Can Economics Improve People’s Wellbeing?
06 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
Victory Day celebration of defeat of terrorism in Palmyra
06 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
Victory over terrorism in Syria is still a long way off. But the liberation of Palmyra was an important and symbolic step towards that. This concert on Thursday, in the historic amphitheatre of the ancient city of Palmyra, was dedicated to the 71st anniversary of the defeat of fascism in Europe as well as an expression of gratitude to all those who fight terrorism today and memorial to the victims of terrorism.
During their occupation of Palmyra, Daesh committed public executions by beheading in this amphitheatre. One of the most prominent people beheaded in the city at this time was Khaled al-Asaad, a Syrian archaeologist and the head of antiquities for the ancient city. The New York Time reported the murder (see Syrian Expert Who Shielded Palmyra Antiquities Meets a Grisly Death at ISIS’ Hands):
“After detaining him for weeks, the jihadists dragged him on Tuesday to a public square where a masked swordsman…
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The role of capitalists in capitalism
06 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
Many people do not understand what capitalists do within capitalism. Some suggest they ought to be removed, as they are just parasites who tax the productive elements of society (e.g. workers)
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The popularity of Heather as a baby name
06 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, movies Tags: baby names
The Sunnyboys : Trouble In My Brain
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, Music Tags: Sunnyboys
Is the Future of Electricity Generation Really Distributed?
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
Does bad regulatory policy sow the seeds of better regulatory policy?
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
Whither Conservatism?
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
sure why – well, maybe I can guess – but I have been thinking about an article (“Hayek and the Conservatives”) I wrote in 1992 for Commentary. I just reread it — probably for the first time this century — and although I can’t say that I agree with everything I wrote over 20 years ago, it somehow still seems relevant, perhaps even more so now than then. So I thought I would share it.
At the time of his death on March 23, 1992, less than two months before his ninety-third birthday, F.A. Hayek was widely if not universally acknowledged as this century’s preeminent intellectual advocate of the free market and one of its leading opponents of socialism. His death, coming so soon after the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the abandonment of Marxism and socialism as intellectual ideals, occasioned understandable comment by his admirers about…
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Jane Jacobs at 100
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture
It is difficult to write about the centennial of Jane Jacobs. For one thing, her influence on urbanism is unsurpassed and difficult to understate; for another, everyone has been writing something and so there’s a lot of overlap between pieces.
And yet, for all the encomiums and praise and think pieces in City Lab, Vox, Toronto’s Globe and Mail and even The New York Daily News, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that for all her intellectual influence, very little has changed about the American city and what has changed has been mostly cosmetic.
In the Boston area, for example, outdated zoning and building codes have created a process so complex that only professionals can navigate it and so long that only luxury buildings are profitable. The codes result in structures that encourage driving with parking minimums, setbacks that turn already wide streets into drag strips and…
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Many emerging countries see steep increase in smartphone ownership
05 May 2016 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of media and culture, growth miracles, industrial organisation Tags: international technology diffusion, smart phones, technology diffusion
Are We Running Out of Resources? #peakoil @greenpeace
04 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, energy economics, environmental economics Tags: peak oil, pessimism bias
Multi-billion euro carbon-trading fraud trial opens in Paris
04 May 2016 Leave a comment
From France24.com H/T Alan Poirier.
The trial of 12 people accused of involvement in a multi-billion euro carbon-trading fraud opened in Paris on Monday, in a case that has been described by French authorities as “the heist of a century”.
Shady deals, offshore accounts, money laundering… The trial has all the hallmarks of a crime thriller and comes nearly seven years after French authorities cracked down on a carbon-trading scheme that cost the European Union €5 billion – including €1.6 billion in France – according to Europol.
The case dates back to October 2008, around the same time the European Commission introduced phase two of its EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), which was designed to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gases.
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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