Archive for January, 2009
Libertarian Paternalism
Sunday, January 25th, 2009I just finished Nudge, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. These University of Chicago professors advocate “libertarian paternalism” which recognizes that people often act irrationally and recommends that governments “nudge” people to make better choices. In their own words: Libertarian paternalism is a weak, soft, and non-intrusive type of paternalism because choices are not blocked […]
Thanks
Sunday, January 25th, 2009I’m about to write another post, but first I wanted to to thank all of my readers for sticking with me recently over the past couple months. Between finals and traveling to see my family, December and January are always a busy time. This year I had my qualifying exams to boot, and writing posts […]
How to Make an Economist Mad
Sunday, January 18th, 2009Say that economics isn’t a real science. Someone told me that over Christmas, and I have to admit that it rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t want to delve into what “science” really entails. I’d be the first to concede that economists don’t study the physical world. What bothers me is the all too […]