→ Read more[…] Basescu has repeated his insistence that Székelyföld will have no more nor less autonomy than anywhere else. This is not a position with which I disagree in principle, but since he trotted it out two years ago and has done absoultely nothing towards decentralisation in Romania since, it is clear that what he means by “Covasna will have the same amount of autonomy as Calarasi and Constanta” is, in fact, “absolutely none”.
Category: quote
Real stakes in the US election
Here’s my favourite bit of the best essay I’ve read today:
→ Read moreThe reality is that democracy is a very blunt instrument, and in today’s environment we are choosing between ways of muddling through.
Econlinks for 18-02-’08
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An excellent (& extensive) interview with Susan Athey, the most recent winner of the John Bates Clark medal. Here’s one of the best parts:
Finding the applications that resonate with the students or the population in general and then showing them how a little bit of structured thinking can substantially improve their understanding — I think that’s where you get the power of economics.
Quote for week 10th-16th Feb ’08
→ Read moreAt the root of the difference between the Libertarian and welfarist-Utilitarian conception of optimal tax policy is the relationship of the individual to the state. The welfarist-Utilitarian model sees the state as an entity outside the individuals who compose it, in that the government puts in place policies that are optimal according to its own social welfare function.
Quote for week 3rd to 9th of Feb ’08
Mathematics is trivial, but I can’t do my work without it.
Richard Feynman
See the quote of the previous week.