in June. If you missed the first season, see it ASAP. P.S. Have... MORE
April 25, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
From Brad DeLong: I don't know what I am going to say. I'm tempted to try a comparison of four intellectuals at four different moments in western print-culture: William of Occam, Niccolo Machiavelli, Adam Smith, and Tyler Cowen.... MORE
March 30, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I just came across a surprising bit of libertarian trivia that didn't appear in Brian Doherty's magnum opus. Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spiderman, was a self-identified Objectivist. He even created two explicitly ideological superheroes. The first, the Question, inspired... MORE
February 5, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The GodMen, a group striving to make religion more masculine, is doing its best to fight the religious gender gap. Will they have any long-term success? Consider me a Doubting Thomas.... MORE
January 28, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Let me join Tyler and Steve Sailer in recommending the very funny Idiocracy. If you're interested in intelligence research and/or behavioral genetics and have a sense of humor, you'll have a big smile on your face. I know I did.... MORE
January 9, 2007
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Over vacation, we stayed with my brother's family at his cabin in Lake Arrowhead. In this slightly cramped space, my brother and I kept trying to watch the extended cut of Gladiator. Unfortunately, my four-year-old sons kept trying to watch... MORE
December 18, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
No, it's not an article in a top econ journal, it's the season finale of Dexter. It's permeated by the best of economics, philosophy, and psychology, with plotting worthy of Victor Hugo. If Immanuel Kant came back from the dead,... MORE
December 8, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Director Mel Gibson's infamous anti-semitic rant notwithstanding, Apocalypto has gotten stellar reviews. It's practically straight out of The Onion. P.S. Saw it last night. Amazing despite its simple linear plot. I think Mel's hate speech has cost him multiple Oscars.... MORE
December 6, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Last week I stumbled upon a little gem outside of Larry Iannaccone's office: a chapter by Rodney Stark and Alan Miller on the religious gender gap. Long story short: Women are more religious than men by virtually every measure in... MORE
December 4, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I just noticed that, four years ago, my co-blogger asked "Is blogging a fad?" Using a simple model, he stuck his neck out and said: No. Good call, Arnold!... MORE
November 29, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Mark Skousen has a great picture and a great story about one of Milton's last big laughs. Don't miss it! P.S. In Forbes (registration required), Skousen explains that Galbraith was Photoshopped into the picture as a joke.... MORE
November 22, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Arnold writes: I suspect that a major factor driving envy of the rich is a deep-seated male fear of losing the mating game. My hypothesis is that the irrational resentment that many men feel over the high pay of CEO's... MORE
November 14, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Counter-examples to the claim that happiness research pushes for left-wing policies keep multiplying. It's well-known that social interaction is an important cause of happiness. Now it looks like suburban sprawl - the bane of leftist land use activitists - is... MORE
November 1, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I went back to the drawing board on fundamentalist divorce rates to check out a couple readers' hypotheses. The findings: 1. Excluding people who have never been married, fundamentalists are - as the stereotype would predict - less likely to... MORE
October 31, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Larry Iannaccone notwithstanding, the main stereotypes about fundamentalist Christians check out. But yesterday at lunch I heard a startling alleged counter-example from Alex Tabarrok, and I've confirmed it with the GSS: Contrary to stereotypes, fundamentalists are as likely to get... MORE
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I'm a huge fan of the original Saw, and the first sequel was also quite good. The latest installment is watchable, but it's too heavy on gore and not strong enough on story and characterization. The only novelty of Saw... MORE
September 29, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Yesterday my colleague Larry Iannaccone, the world's leading expert on the Economics of Religion, gave a provocative lecture on Christian fundamentalism. His thesis: Almost all the stereotypes about this group are false. Now I'm one of those people who believes... MORE
September 25, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Jane Galt is going Dirty Harry on economic illiteracy on t.v. It's good to have another honest cop on the streets.... MORE
September 20, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Over at the Hero System discussion boards, there's been a long-running thread asking whether "people of color play role-playing games?" One vignette from a black gamer really struck me, and it's full of grist for the social science mill: IMHO,... MORE
September 10, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
Richard Florida writes, Today, a demographic realignment that may prove just as significant is under way: the mass relocation of highly skilled, highly educated, and highly paid Americans to a relatively small number of metropolitan regions, and a corresponding exodus... MORE
August 22, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
As far as I'm concerned, all the jokes about economists "lacking the personality to be accountants" fall flat. The truth is, we're the life of the world's intellectual party. In evidence, I present this hysterical set of pics from the... MORE
August 7, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
There's a lot of grist for the social science mill in the soccer hooligan drama Green Street Hooligans. Starring Elijah Wood, in a performance good enough to make you forget Frodo for the duration, it tells the story of an... MORE
July 22, 2006
Economics and Culture
Eric Crampton
Dan Bakkedahl, Daily Show Correspondent, reports on Paul, a fellow in Boston who's frequently inconvenienced by the "Walkanazis"(follow the link to the "Look who's walking, too" video): the perpetual stream of charity runs and walks that stop him from taking... MORE
July 11, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
As you probably know, I am an openly nerdy man. These days, my nerdiest activity is being the Game Master for a bunch of economists who pretend to be super-heroes. No joke! We use my modified version of the Hero... MORE
June 27, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Greg Mankiw speculates that a world language will emerge, it will be either English or Chinese, and smart money says English will win. The interesting thing to me is that is it hard to become literate in either of the... MORE
June 25, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Happiness research hits a lot of nerves, but the finding that kids don't make people happier may be the unkindest cut of all. As a proponent of having more kids, I could make methodological objections, but the truth is, I... MORE
June 5, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I just saw the season finale of Big Love, HBO's path-breaking dramatic series about a family of polygamists. I can't remember the last time I saw such a fresh artistic depiction of capitalist acts between consenting adults. I won't give... MORE
May 12, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
The interview is here. I still think it's the case that when we come to, say, our tax system, and we ask ourselves, "Are we committed to the view that every tax rate on everything has to be the same?"... MORE
April 30, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Rumors of an Atlas Shrugged movie are once again circulating, and Brangelina may star. My dream is for Peter Jackson to make this his next trilogy. He can even recycle most of King Kong's New York! Hat tip to Catallarchy.... MORE
April 26, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
My favorite foreign director, Chen Kaige, has a new movie, The Promise, coming to U.S. theaters on May 5. He's best-known for Farewell My Concubine, which follows a duo of Chinese opera stars from their childhood in the 1920's, to... MORE
March 17, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I had a good time, but V for Vendetta was a disappointment. The heroes weren't anarchists, and the villains weren't really fascists - just jerks. And they cut the best scene from the book: V's dialogue with Madame Justice. (Check... MORE
March 9, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
David Friedman writes, Many years ago, when I was the guest on a show whose host I knew, I was struck by how much less pleasant a person he was on the air than off. I concluded that he was... MORE
March 3, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
He says, the President’s tax commission came up with a proposal to reduce tax deductions for some kinds of nonprofit organizations. In my view, that would be a mistake. I have a Tocquevillean sympathy for the proliferation of intermediate institutions... MORE
March 1, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
A book chapter by Francesco Billari says, In 1980, in most countries [the report is on Europe], first marriage was experienced on average before age 25 for women: only a few exceptions existed. This pattern completely changed in the next... MORE
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
Phillip Longman writes, Advanced societies are growing more patriarchal, whether they like it or not. In addition to the greater fertility of conservative segments of society, the rollback of the welfare state forced by population aging and decline will give... MORE
February 28, 2006
Economics and Culture
Arnold Kling
Is that the 11th Commandment? My latest essay wonders if Jews have a Moses Complex Not every misfortune that occurs in society is a replay of Pharaoh's enslavement of the Jews. The Exodus narrative can always be tried on, but... MORE
February 7, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
One of the countless criticisms of Ayn Rand's novels is that she makes all her heroes good-looking and all her villains ugly. That's not quite true - Floyd Ferris is known as "that good-looking scientist" - but it's close. It... MORE
February 3, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Russ Roberts gives me the lead-in I've been waiting for: I was talking to my students last night about inspirational education—writing or music that not only informs but inspires. And I wondered out loud with them about why there isn't... MORE
January 29, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Economists have done some sophisticated work on media bias. For example, Tim Groseclose and Jeff Milyo have a neat paper, "A Measure of Media Bias," that compares the think tanks that politicians and the media cite. They find that the... MORE
January 25, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Tyler Cowen has urged all bloggers to give Mozart his props this week. Here goes: Dear Wolfgang: I am very sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you. But you'll be happy to know that I have probably heard... MORE
January 9, 2006
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Howard Stern premiered today on Sirius satellite radio, and I couldn't be happier. I don't find Stern funny. I don't subscribe to Sirius. But this move is another market-driven nail in the coffin of the censors at the FCC. These... MORE
November 19, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Sociologists have been saying funeral rites for religion for over a century. Either it's already dying out, or its just about to have a heart attack - a claim known as the "secularization hypothesis." My debating partner Larry Iannaccone and... MORE
November 14, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Dear Adbusters: While your publication seems to have little use for neoclassical economics professors, there is at least one topic where you have my sympathy. Like you, I find most advertising to be extremely painful. Commercial radio, with its shrill... MORE
November 8, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Way back in 1988, I saw John Carpenter's They Live, and last night, I watched it again. The plot: Aliens have infiltrated our society, and are brain-washing us by infusing pop culture with subliminal messages like "Obey," "Consume," "Watch TV,"... MORE
October 31, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The sequel to Saw, the greatest fictional exploration of the Prisoners' Dilemma ever, is finally here, and it's fantastic too. It isn't as easy to pigeonhole the sick games being played this time around, but Saw II's got the original's... MORE
October 23, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The latest movie version of William Thackeray's Vanity Fair is more than watchable, and I don't think there's ever been a "chick flick" with so much economics in it. The basic setup is that poor but brilliant Becky Sharp uses... MORE
September 19, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
According to Oscar Wilde, "The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." Since I believe that Robin Hanson's new short essay on cynicism is free but well worth the read, I can't agree.... MORE
August 26, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Here's a great quote from one of my two favorite novels: The thought that soothed Rostopchin was not a new one. Since the world began and men have killed one another, no one has committed such an idea without consoling... MORE
August 22, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Emily Anne, the Economist's Apprentice, has three laugh-out-loud funny posts on housing bubbles, poverty, and subsidized information. No joke!... MORE
August 21, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
There is some fascinating economics in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (sorry, not online yet). The article "No Funny Business" explains that the rise of reality tv five years or so ago is just now starting to exert a... MORE
August 16, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The 1990's cult tv classic Profit just came out on DVD, and everyone who likes economics and has a strong stomach ought to see it. The show could hardly be called pro-market, but the main reason is that it focuses... MORE
July 31, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
This weekend I first heard that according to Jewish tradition, the obligation to "be fruitful and multiply" requires one to have a minimum of one girl and one boy. This claim seems to check out. This got me thinking: What... MORE
July 17, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
I am now officially excited about the movie version of V for Vendetta, opening this November. In case you haven't heard, V for Vendetta is a supremely excellent graphic novel about an anarchist philosopher's one-man war against a fascist dictatorship... MORE
July 13, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
The most unintentionally funny magazine in the world is Adbusters. The world's got to be pretty good if the only thing you have left to bemoan is Ronald McDonald. The letters to the editor are a scream - the bitterest... MORE
June 14, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
When people suddenly start changing their behavior in the same direction, economists presume that prices have changed. If we see that people are driving bigger cars, our knee-jerk guess is that the price of gas has fallen. But there is... MORE
May 27, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Warning: Sith spoilers! It's tough to learn that my mentor Tyler Cowen is a Sith Lord, but I should have seen the signs. Only a Sith could watch the ruthless destruction of the Jedi order, then get on his soapbox... MORE
May 2, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Silviu Dochia at Corner Solution has an insightful critique of my recent post on Larry Iannaccone and the market for martyrs. In the conclusion of my original piece, I wrote: In other words, for every person willing to die, there... MORE
April 20, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
My colleague Lawrence Iannaccone is the world's leading researcher on the economics of religion. His work fascinates me, but at the end of the day, I wonder how much of it is true. One juicy tidbit: In "The Market for... MORE
February 6, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Ayn Rand has some lame philosophical arguments, including a tortured "proof" that "life is the standard of value" and an odd effort to base individual rights on ethical egoism. So how can I maintain that Rand the philosopher is worth... MORE
February 3, 2005
Economics and Culture
Bryan Caplan
Ayn Rand's novels blend two distinct genres. She fits squarely into the tradition of the Russian philosophical novelists like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. But she is also a plot-rich Romantic in the tradition of Victor Hugo. Some standard features of the... MORE
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