https://econpointofview.com/categories/economics/ Recent content in Economics on Econ Point of View Hugo -- gohugo.io Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/new-writing-gig-at-aier/ Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/new-writing-gig-at-aier/ I’m a bit behind on this blog, but I have been writing for the past year or so at the American Institute for Economic Research. I don’t know why the let ME write, considering the other people who are contributing, but I’ve enjoyed the opportunity. You can find my articles here. I mostly summarize recent NBER working papers, such as When direct records do not exist, researchers must rely on fragmented information and reconstruct the numbers from a variety of sources. https://econpointofview.com/blog/the-economics-of-constraining-leviathan/ Thu, 10 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/the-economics-of-constraining-leviathan/ While everyone is busy making sense of the election, I figured I would stop on by ye ole blog and talk about something completely unrelated… A question I have thought a lot about lately is how can institutions evolve or be designed as to constrain Leviathan. For those of you who forgot your Hobbes, remember, Leviathan is the all-powerful government which people empower so that we can stop killing each other in a state of nature. https://econpointofview.com/blog/profits-under-competition/ Mon, 21 Dec 2015 20:57:49 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/profits-under-competition/ My last post probably generated more confusion than clarity. Let me try to clarify some conceptual points that might help bring my thinking into focus. In that post, I was trying to work through the inequality/rents connection. I argued that the standard way I’ve seen it presented doesn’t make sense to me. I tried to argue that increasing rents is neither necessary, nor sufficient for increasing inequality. In the more speculative parts of the post, I suggested why I think this confusion exists. https://econpointofview.com/blog/rents-vs-rent-seeking/ Mon, 21 Dec 2015 18:42:53 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/rents-vs-rent-seeking/ If this post sounds confused, it is probably because it is. I’m trying to work through what people mean when they use the word “rent.” They seem to slide between rents and rent-seeking, which are connected but different things. Few words in the discussions of inequality are more of a non-sequitur than “rents.” Going back to Ricardo, the word conjures up images of landed aristocracy charging high prices to the poor who work the land. https://econpointofview.com/blog/emphasis-econ-math/ Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/emphasis-econ-math/ Yesterday’s post tried to lay out why I believe the fundamental difference between Austrians, Chicago school, and Samuelsonian economists is only one of emphasis. Thinking more about it, I was reminded about an interview with Kirzner that also bring in the use of math in economics (one of my favorite topics to get myself in trouble). In an interview for Liberty Fund, Kirzner says the following (54:20): If one believes that the description and analysis of equilibrium states constitutes the central task of economic analysis, then the role for mathematics is clear and indisputable because mathematics can and should and is able to grapple with the meaning of an equilibrium state… and to the extent that’s all one has to do, then mathematics would be fine. https://econpointofview.com/blog/austrians-vs-chicago-vs-samuelsonian/ Mon, 17 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/austrians-vs-chicago-vs-samuelsonian/ A long, long time ago, I had the bold idea to work through three textbooks in economics from three different perspectives: Murray Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State, George Stigler’s Theory of Price, and Mas-Colell, Whiston, and Green’s _Microeconomic Theory, _or as I separate them: Austrian, Chicago, and Samuelsonian. Boy, was I naïve then? I also set myself the goal of trying to translate these texts into short blog posts as a way to learn. https://econpointofview.com/blog/the-numbers/ Wed, 03 Jun 2015 19:14:30 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/the-numbers/ (Update: I passed both exams on the first attempt. Hopefully that helps readers to judge the information below.) Grad students constantly talk about how much they work. It’s a badge of honor to explain how terrible life is. Even I have gotten a little mopey about things lately. I apologize. This post attempts to put some numbers to the amount of work one specific PhD student did. My purpose is not to brag, neither about how much nor how little I worked, but simply explain how the time I put in. https://econpointofview.com/blog/reply-on-austrians-and-math/ Wed, 21 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/reply-on-austrians-and-math/ (I apologize to any commentators for the slow response. I just got back from my honeymoon and as much as I love discussing economics with you, it wasn’t my first priority.) We should not write so that we can, but that we must, be understood. - Marcus Quintilian One might think that after 4 years at a good liberal arts college I might be able to write. You’d think I’d be able to make a small point. https://econpointofview.com/blog/study-math-my-austrian-friends/ Thu, 08 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/study-math-my-austrian-friends/ (Update 8/5/2021: I wrote this during the first year of my PhD. I would no doubt emphasize less about math and more about formal modeling today.) (Update: I’ve posted a reply to some concerns here.) Austrian economists hate math. That’s a broad brushstroke, but I stand by it. And it’s a shame. I understand the Austrian concerns about math and agree with most. But the concerns call for hesitation when applying math to economic problems. https://econpointofview.com/blog/5-life-lessons/ Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/5-life-lessons/ Most of the stuff I post is pretty esoteric and nerdy. Only a small group of economists probably like it. I mean me and a random guy in Slovenia. That’s about it. It’s not a huge problem, since nerdy economic theory is what I enjoy and want to write about. This blog is mostly me talking to myself, so who cares? However, that’s not enough. Economics is the coolest discipline in the world. https://econpointofview.com/blog/entrepreneur-and-the-firm-from-an-austrian-perspective/ Sat, 22 Feb 2014 22:29:43 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/entrepreneur-and-the-firm-from-an-austrian-perspective/ Firm theory is an awkward field for economists. Firms are inextricably linked to markets but utterly unlike markets. Economists believe they are excellent at explaining how people react to incentives in markets. Economists are not as comfortable analyzing command structures. Firms represent an odd middle ground. This is why firm structure is a relatively understudied field for economists. Economists can design the most complex auction system that satisfies X,Y,Z. https://econpointofview.com/blog/i-feel-like-im-taking-crazy-pills/ Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/i-feel-like-im-taking-crazy-pills/ Economists are strange. Nuts might be a better word. Sometimes I feel like Mugatu taking crazy pills. It is painful to say. Everyone wants to fit in. I would love to be cool, but not everyone thinks about opportunity costs, diminishing returns, and revealed preference. For some reason, I hear crickets when I talk about this stuff at parties. (Pro tip: Never explain to friends or family that they get paid according to their marginal product. https://econpointofview.com/blog/two-ways-to-paint-or-teach-economics/ Thu, 16 Jan 2014 13:34:41 +0000 https://econpointofview.com/blog/two-ways-to-paint-or-teach-economics/ Going through MWG, Stigler’s Theory of Price, and Rothbard’s Man, Economy, and State at the same time has brought out many similarities and differences between them about what it means to do economics. More clearly, my process has highlight the differences in teaching economics. I sound like a broken record, but Rothbard’s process seems fundamentally distinct from either MWG or Stigler, even if his results are not very different early in the books.