Professor Gerard has treated us again to some good, clean microeconomic fun. I think he is correct, and the bottom line is: if beer is a Giffen good, its consumption can fall as its price rises. His elaboration (and correction) of Yglesias is very nice, as is his translation of Yglesias’s argument into the neat …
During the winter term, we will focus on visions of the world economy and the role of economics. The Backhouse and Bateman book puts these topics in sharp relief. This discussion continues questions raised by Schumpeter, Hayek, Keynes and many others. In a recent Project Syndicate article, Kenneth Rogoff, co-author of This Time is Different, …
Speaking of The Road to Serfdom, here is a handy link to the Mises Institute’s reprint of the “cartoon” guide to the Hayek classic. Over the past four terms, we have focused on books that focus on the dynamics of the capitalist system. We started with Schumpeter’s biography and followed that up with Capitalism, Socialism, …
Now that Commencement has passed, we can get on with our summers. For me, that means I can try to take a bite out of the big, tasty stack of books I have been accumulating over the past 9 months. These are my picks: Michael Lewis, The Big Short. Almost anything by Lewis is fun …
Assistant Professor of Mathematics and charter member of the I&E Reading Group, Scott Corry, won the Young Teacher Award for — you guessed it — his teaching excellence. Provost Burrows awarded Corry with the honor at the 2011 Lawrence University commencement ceremonies this past Sunday. Professor Corry exhibits the characteristics of a prototypical liberal arts …
The “avuncular state” is one of this week’s topics in the Comparative Economics Systems course. Should the state take a more paternalistic role? The Economist covers the topic fairly regularly, and you can probably guess which side they are on. This week’s issue has an entertaining (and worrisome) piece in the Schumpeter blog on the …
We had a pretty good discussion today, especially on the distinction between the Schumpeterian and Kirznerian entrepreneurs (perhaps too much on Christiansen). Ladies and gentlemen, the Kirznerian entrepreneur (emphasis his): For me the function of the entrepreneur consists not of shifting the curves of cost or of revenues which face him, but of noticing that …
Answer: The financial sector. Felix Salmon, citing a WSJ piece, reflects upon the very large taters being made by the financial sector. Without some frame of reference, it is hard to know what to make of the financial sector banking 35% of all of US profits. So, for some perspective check out Simon Johnson in …
I recently picked up again one of my favorite books, How to be an Alien by George Mikes. (It’s online, without the wonderful illustrations, here. If you look for it online, don’t be fooled by the inferior “Penguin Readers” version, which is… well, for aliens.) Mikes was a Hungarian writer who moved to England in …
Today we concluded this term’s Schumpeter Roundtable, what I consider a reasonably successful, certainly enjoyable reading of Joseph Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. Those who follow our blog have probably pegged its authors (notably me) as Schumpophiles, so to speak, but I think it was just a groove that we settled into following our reading …
Schumpeter Roundtable’s Cecily McMillan is featured in today’s Appleton Post-Crescent. A 22-year-old government major from Atlanta, Ga., McMillan is the granddaughter of Harlon Joye, an early member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a 1960s organization that helped fuel the nation’s civil rights movement, fought for economic justice and participatory democracy and protested the …
As we head into Spring term, let’s take a look at what is available on Briggs 2nd: ECON 100 INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMICS 9:50-11:00 MTWR Mr. Gerard ECON 120 INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS 11:10-12:20 MWF 3:10-04:20 R Ms. Karagyozova ECON 205 TOPICS-INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS 3:10-04:20 MWF Ms. Karagyozova ECON 215 COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS 9:00-10:50 TR Mr. Galambos ECON 271 …
MADISON, Wis., Feb 19 (Reuters) – Supporters of legislation to reduce public employee union bargaining power and benefits in Wisconsin were far outnumbered by opponents on Saturday, as the two sides shouted competing slogans but did not clash. Tens of thousands have demonstrated throughout the week against Republican Governor Scott Walker’s proposed legislation, which supporters …
One thing about capitalism that’s pretty certain is that it’s changing. Capitalism a hundred years ago looked very different from capitalism today, and capitalism looks different in different countries. The field of comparative economic systems was born out of the socialism vs. capitalism debate, and, for that reason, those of us interested in that field …
Looking to pick up some reading recommendations for the upcoming Reading Period? My pick is Tyler Cowen’s e-book, The Great Stagnation, which has been something of a sensation since its release (if by sensation you mean, which I do, a bunch of economists and policy wonks have been reading and reviewing it). Plenty of buzz …
Professor Gerard recently wrote about the views of Schumpeter and Stigler on Intellectuals. In the paper he cites, Stigler wonders why Intellectuals hate economics, and considers the possibility that our extremely technical field and extremely poor communication style might have something to do with it: Less than a century ago a treatise on economics began …
Last time we met for the Schumpeter Roundtable tutorial, we discussed Schumpeter’s point that perhaps the greatest strength of capitalism is that it provides precise, prompt, exact and effective incentives in the promise of great riches and the threat of great destitution. He would know, having been on both ends of that spectrum (well, almost). …
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address that exhorted Americans to “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Although the expression is iconic and emblematic of the selfless nature of public service, not everyone was impressed. Indeed, free-market champion Milton …
The deregulation of network industries in the 1970s is a puzzle for many political economists, as consumers generally benefited at the expense of entrenched, well-connected producers. How did that happen? One widely acknowledged answer is that economist Alfred Kahn, head of the Civil Aeronautics Board, played an influential role. Professor Kahn died this past week, …
