Top Posts of 2006

31 December 2006 at 10:07 am Peter G. Klein Leave a comment

| Peter Klein |

As 2006 draws to a close we reflect on our most popular posts of the year. (Actually, we’ve only been in operation since April, so these are our most popular posts of all time, but you get the idea.) Here’s the list, followed by some commentary:

1. Is Math More Precise Than Words?
2. Intellectual Property: The New Backlash
3. Dilemmas of Formal Economic Theory
4. We Need Some Economics of Pomo
5. The New Bashing of Economics: The Case of Management Theory
6. Has Corporate Corruption Increased?
7. HRM in Heaven and Hell
8. Yale’s New MBA Curriculum: “Perspectives,” Not Functions
9. Malthus and the “Dismal Science”
10. Formal Economic Theory: Beautiful but Useless?
11. Why Do Sociologists Lean Left — Really Left?
12. The SWOT Model May Be Wrong
13. Multi-Culturality and Economic Organization
14. What Do We Really Know About Organizations?
15. Academic Insults: CCSM Edition
16. A Nobel for Entrepreneurship?
17. Price as a Signal of Quality
18. Economics: Puzzles or Problems?
19. Another Irritating Practice
20. Market-Based Management

Now, we’re talking small numbers here — the Drudge Report we ain’t — so the ranking is highly sensitive to random events, like an incoming link from Marginal Revolution. Nonetheless, some clear patterns emerge.

Our most popular subject appears to be methodology, particularly the language, task, and scope of economics (posts 1, 3, 10, and 18) and recent methodological trends in management theory (4 and 5). So much for Ed Leamer’s dictum that “methodology, like sex, is better demonstrated than discussed, though often better anticipated than experienced.”

Management and organization theory — this blog’s raison d’être — is also popular (posts 5, 12, 13, 14, and 20). Management education is represented by this week’s post on Yale’s new MBA curriculum (number 8 already). Jokes (post 7) and insults (post 15) are also popular.

On many blogs policy-oriented posts get the most attention. We haven’t had many of those, but three make the top 20 (posts 2, 6, and 11). Perhaps we need to “drop the gloves” and get nasty more often.

Anyway, thanks to all our readers for a great 2006. We look forward to an even better 2007!