Good news: Williamson and Ostrom October 12, 2009
Posted by David in Economics.Tags: Elinor Ostrom, Oliver Williamson, Paul Krugman
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So, now it has been decided. Oliver Williamson and Elinor Ostrom have been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize of the Bank of Sweden. The good news is that they are institutional economists. I have my disagreements with Williamson (I think he over-emphasizes opportunistic behavior), but by and large I think he deserves this, as does Ostrom. I have actually read papers by both of this year’s laureates, which has been unusual in recent years. Admittedly, I have read one or two papers by Krugman too, but I would have been far better off reading a novel or watching a movie.
Is Paul Krugman Sixty Times More Valuable than Douglass North, Amartya Sen or Angus Maddison? May 16, 2009
Posted by David in Economics, Life in Taiwan.Tags: Paul Krugman
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Paul Krugman has just spent two days in Taiwan, at a cost to the taxpayer – including me - of US$500,000. Ten years ago, I was involved in preparing the visits to Taiwan by his obviously less distinguished colleagues North, Sen, and Maddison. Their visits lasted about a week each and cost about US$8,000 plus hotel and airline tickets. And I attended their lectures free of charge! Meanwhile, the price for attending Krugman’s show in Taipei was US$100 per person (no, I did not attend). He also spent time with the President of the Republic of China and advised students that a good preparation for economists is to read Krugman’s seminal contributions to the literature.
I have heard that Krugman thinks that the US stimulus package is too modest. Why not add $182.5 million per year on sustaining Krugman’s no doubt excellent lecture and closed-door-meeting-with-important-people services?
