3 ms·

Yeah, or you can head to reddit or something. I do want to see more scientific articles relating to economics here. I mean articles on economics with actual ana

by jey 19y ago

Yeah, or you can head to reddit or something. I do want to see more scientific articles relating to economics here. I mean articles on economics with actual analysis, data, graphs, etc. And if the same can be done for any other subject, politics included, I'd support it. Present it in a way that teaches us something, rather than feeding us a conclusion without data.

davidw 19y ago
I think economics is fascinating, but I'd rather sacrifice it than be stuck with the short leap to policy discussions and attendant discord that often ensues with even more or less 'scientific' articles.
- jey 19y ago
  I take the opposite stance: I'll gladly take friendly and thoughtful discussion of policy that is incidental when discussing an economic article.
  - pchristensen 19y ago
    "...friendly and thoughtful..." Amen.
  - davidw 19y ago
    Even here though, these debates sometimes turn acrimonious in short order. Maybe not as bad as reddit, but it worries me.
Prrometheus 19y ago
My favorite economic monograph of all time is from Friedrich von Hayek: http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html He describes how a market economy, though the price mechanism, utilizes distributed, localized data to effect the distribution of resources. It's hard to comprehend the unconscious and intricate processes of the market. For lighter, more modern fair, I have always enjoyed the works of Steven Landsburg. From the trivial, such as why we walk up stairs but not escalators: http://www.slate.com/id/2070182 http://www.slate.com/id/2070182 To the profound, such as how to grow cars in Iowa: http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/dfunderburk/428/readings/The%20Iowa%20Car%20Crop.htm http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/dfunderburk/428/readings/Th... Empirical economics (what perhaps you mean by "scientific") is also fun and illuminating. The author of "Freakonomics", Steven Levitt, is enduringly popular nowadays. His work tends towards the empirical: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/ http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/ I've always been a big fan of Cowen and Tabarok: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ In college I studied the economics of environmentalism, which is essential to understand what approaches to helping the environment are likely to work or not (incentives matter!). I also studied the economics of law. Sorry, no quick fun links! There is so much great economics out there, and so little life. Right now I am studying monetary policy. It's dense and dry, but also very controversial and unsettled, which makes it exciting.
- sspencer 19y ago
  "...such as why we walk up stairs but not escalators: " I actually walk up escalators. I have never seen anyone else do this, and I always wondered why. You get to the top even faster!
  - hhm 19y ago
    I do it too. I've seen many people do that... I guess that depends on the hurry (in my case, it depends on how much it bores me to stay still at the escalator).
  - run4yourlives 19y ago
    You've never seen anyone do it? Check out a subway escalator at rush hour... in any city in the world.
    - wallflower 19y ago
      I remember super long escalators with signs posted coming out of some of the catacombs of the Tube in London. A quick flickr search (for stand right/[walk left]) shows a lone woman on the ascending escalator walking.. http://tinyurl.com/2f4nta http://tinyurl.com/2f4nta

by jey 19y ago

davidw 19y ago

I think economics is fascinating, but I'd rather sacrifice it than be stuck with the short leap to policy discussions and attendant discord that often ensues with even more or less 'scientific' articles.

jey 19y ago
I take the opposite stance: I'll gladly take friendly and thoughtful discussion of policy that is incidental when discussing an economic article.
- pchristensen 19y ago
  "...friendly and thoughtful..." Amen.
- davidw 19y ago
  Even here though, these debates sometimes turn acrimonious in short order. Maybe not as bad as reddit, but it worries me.

Prrometheus 19y ago

My favorite economic monograph of all time is from Friedrich von Hayek: http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html He describes how a market economy, though the price mechanism, utilizes distributed, localized data to effect the distribution of resources. It's hard to comprehend the unconscious and intricate processes of the market. For lighter, more modern fair, I have always enjoyed the works of Steven Landsburg. From the trivial, such as why we walk up stairs but not escalators: http://www.slate.com/id/2070182 http://www.slate.com/id/2070182 To the profound, such as how to grow cars in Iowa: http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/dfunderburk/428/readings/The%20Iowa%20Car%20Crop.htm http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/dfunderburk/428/readings/Th... Empirical economics (what perhaps you mean by "scientific") is also fun and illuminating. The author of "Freakonomics", Steven Levitt, is enduringly popular nowadays. His work tends towards the empirical: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/ http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/ I've always been a big fan of Cowen and Tabarok: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ http://www.marginalrevolution.com/ In college I studied the economics of environmentalism, which is essential to understand what approaches to helping the environment are likely to work or not (incentives matter!). I also studied the economics of law. Sorry, no quick fun links! There is so much great economics out there, and so little life. Right now I am studying monetary policy. It's dense and dry, but also very controversial and unsettled, which makes it exciting.

sspencer 19y ago
"...such as why we walk up stairs but not escalators: " I actually walk up escalators. I have never seen anyone else do this, and I always wondered why. You get to the top even faster!
- hhm 19y ago
  I do it too. I've seen many people do that... I guess that depends on the hurry (in my case, it depends on how much it bores me to stay still at the escalator).
- run4yourlives 19y ago
  You've never seen anyone do it? Check out a subway escalator at rush hour... in any city in the world.
  - wallflower 19y ago
    I remember super long escalators with signs posted coming out of some of the catacombs of the Tube in London. A quick flickr search (for stand right/[walk left]) shows a lone woman on the ascending escalator walking.. http://tinyurl.com/2f4nta http://tinyurl.com/2f4nta