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Heavy Lifting

  • In loco parentis ad infinitum?

    From this USA Today story:A university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.Officials at historically black Lincoln University said Friday that the school is simply concerned about high rates of obesity [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 3:24pm EST

  • Damn good Dawg

    UGA VII died suddenly yesterday. RIP [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 2:27pm EST

  • I'm sure it's photoshopped but it's still funny

    From dawgsports.com:Classic.The post has another funny line:The toothbrush was invented by a professor at Auburn University. We know this because, if it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called the teethbrush.Hopefully we can get it done on Saturday night but I have my doubts.GO DAWGS!! [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:59am EST

  • I'm no macroeconomist (or accountant)

    I am scratching my head over this one and I wonder if I am just making too much out of something that is painfully obvious to the macroeconomists (and macro-accountants). I heard this yesterday and then read this sentence today:The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday the White House is considering [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:42am EST

  • Math is your friend? Maybe not in NYC

    An interesting, and depressing, story concerning the utter lack of basic math skills on the part of freshmen at City University of New York:During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem, the report by the CUNY' [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:27am EST

  • Shut it down!!

    The pay-for-grades program lasted about two seconds:A North Carolina middle school's cash-for-grades fundraiser has come to an abrupt end, school officials said Wednesday.Wayne County school administrators halted the plan at Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro that would have allowed students to get 20 test points in exchange for a $20 [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:45am EST

  • Markets in everything: selling grades edition

    Well, it was bound to happen. As schools find themselves strapped for cash and the allure of buying one more magazine subscription or another chocolate bar wanes, where do schools go next for their fund raising efforts? Our local elementary has gone with an outfit that essentially replicates cafe-press for [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:29am EST

  • Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    Special thanks to friends Karl P., Roger F., Mark B., and Tom H. and family Richard W. [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:24am EST

  • Creative accounting: Federal Government Edition

    Just how many jobs were "created or saved" by the Federal stimulus package? Hard to say. It is notoriously difficult to prove the "saved" portion of the equation. However, notwithstanding such difficulties, the Federal government provided "guidelines" as to how states and localities could determine whether a job was "saved" [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 8:48am EST

  • Beware politicians (and the CBO)

    From the executive summary of the CBO analysis of the Republican response to the House Health Care bill:This evening, CBO released a preliminary analysis of a substitute amendment to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, proposed by Representative John Boehner, the Republican Leader in the House of [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:19am EST

  • President breaks FERPA laws?

    One might make a case that he did:Then, to a chorus of oooohs from the crowd, he said that Malia, a sixth-grader at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, had come home with a 73 on her science test not long ago. He recounted how, a few years ago, she had [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:03am EST

  • New boss worse than the old boss?

    One wonders if the famous Who line should be amended because over time the Congress (I don't even say "our Congress" anymore) has become more and more authoritarian. Tomorrow's vote on the Health Care "bill" in the House is yet one more manifestation:Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD' [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:55am EST

  • Deadlines matter?

    I am messaging the database of cash-for-clunkers trades and generated the total number of C4C transactions by date. Here is the line plot for the 100 days of the program:Notice the two big spikes in the sales that correspond, essentially, with the two announced deadlines: the first was the initial [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 3:54pm EST

  • What exactly is a Credit Default Swap?

    A nice explanation of the Credit Default Swap and the extent that the market for these derivatives provides benefits to the financial system, and also a few risks, is provided in this Cleveland Fed Economic Commentary. Here's the abstract:Credit derivative instruments allow default risk to be segregated from debt of [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 2:26pm EST

  • A Chamblee-Colwell-Dehring-Depken production

    A plug for a new working paper of mine with John Chamblee (UGA), Peter Colwell (Illinois) and Carolyn Dehring (UGA) ""The Value of Land Conservation: Evidence from North Carolina " available at SSRN. We appreciate any comments on the paper. Here's the abstract:We examine conservation activity in western North Carolina," [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 10:00am EST

  • The power of suggestion

    How about this time series of hand sanitizer sales? Via Nielsen [...]
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    Posted: November 01, 2009, 1:02pm EST

  • An interesting comment

    A comment posted on a story over at Politico:Is anyone really surprised???? Hope and Change... Nah! Get used to Rope and ChainsJames left a great comment and hence the change in the post's title. I posted not because I agree with the comment only that there are still some creative' [...]
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    Posted: November 01, 2009, 12:50pm EST

  • Go Video

    UGA-UF on Saturday afternoon. Go DAWGS!!! [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 3:57pm EDT

  • How did this happen?

    In economics, generally, authors are ordered alphabetically rather than on their absolute or relative contribution to the paper. Generally speaking, in economics you rarely find more than three authors on a paper.Generally speaking, when referring to a paper with three or more authors the paper is cited as "Davis, et" [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 2:54pm EDT

  • Picture of the day

    How about this graph of people unemployed for 27 week so or more? Ouch.The historical picture is no better: [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 9:14am EDT

  • Picture of the day

    I found this surfing reddit. Don't know if it is 100% accurate, but it seems close enough to pass the ocular estimator:Oops. Please don't believe politicians who make bold claims about the future. While you're at it you probably should take a big block of salt with you when you' [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 8:23pm EDT

  • Worthless statistics of the day

    Last Thursday I held my midterm exam in sports economics. Unfortunately, the exam format was multiple guess. Here is the tabulation of the answers:. tab answer answer | Freq. Percent Cum.------------+----------------------------------- A | 15 30.00 30.00 B | 10 20.00 50.00 C | 12 24.00 74.00 [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 9:02am EDT

  • Are UGA fans crazy or are we being penalized more?

    Georgia fans are quick to point out that it seems that UGA is being penalized more than in recent memory. Plenty of reasons are proffered for why this might be the case - ranging from poor coaching and preparation, to lack of discipline by the players, to a conspiracy by [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 2:53pm EDT

  • Thoughts on LSU vs. UGA

    The game yesterday could only have been more fun if we (UGA) had won the game. The picture-postcard perfect weather in Athens, the beautiful co-eds decked out in their red and black, the pitch was perfect, the crowd was electric and we even took the first kickoff.Then the first half [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 7:27pm EDT

  • Losing an Olympic bid?

    Economists admit that hosting megaevents such as the Olympics or a Super Bowl can convey considerable civic pride to the local citizens. The problem is measuring this civic pride. How can we convert civic pride into a monetary measure? This is a problem because politicians and activists know that they [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 1:15pm EDT

  • No Panic!!

    My brother sent me this picture, taken somewhere on Ga. 15:We are meeting in the Classic City tomorrow to see the Dawgs take on #4 LSU. Games between these two teams have been very good over the past few years, save one. I am hopeful that the Dawgs defense can [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 1:04pm EDT

  • American Needle vs. NFL

    This case is going in front of the U.S. Supreme Court sometime this month. I was asked to comment, amend, and become and signatory to an Amicus Brief filed with the court last week. I was honored to be cited in the brief and appreciate the recognition. Perhaps economic research [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 9:18am EDT

  • Who will win the Olympics bid?

    Everyone has an opinion but only a few people have an opinion with money on the line - I speak of those participating in the Intrade market. Here are the bid-ask prices from 9:12 am EDTThe U.S. (Chicago) has a 53% chance of winning followed by South America's (Rio) 42% [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 9:12am EDT

  • Thoughts on ASU vs. UGa

    Last night's game was very interesting to watch even if the Dawgs didn't have to be the ones kicking the game winning field goal with two seconds left. The turnovers are still killing us - although we did have one on our side.The weather was miserable but at least it' [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 10:21pm EDT

  • Did this happen in the old regime?

    Given all the claims that the previous administration was going to grab people off the street after the PATRIOT act I don't remember seeing too many instances of that actually happening. I am not saying that it didn't, we just didn't have the video.Now we do - and it isn't [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 6:27pm EDT

  • A billion dollars well spent?

    In what can only be interpreted as trickle-down green technology, the U.S. government has loaned $1 billion to two start-up companies focusing on high-end luxury (and expensive) hybrid cars:WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 9:21am EDT

  • CADPI Sighting

    I was quoted in this WFAE NPR story. [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 9:01am EDT

  • CADPI sighting

    In this Carolina 14 News story concerning NASCAR sponsorships. [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 8:35am EDT

  • Bad quote of the week

    Many people, professional economists included, often lapse into the fallacy of the "broken windows" source of growth. The idea is that if all windows were broken there would be a lot of economic activity focusing on replacing the windows. This would look like a positive impact on economic growth when, [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 9:25am EDT

  • I dropped to 38...

    Last week I was nearly in first place and then four bad picks later (thanks for nothing USC) and I am now tied for #38. [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 7:58pm EDT

  • Anyone notice?

    This is one of the polls in today's Sporting News Today:Notice anything about the poll?I locked onto the title - "Division I-AA." According to the NCAA the Division I-AA doesn't exist anymore. Rather it is called the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as opposed to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). These' [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 2:48pm EDT

  • I am now tied for second

    in the "office pool" I have joined. I missed two games this past week ND losing to Michigan and Stanford losing to Wake Forest.Here are the standings now: [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 1:45pm EDT

  • Bad precedent?

    As professors we are always somewhat anxious that the legislature or the administration will "discover" that there is a lot of excess capacity on campus - particularly in the fact that classes are, generally speaking, only offered five days a week and only for about 15 hours a day. At [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 8:51am EDT

  • Thoughts on USC vs. UGA

    Last night's game was an instant classic. There were three games within the game - early on when USC dominated for the first full quarter, the middle of the game when the Dawgs took over and went ahead by what felt like a very comfortable lead, and the last quarter [...]
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    Posted: September 13, 2009, 8:52pm EDT

  • A new working paper

    This one with Mike Ward looks at the impact of JSTOR, the electronic journal archive, on economic research:"Sited, Sighted, and Cited: The Effect of JSTOR in Economic Research"By increasing the ability to discover, access, and use academic journal articles, the Internet has become the dominant mode by which scholars stay [...]
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    Posted: September 11, 2009, 9:41pm EDT

  • Me trying to be cool (warning, laugh alert)

    Back in August I ran the next-to-the-last individual time trial at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The challenge is 10 miles long and I managed to barely miss my thirty minute mark (30:29:60). For once I didn't come in last place in my age group (Men 40+) Full results here.There is a' [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 8:42am EDT

  • $1.2 billion later

    The new Cowboys stadium in Arlington is, by all reports, an amazing building. It did, after all, cost $1.2 billion to construct.That said, there have been a few noticeable problems with the new stadium. The scoreboards hanging over the field are "too low," as evidenced by punters being able to [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 12:54pm EDT

  • My picks after week one

    One of the blogs I regularly read has a free office pool set up for NCAA football. The game is to pick winners (straight up) for a select number of games during a given weekend. The twist is that of the sixteen games chosen, the individual can place a number [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 9:16am EDT

  • 19 hours and counting

    More go videoPrediction: UGA 31 OSU 24 [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 8:12pm EDT

  • Why I am glad I didn't go to Georgia Tech

    As we gear up for the 2009 college football campaign, all UGA fans seek ways to lessen the sting of the loss to Tech last year. They beat us once a decade and then spend the next nine years reminding every Georgia fan how great it was the last time [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 3:52pm EDT

  • Why I don't listen to NPR (very much)

    I like Car Talk and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, but the morning shows I tend to avoid. This morning, as there was nothing happening on our local AM band, I flipped over to Morning Edition. I came in just as this story was starting up. The part of the' [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 9:46am EDT

  • It takes money to make money

    From this story:$14 Million Gift Will Fund UNLV Institute for Seeking Grants (Las Vegas Sun)An initiative to raise money to advance education, health care and social services in Nevada will be launched at UNLV today with a $14 million grant from Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation. [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 12:33pm EDT

  • Two more go videos...

    for the Bulldawgs:Only two weeks left until we take on the Boys in Stillwater.GO DAWGS!!! [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 3:09pm EDT

  • Something to think about

    There are plenty of people who pan the Laffer Curve, but the general idea is probably fairly sound. The real issue is determining at any given point in time where society is on the Laffer curve - if on one side then raising tax rates will increase revenues, if on [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 4:20pm EDT

  • No sense of irony at the SEIU?

    Over at the SEIU web site they are offering a "free" poster commemorating the health care reform efforts. Here's a screen capture of the website as of Aug 13, 2009:I don't understand the last sentence - the poster doesn't seem to provide much of a vision of what the country [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 2:45pm EDT

  • This about sums it up...

    More here [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 2:32pm EDT

  • The next bailout?

    From the Baltimore Sun:Would forgiving student loan be good for the economy?Some groups think so. A campaign is underway to get student loans forgiven so grads can afford to spend their money on other things. Proponents say this would immediately stimulate the economy. So, those who went through school without [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 12:33pm EDT

  • Brilliance

    Police said Tuesday that a woman came across a yard sale that included some familiar items -- her own. [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 4:28pm EDT

  • Football season is only a few weeks away!!

    Here's a go-video for my team, anyone else have one?Here's another oneHere's another oneHere's another oneA tribute to UGA VI (Graphic Language) UGA VI at Auburn BlackoutGO DAWGS!!! [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 1:48pm EDT

  • On the housing crisis

    The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cHome Crisis Investigationwww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorSpinal Tap PerformanceNice tile. [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 1:10pm EDT

  • Another bad graph

    How misleading is this graph?The problem is that the vertical axes have been manipulated to create an "intersection" where no intersection need exist. Indeed, one could adjust either vertical axis to obtain an "intersection" at some other point in time.From this blog post [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 12:39pm EDT

  • Uh oh...

    I strive hard to avoid what I call Youtube moments - especially when a student asks a loaded question the answer to which might be very easily taken out of context. I am not sure if this compilation is necessarily taken out of context but it would definitely seem to [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 11:40am EDT

  • Why I won't be racing next week

    Next week there is a cycling criterium in Concord. There will be amateur racing but I have voluntarily chosen to not participate - thereby saving myself and some untold number of other cyclists the road rash that would occur when I made a mistake.Something akin to this:More info here [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 1:05pm EDT

  • Debt vs. Deficit - again

    Here is the rundown, one more time. A deficit occurs when, for a given fiscal year, the government's revenues are less than the government's expenditures. A positive deficit indicates that the government must borrow or print the difference; a negative deficit would correspond with a "surplus."The debt is the accumulated [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 12:55pm EDT

  • That would have been a record

    I found this at 4:55pm on Google Finance's front pageOnly off by an order of magnitude - no problem. [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2009, 4:55pm EDT

  • On inheritance

    Here is a funny take on inheritance and property rights: [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2009, 3:42pm EDT

  • A whole new game

    New rules, new sources of frustration, and children who will not want to grow up to be a doctor:HT: Taxing Tennessee [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:08am EDT

  • Misleading graphics?

    How about this one? Is confidence for Obama's plan increasing or decreasing?My guess is that many read the graph as being from past to present as you read left to right. However, if you look closer, it is present to past reading left to right. Intentionally misleading?One wonders. [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:04am EDT

  • Taxing everything...good grief

    From Watts Up With That via Taxable Talk via Taxing Tennessee:Congressman Earl Blumenauer's (D-OR) proposed Water Resources Protection Act. Buried in this legislation are four new taxes [link opens a Word document]- 3% excise tax on items disposed of in wastewater, such as toothpaste, cosmetics, toilet paper and cooking oil: [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:00am EDT

  • New (and different) business models

    The downturn has severely hit our local mega-mall Concord Mills. The company that owns the mall (name redacted), also owns malls of similar names in Grapevine, Texas, and other cities around the country.While some long-time retailers have disappeared from the mall, especially a big anchor store Circuit City, some new [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 7:14pm EDT

  • Now we know why it is called pork spending

    This is from the front page at Drudge (I claim fair use):If the stories are true, then this should put all debate over the merits of the stimulus package to bed. If the Republicans or some third party cannot come up with enough arguments to dethrone the current ruling class [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 6:35pm EDT

  • This is the future of health care?

    Via Republicans via Drudge. If reality is only half as complicated as this? [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2009, 10:53am EDT

  • Quote of the day

    "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912) [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2009, 10:12am EDT

  • NEA grants as political patronage?

    This report provides data on the amount of grant money doled out by the NEA for 2009. I grabbed the data and mixed with the percentage of the vote received by President Obama at the state level. The first take is looking at total state level grants related to a [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 1:16pm EDT

  • Fascinating paper

    On how to predict SSN from birth date and birth place information. The real irony is that the US government implemented a program requiring newborn babies to apply for a social security number with the birth certificate. This was intended to reduce fraud in assigning social security numbers. Unfortunately, all [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 12:43pm EDT

  • Observations on Germany

    I recently returned from a ten day visit to Germany, my first visit to mainland Europe. The first six days were spent in the Moselle River valley between Bern-castle and Urtzig. We stayed in a pleasant hotel in Zeltingen having rented a car for the ten days. Here are the [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 12:20pm EDT

  • Patently obvious statement of the day

    From this story about the cost of attending California State University schools this coming year:The cost to attend California State University this fall could rise by 30 percent compared with the year just ended, an increase experts said could drive students out of school.Yes, Virginia, demand curves are downward sloping, [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 10:41am EDT

  • From my in box today

    Craig,Congratulations on being elected Vice President for the NAASE Executive Committee until 2010. NAASE is the North American Association of Sports Economists. [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 12:40pm EDT

  • Unpatriotic frontloader

    Video taken with my new iPhone 3GS. The dings in the background come and go because I don't have my seat belt on. The next iteration of seatbelt warnings should recognize that the car isn't moving and therefore it shouldn't complain that I am not wearing my seatbelt.I thought it' [...]
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    Posted: June 24, 2009, 10:28pm EDT

  • Ask for the moon be happy if you get a Krystal?

    For those outside of the South, a Krystal is basically a White Castle hamburger (More here). That little saying is popoular around the neck of the woods in which I grew up.The quip came to mind after reading a story from Sports Business Journal concerning the attendance/viewership of the WPS [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 10:28am EDT

  • Moneyball in trouble?

    Sporting News Today reports via Variety that the production of Moneyball, the story of how the Oakland A's used statistical analysis to discover undervalued players in the big leagues and put together a competitive team on a shoestring budget. This is a shame as the movie might be an interesting [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 10:07am EDT

  • Test post

    Test post from me new iPhone 3Gs [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 1:15am EDT

  • Demand curves are downward sloping

    Some politicians refuse to acknowledge that demand curves are downward sloping. This refusal has led government to propose and enact any number of bad policies. However strong our econometric models are in showing that, indeed, it seems that demand curves are downward sloping, sometimes a picture is more powerful.From this [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 12:43pm EDT

  • It ain't over until the Big G says it's over

    Some banks are paying back $68 billion in TARP funds. Some in the media have suggested that this is evidence that the worst is over and that the unwinding of the great bailout has begun, nay, it may already be over.Let's put the $68 billion in perspective. From this week's' [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 12:41pm EDT

  • Is it all in the exchange rate?

    Considerable hand-wringing is happening concerning the recent rise in gasoline prices. Of course, we went through this last summer, so the media have plenty of "push print" stories they can run concerning the issue. Unfortunately, that means that most of the media stories are wrong or at best wrongly-directed.Most stories [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 12:34pm EDT

  • Odd business hours

    Odd business hours [...]
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    Posted: June 14, 2009, 11:24pm EDT

  • Bailouts Illustrated

    This is a pretty good take on how the bailouts are economically suspect (although in the short run politically expedient):More here [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2009, 3:06pm EDT

  • Money in politics?

    How about a cool $1.5 billion raised by individuals, the candidates themselves, and other political committees in the last presidential election? Now that the federal government has broken the three trillion dollars per year spending level, is it any surprise that there is so much money being spent on trying [...]
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    Posted: June 10, 2009, 11:11am EDT

  • Watch consumer credit...

    As consumer credit spending falls, the disposable income dedicated to purchasing goods and services *created today* must fall, ceteris paribus. As spending on today's goods and services falls, this will signal to producers to, guess what, produce less (at least at current prices). This, in turn, might lead to a [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2009, 3:48pm EDT

  • On the teleprompter

    I am sure the Today show got permission for this, right?Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2009, 11:38am EDT

  • $1.2 billion later...

    [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2009, 11:09am EDT

  • Gambling is an inferior good?

    Many textbooks present gambling as an inferior good - most often in the context of state lotteries. It is true that the econometric evidence suggests that lottery sales are negatively related to household income. Whether this points to ignorance or different preferences is not clear to me.Yet, more formalized gambling [...]
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    Posted: June 05, 2009, 10:49am EDT

  • On destroying capitalism

    The current issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives has an interesting article titled "Who Said `Debauch the Currency': Keynes or Lenin" (sub required) in which it is argued that Lenin claimed that the quickest and most sure means of destroying capitalism is to debase the currency. The following quote' [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2009, 10:51am EDT

  • Please, don't even try to justify this...

    De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum?Clamato? Bud Light? Salt? Lemon? Nothing, and I mean nothing, good can come of that combination.Is this Anheuser-Busch undermining InBev? [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2009, 9:59pm EDT

  • Micro Demystified in Macon

    Colleague Richard B. sends me a sighting of Microeconomics Demystified in a Barnes and Noble in Macon, Georgia:It is an honor to be shelved alongside Hernado de Soto (I know, it's alphabetical, but nevetheless). [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2009, 9:53pm EDT

  • How often does a President have to talk?

    [update: I have had a fever since Sunday - which is now being diagnosed as possible Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Thus, my initial post this morning didn't make complete sense, although at the time, compared to the past few days, I was making points like a Nobel laureate. I have' [...]
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    Posted: May 29, 2009, 8:29am EDT

  • Why we might be in a "depression"

    A Depression has multiple definitions, unfortunately. However, one way to think of a depression is a protracted retraction in GDP. The Keynesian approach is to assume that GDP is a sum of (at least) four components: consumer spending (by private households), government spending (by governments), investment (by private firms), and [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 3:30pm EDT

  • Be careful when castigating the capitalists

    From this month's issue of the New Yorker Magazine: [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 1:20pm EDT

  • Even a blind squirrel...

    From the latest issue of the New Yorker: [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 1:18pm EDT

  • Sometimes SNL is funny

    Some salty language, but for once in a long time SNL brought tears of laughter to my eyes. [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 1:08pm EDT

  • Hail from above...

    While we lived in Texas we experienced our share of hail storms, however never anything like this.A year before we moved to Texas there was a tremendous hail storm during Mayfest in downtown Fort Worth that caused significant damage but caused no deaths. [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 10:43am EDT

  • Any Pattern in Chrysler Dealership Closings?

    It took some work, but I was finally able to get the list of Chrysler dealerships on the chopping block into MS Excel and eventually accumulate the number of dealerships per state. There might be another tally by state but I couldn't find one via Google.Here's a scatter plot of' [...]
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    Posted: May 15, 2009, 1:36pm EDT

  • Open question

    This came in my email box, but I have no answer. If anyone can help I would appreciate any insight:Do you know the last time two new intercollegiate football teams began their first season of play against one another? It is happening this year in Division III when Anna Maria [...]
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    Posted: May 12, 2009, 11:00am EDT

  • SALE SALE SALE

    Check out more pix at uberpix.net! [...]
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    Posted: May 11, 2009, 4:09pm EDT

  • It doesn't matter if you are left or right

    Take a look at this plot of total government spending as a percentage of GDP in the United States:Notice the general upward trend that has not been noticeably affected by Republican or Democrat Presidents, Republican or Democrat Congresses, or Liberal or Conservative Supreme Courts.There are (at least) three potential explanations.1. [...]
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    Posted: May 11, 2009, 3:42pm EDT
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