I should clarify. Seth = STS. I switched computers this morning and my old (more anonymous) ID got populated into the comments form. A while after I started using my first name instead of initials (quite by accident) I noticed the discrepancy. But I felt, perhaps wrongly, that nobody was particularly concerned with either of these identities. Why grab the ‘mike’ just to point out a dumb mistake?

Sorry about the confusion.

I should clarify. Seth = STS. I switched computers this morning and my old (more anonymous) ID got populated into the comments form. A while after I started using my first name instead of initials (quite by accident) I noticed the discrepancy. But I felt, perhaps wrongly, that nobody was particularly concerned with either of these identities. Why grab the ‘mike’ just to point out a dumb mistake?

Sorry about the confusion.

Also, good to see you back here.

Cheers.

Also, good to see you back here.

Cheers.

I really hope some branch of the economics profession will get serious about reconnecting their modeling efforts with the reality of political and economic power.

Ragu Rajan has shown some promise in this area. I first noticed him when some blogger pointed to a talk in which he discussed how the new shadow banking system was intensifying risk. This at a time when everybody else was being congratulatory about how modern finance was lowering risk.

But this strain of thought should be of interest to you. Wow! Sometimes economic relationships are influenced by power — whodathunkit?

But all snark aside, Rajan is an example of a prominent academic who has stumbled onto a worthwhile path. I hope his colleagues learn to appreciate that part of his work (currently placed discreetly at the bottom of his publication list as if out of embarrassment) and emulate it. We’ll see if their funders will tolerate that kind of subversion. (oops forgot to close the snark tag there …)

I really hope some branch of the economics profession will get serious about reconnecting their modeling efforts with the reality of political and economic power.

Ragu Rajan has shown some promise in this area. I first noticed him when some blogger pointed to a talk in which he discussed how the new shadow banking system was intensifying risk. This at a time when everybody else was being congratulatory about how modern finance was lowering risk.

But this strain of thought should be of interest to you. Wow! Sometimes economic relationships are influenced by power — whodathunkit?

But all snark aside, Rajan is an example of a prominent academic who has stumbled onto a worthwhile path. I hope his colleagues learn to appreciate that part of his work (currently placed discreetly at the bottom of his publication list as if out of embarrassment) and emulate it. We’ll see if their funders will tolerate that kind of subversion. (oops forgot to close the snark tag there …)

That said, I’ve been reconsidering various issues in these terms, and the results are very satisfying.

So far, it seems like an elegant framework, and one that can efficiently sort good policy from bad; distinguish acceptable lobbying from corruption; define healthy competition in opposition to abusive practices; and continue to demarcate a clearly limited role for government, without diminishing the value and effectiveness of the powers government properly reserves.

All this seems important, because what we’ve got now – on all these fronts – is an enormous mess, and a bunch of people so angry with each other that they can’t even see straight, let alone set things straight.

That said, I’ve been reconsidering various issues in these terms, and the results are very satisfying.

So far, it seems like an elegant framework, and one that can efficiently sort good policy from bad; distinguish acceptable lobbying from corruption; define healthy competition in opposition to abusive practices; and continue to demarcate a clearly limited role for government, without diminishing the value and effectiveness of the powers government properly reserves.

All this seems important, because what we’ve got now – on all these fronts – is an enormous mess, and a bunch of people so angry with each other that they can’t even see straight, let alone set things straight.