Archive for 3 October 2008
Nobel Pickin’ Time
| Peter Klein |
The econommics Nobel chatter has already begun (1, 2, 3, probably many more). I’ll just borrow from last year’s post for those who follow such things:
How about a prize for organizational economics? Coase, of course, whose 1937 paper is foundational to the field, has already won, as have Akerlof, Spence, Stiglitz, Mirrlees, Vickrey, Hayek, and others whose work has greatly informed the study of organizations. But, for a prize recognizing organizational economics per se, whom would you pick? Williamson, Holmström, Milgrom, Roberts, Hart, Tirole, Aghion? Perhaps Alchian, Demsetz, or Jensen. Maybe a personnel economist (Lazear) or someone in corporate finance or accounting (Bill Schwert, Stewart Myers, René Stulz, Raghuram Rajan, Cliff Smith, Milton Harris, Artur Raviv)? Suggestions?
An entrepreneurship Nobel for, say, Baumol and Kirzner isn’t out of the question, but seems unlikely. What do you think?
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
| Peter Klein |
Commentators seem to take it for granted that this week’s crazy stock-market performance, particularly Monday’s 700-point drop in the Dow, proves the reality of the financial crisis. But in today’s Fed-watching age, in which even the most cryptic pronouncements of Federal Reserve officials send traders rushing to their keyboards, do you think the repeated statements by the Fed chair, Treasury secretary, and other insiders that the economy is on the verge of total collapse might just have a teensy, weensy effect on financial markets?
“Henry, banks are still lending. Hurry, say ‘credit crunch’ again and maybe we can scare ’em off!”
BTW isn’t it interesting that the phrase “not lending” has become a synonym for “lending less”? The Paulson plan “could channel enough money to enough banks to get them to resume lending,” says Knowledge@Wharton. So banks are currently making zero loans? Wow. I sense a profit opportunity. Hmmm, Don Boudreaux points to a Christian Science Monitor piece revealing that “only 63 percent of consumers applying for a car loan are being approved compared with 83 percent a year ago.” Yep, sounds like zero lending to me.
More Bailout Humor
| Peter Klein |
In dark times, sometimes all you can do is laugh.
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Ig Nobel
| Lasse Lien |
The Ig Nobel for economics has been awarded for 2008. The winners are:
Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur, and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that a professional lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects her tip earnings.
It’s tempting to pose the classic question: Could the direction of causality be an issure here?
Reference: “Ovulatory Cycle Effects on Tip Earnings by Lap Dancers: Economic Evidence for Human Estrus?” Geoffrey Miller, Joshua M. Tybur, Brent D. Jordan, Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 28, 2007, pp. 375-81.
Organizations and Markets 
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