Econlinks for the weekend

NYU Stern business school economists on the crisis, pinning down the real causes much to the same factors as Caballero did (1st bullet point). The book they advertise will certainly be widely read.

Science child psychology article on disparities in children vocabulary explained by early gestures acquisition (differentiating based on SES family background). Goes a mile in the direction of Heckman’s research project (see for instance here, 5th bullet point) on the importance of very early non-cognitive and cognitive abilities. See also an earlier comment of mine on another topic-related Science paper.

Tyler Cowen’s intriguing advice on what places one should necessarily visit in the USA. Well, I’ve already toured 3 of his 5 top choices… but I also think Chicago and Boston cannot miss a top 5… And if you want to stop in one of those cities for longer, you might consult the US city matchmaker I mentioned earlier (5th bullet point)…

Perhaps some (good) advice for friends & relatives who are parents of toddlers (or older kids, for that matter): a) 5 ways to outsmart your 2/3/4-year olds and b) what to do when your kids provoke you (though a cost-benefit analysis is only vaguely implemented…). And meanwhile all you (Economics-inclined…) parents should be waiting for the “Parentonomics” book (to be released quite soon) that might provide well argumented economic analysis of all that.

It is a very important research topic, granted (and, my hunch has always been and continues to be that ‘deliberate practice’ explains most of the observed high achievements), but my feeling is that findings & methodology therein are so far overrated (and over-mediatized) and that much more research is needed to get a satisfying, not to say definitive, answer… One ought to welcome however the distinction between plain hard work throughout (the 99% perspiration…) and high productivity hours (the nap after lunch?…).

Don’t judge US presidents (or for that matter, Greg Mankiw…) by the outcome … Good luck convincing people of that… :-).

Envy and schadenfreude, in the brain. Confirms intuition, right?

“I think we economists love to speculate about heterodox theories when times are good and we feel free to discuss experimental alternatives to economic orthodoxy (and nobody is paying us much attention during good times anyway). But when the global economy is in free fall and everyone else seems ready to throw each and every Econ 101 principle out the window, we get desperate to save the core principles that lead to prosperity and development.” Read more in Easterly’s excellent piece on the economists’ returning home.

High time for the Lehman Sisters! They have all my support.

The statistician on the origins of instrumental variables (read also his earlier account on the soon-to-be-out Angrist and Pischke book, which he appears to warmly recommend)

Esther Duflo sometimes adventures in areas where she does not necessarily have a serious comparative advantange (see 3rd bullet point here for the area where one shouldn’t start an argument with her…) I don’t see how proper incentives (here disincentives…) can be given by imposing pay caps in the financial sector, what is, unfortunately, happening de facto now (at least if the respective financial institution receives governmental help). Philippon’s point is well taken (and the co-authored research this is based on looks pretty sound), but he stops short from recommending any policy initiatives that would involve income ceilings, despite obtaining that financial guru’s were paid too much. Au contraire, I think Posner and Becker (‘at any level’ is well worth bookmarking…) are the ones right in this context.