Blog for Econ Students

This is the first econ blog which is oriented towards principle level students in Economics. I hope it will make learning economics a fun thing. Aplia is the brain child of our very own Economist Paul Romer. The way he talks about New Growth Ideas--Same way he is incorporating new features in to Aplia--a student focused learning-testing-evaluation resource.

News for Econ Students: "Welcome to Aplia's economic news blog, a place to explore current events that relate to your econ classes. "

A few months ago hiring bloggers for academic positions was considered a no! no! in conservative schools: Bloggers need not apply. At some universities bloggers have been in trouble while others have earned better places in acadmia. However, ideas like this will open doors for academic blogging. I already knew about History academic blogging at George Mason University. In economics it will be a exciting new thing.

Economic Growth

Its a matter of choice.

Foreign Affairs - The Ethical Economist - Joseph E. Stiglitz: "Economists have long been a
natural constituency in favor of growth. Since even the richest country has limited resources, the central economic problem is choice: Shall we fund tax cuts for the rich or investment in infrastructure and research and development, war in Iraq or assistance for the poor in developing countries and our own? By providing more total resources, growth should, in theory, make these choices less painful."

US household Debt

Well not only the US household debt has increased but the public debt as well.

As Economy Thrived Under Greenspan, So Did Debt: "Greenspan and his Fed colleagues
agree that part of the growth in household debt and the trade gap is the side effect of policies that helped steady the U.S. economy after the stock bubble burst in 2000. "

A new terror

The micro problem -- that has grown out of proportion to have macro implications.

Why America Has to Be Fat: "You've read the headlines: America's problem with bulging
waistlines has reached pandemic proportions, according to federal health officials, who warn that obesity is becoming society's No. 1 killer. But as doctors wrestle with the problem, economists have been pondering which corporations and industries benefit, and the role that changes in the overall economy have played in making us fat to begin with.
It turns out, economists say, that changes in food technology (producing tasty, easy-to-cook food, such as french fries) and changes in labor (we use to be paid to exercise at work, now we pay to exercise after work)"

Lack of Data on Women in Poverty

Well! infact when we start working on issues like poverty, discrimination, health gaps, etc. Data is what limits the scope of research and the imagination of an optimistic researcher who believes in unearthing unnerving realities.

U.N. Reports Lack of Data on Women in Poverty - New York Times: "Rock stars, movie actresses and heads of state have shined a bright light on global poverty in the past year, often highlighting the particular burden on women, but a report from the United Nations released this week painstakingly details the huge gaps in data needed to understand how poverty - in all its ugly guises - affects women.
Many poor countries simply do not collect the most basic facts about births, marriages and
deaths by sex and age, or the employment status and wages of men and women. The dearth of information makes it difficult to pinpoint where girls are being married off while they are still children, or where female fetuses are being aborted because boys are preferred, or where girls are dying because they get less food and medical care than boys, says the report, which was released Wednesday.
Its authors, and specialists in the field, say better information is urgently needed if the world is to fashion sensible, effective solutions to reflect conditions that are constantly evolving and vary greatly even within a single country."

Better Neighbor Buddies than Neighbor Hoodies

Universities like Penn and Yale have become better Neighbor-Buddies than Neighborhoodies by investing in their neighborhoods to make em safe. And University of Pennsylvania actually has a Westward Ho program and there is an article in today's washington post as well.

Westward Ho by U Penn They say that: By the early 1990s, University City—a once dynamic and gracious community of magnificent Victorian homes and lively diversity—had fallen on hard times. This West Philadelphia neighborhood had grown poorer and more dangerous, with one in five residents living below the poverty level. Crime had risen significantly. Shops and businesses were closing, pedestrian traffic was vanishing, middle- class families were leaving, and more houses were falling prey to abandonment and decay. Three local elementary schools ranked at the bottom in state- administered math and reading tests.
Penn charted a new course toward civic engagement and resolved to work with neighborhood leaders and residents to rebuild a spirit of fellowship and shared purpose and to create a more livable community. By linking its academic and research expertise and its financial commitment with the energy, resources, and inspired commitment of neighborhood residents and businesses, Penn embarked on the civic-reform partnership that would restore and revitalize West Philadelphia.
Because urban neighborhoods form complex ecological systems, we sought to rebuild West
Philadelphia’s social and economic capacity by simultaneously and aggressively acting on five interrelated fronts:
Creating clean and safe streets
Increasing housing and home ownership
Fortifying public education
Fostering economic opportunity
Promoting commercial development
The program has been and continues to serve as a successful agent of change. These positive results did not happen overnight. Rather, the enduring partnership between Penn and its neighbors is a tribute to long-term vision, commitment, and just plain hard work.

Small is beautiful

Interesting! I thought Americans like it big and do not settle for small-is beautiful-that's why companies sell em bigger than 12oz. This is also a cause of American obesity. Corporate US is selling everything in big to consumers at cheaper prices and smaller at larger prices. For consumers it is not only a bang for their buck but also a drive to eat-and-have-more while corporate sector can make more money on top of big things as compared to what they make on small and neat.

Starbucks Economics - Solving the mystery of the elusive "short" cappuccino. By Tim-Harford: "Here's a little secret that Starbucks doesn't want you to know: They will serve you a better, stronger cappuccino if you want one, and they will charge you less for it. Ask for it in any Starbucks and the barista will comply without batting an eye. The puzzle is to work out why. "

From Voodoonomics to Bushonomics

His republican peer earned a name for his economic policies--Voodoo economics and Raganmoics-- and he is following almost same set of policies focused on a short term life support system for the economy. Sigh! I wished his policies were more sustainable in the long run. About Sebastian Mallaby I can say only one thing--When non economists start writing about economics the only thing stop reading and start thinking.

What Democrats Miss in Bushonomics: "Faced with strong growth, full employment and a
productivity miracle, Democrats insist that something is profoundly wrong. Responding to President Bush's economic speech on Friday, the Senate's top Democrat complained that 'the benefits of economic growth still have not reached many hardworking middle-class families.'"

Dish em to world on china dish

This little cutsie is made by Honda on a Chineese plant. Lets see if Chineese vehicle bring another No-Foriegn car syndrome to US. I guess only way to compete these vehicles is that Detriot provides more efficient Hybrid vehicles therefore fuel economy offsets the price of vehicle. Or may be---Outsource car production to China ;)

China's Fast-Moving Vehicles: "Mel Rapton doesn't know how to pronounce the name of the Chinese company whose automobiles he would like to import and perhaps sell at his Honda dealership in Sacramento, Calif. He doesn't know what styles he'll promote, what he'll charge or how exactly he'll persuade Americans to buy a car made in China-one that isn't a Hot Wheels toy, that is."

When Democracy Died in Wilmington, N.C.

I guess this is how blacks were forced into poverty and destitution otherwise how come a community that was known for hardwork and extraordinary labor on plantations was unable to come out of state of despair.

When Democracy Died in Wilmington, N.C. - New York Times: "This rosy version of Carolina
history turns out to have its bloody side. A draft of a voluminous report commissioned by the North Carolina legislature has recently outlined a grotesquely violent and stridently racist version of state history that rivals anything ever seen in the most troubled parts of the Deep South. The report, by the Wilmington Race Riot Commission, has thrown a klieg light onto a coup and riot that were staged in Wilmington, N.C., in 1898 - and that still have an evident impact on the political landscape of the state."

More can be read at North Carolina Office of Archives and History.

Paul Romer and Economic Growth

I have never seen such a beautiful essay on economic growth that explains such a complex process in a concise manner in just two paragraphs.

Paul Romer on economic Growth--"Economic growth occurs whenever people take resources and rearrange them in ways that are more valuable. A useful metaphor for production in an economy comes from the kitchen. To create valuable final products, we mix inexpensive ingredients together according to a recipe. The cooking one can do is limited by the supply of ingredients, and most cooking in the economy produces undesirable side effects. If economic growth could be achieved only by doing more and more of the same kind of cooking, we would eventually run out of raw materials and suffer from unacceptable levels of pollution and nuisance. Human history teaches us, however, that economic growth springs from better recipes, not just from more cooking. New recipes generally produce fewer unpleasant side effects and generate more economic value per unit of raw material.
Take one small example. In most coffee shops, you can now use the same size lid for small, medium, and large cups of coffee. That wasn't true as recently as 1995. That small change in the geometry of the cups means that a coffee shop can serve customers at lower cost. Store owners need to manage the inventory for only one type of lid. Employees can replenish supplies more quickly throughout the day. Customers can get their coffee just a bit faster. Such big discoveries as the transistor, antibiotics, and the electric motor attract most of the attention, but it takes millions of little discoveries like the new design for the cup and lid to double average income in a nation."

You can read entire essay here

Google Cube

By the way it is just speculation and no truth.
The latest in News is that Google sponsored Under $100 laptop per child program at MIT and now the rumor is that the next big thing they are hoping is to provide $200 pc to everyone. People are asking questions if it will be economically feasible. I would say yes. It will be difinately a China thing.

Google's next trick ...: "Speculation is mounting that Google will this week unveil a no-frills personal computer costing as little as $200 " In a briefing note, Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck said the US online giant would launch Google Cubes - simple network-based boxes that could link and control home entertainment, computer and automation systems.

From: E Mullah الیکٹرونک مُلا: Google Cube

MIT Media Lab: $100 Laptop

This is truly an amazing invention. I would say that bigger companies like Dell, IBM, and Apple should have thought about this. And above all Bill and Melinda Gate's (Microsoft) charity is not enough until they come up with something really affordable in terms of computing products that are affordable to students in developing countries. Otherwise all the charity is an EyeWash.

MIT Media Lab: $100 Laptop: "The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop-a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created. The initiative was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005."

India on way to progress

Interesting!

In India, Engineering Success: "The classroom of the future will feature electronic white boards. The teachers of the future will write equations on these boards with electronic pens. And the students of the future won't have to choose between concentrating on the teacher and scribbling the equations into notebooks. They will devote all their energy to listening, then download the equations straight into the laptops they've plugged into their desks.
Okay, that isn't quite right. The classroom I'm describing is not some figment of the future. It's the reality I visited a month ago at the Vellore Institute of Technology."