Republican VP pick

Tyler Cowen:

Since picking Mitt Romney would violate all known economic models of rational choice....

Given that John McCain "doesn't do" economics, that's him as a shoo in then, is it?

Email to a friend   |   Permalink   |   Comment

The Nordic paradise

We're told so often that crime is a function of inequality. That it's the gap between rich and poor that creates the stealing, the robbing and the violence.

If that is true then we would expect to see less crime in places that are more equal and more crime in places that are more unequal.

The usual measure of such inequality is the Gini (index or coefficient, depending how you display it) and, to the great delight of social democrats everywhere the Nordic countries have some of the lowest such measured inequality. The US has one of the highest...

Continue reading...

Email to a friend   |   Permalink   |   Comment

If you say so Bill

Barack Obama is the man for this job,” Mr. Clinton says.

“Barack Obama is ready to lead America,” he says, a line that brings the conventioneers to their feet. And here’s the money quote: “Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States.”

Well, yes, but that's not the point, is it?

The question is, is America ready to have Barack Obama as president? It is a democracy, you know, the people choose thing?

Email to a friend   |   Permalink   |   Comment

Peter's question

Over here.

He wants to know how to sell a Cabinet.

Surely that's entirely the wrong question for us plutocrats and members of the intelligentsia.

We want to know how to buy one, don't we?

Email to a friend   |   Permalink   |   Comment

That euro economy

There's a definite whiff of something rather scary here.

"The euro's surge over the past two years has caught up. We've seen a hollowing out of the euro area's industrial sector, an oil shock, and tightening credit conditions, made worse by the European Central Bank's decision to raise rates in June," he said.

Nobel economist Robert Solow said the ECB had made a bad mistake and was now moving far too slowly to stop the downturn engulfing the region.

"I get the feeling that the mandate of the ECB is based on the notion...

Continue reading...

Email to a friend   |   Permalink   |   Comment