Monthly Archives: November 2010
Public Enemy and public goods
Once upon a time, musicians made money by selling albums. Now that people download music, this strategy doesn't work well. But what is the alternative? In 2007, Radiohead thrilled fans and economists alike with a new approach to music distribution. They distributed their album In Rainbows electronically, allowing fans to pay any price they chose […]
Some thoughts on the Gauti Eggertsson & Paul Krugman paper
It's an interesting paper (pdf). It's a very standard New Keynesian macro model with one twist. It's a twist worth doing. There are two types of people: the impatient, who borrow from; the patient. And there's an exogenous limit to the debt the impatient are allowed to accumulate. It's a math model, of course. I'm […]
Why won’t she just take a taxi?
Three years ago my mother- and father-in-law decided to sell their car. They worked out that they would save enough on maintenance and insurance to pay for a taxi at least once a week. In three years, how many times has my mother-in-law taken a taxi? Excluding trips to the airport or train station – […]
But is it research?
At the back of every academic blogger's mind is a nagging question: does this count as research? A new paper by Glen Ellison (ungated here) argues that the internet is changing the way that top academics publish: "More top economists may realize that the publication hassles they have been enduring are not necessary." Economists at […]
How the quest for ratings distorts research
Imagine yourself in the position of a senior university administrator. Your university employs hundreds of academics, all of whom claim that their research is of vital, earth-shattering import. You have neither the time nor the expertise to evaluate the quality of the work done by individual faculty members. How do you sort out the good […]
Four questions for the Bank of Canada
Three of those questions are questions the Bank of Canada is asking itself (and anyone else who cares to listen). I want to add a fourth. The Bank held a workshop yesterday. Stephen and I attended, along with a few dozen other Canadian economists. It was about the Bank's inflation targeting framework, which comes up […]
Out-sourcing your own job
The Radio-Canada news report sounded like an item from The Onion: Postal worker contracts out his own job. In economic terms, it makes perfect sense for a letter carrier to sub-contract. Say Postman Paul is earning $150 after tax per day for delivering the mail, but can make more money working in construction. (Before taxes, […]
Money Mischief – Green Party of Canada Edition
This is a non-partisan blog – when the NDP, Liberals or Conservatives make a policy proposal that doesn't make much sense, we call them on it. I do not hide the fact that over the past few years, I have supported the Greens. However, if I refuse to hold the Greens to the same standards I hold […]
Excess supply and monopolistic competition, once again
Why do firms so often seem to produce too much, or price too high, and have to sell off the excess at a reduced price? You are a baker. You get up early and bake a batch of fresh bread. You set the price for the day. You aren't sure how much bread will be […]
Oil prices, the Canadian dollar and the kink at parity
The Canadian dollar has been bouncing around parity with the US dollar recently, and the Fed's adoption of another round of quantitative easing plus the relaxing of the Chinese government's tightening policies has people (including me) thinking that USD-denominated commodity prices will rise, and with it the Canadian dollar. But will it? The last time […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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