March 2011

Meanwhile, More “Power Market and the State” Battles in New Jersey and Maryland

Michael Giberson And if Andrew Kleit thinks that the Pennsylvania state government is toying with a bad idea (see previous post), look what is going on next door in New Jersey and Maryland. In New Jersey: “Utilities challenge New Jersey law while preparing to reap its benefits.” In January the Governor signed a law which …

Meanwhile, More “Power Market and the State” Battles in New Jersey and Maryland Read More »

Would a ‘pennsylvania Power Authority’ Be Good for Pennsylvanians?

Michael Giberson Also in the Spring 2011 issue of Regulation magazine is Andrew Kleit’s article on a proposed Pennsylvania Power Authority. In the course of explaining why such a state power agency would be a bad idea, Kleit explains a lot about how the wholesale power market works in Pennsylvania (and elsewhere). Noteworthy is Kleit’s …

Would a ‘pennsylvania Power Authority’ Be Good for Pennsylvanians? Read More »

“The Problem with Price Gouging Laws”

Michael Giberson The Spring 2011 issue of Regulation magazine carries my article, “The Problem with Price Gouging Laws.” One bit: Economists and policy analysts opposed to price gouging laws have relied on the simple logic of price controls: if you cap price increases during an emergency, you discourage conservation of needed goods at exactly the time they are in …

“The Problem with Price Gouging Laws” Read More »

Is Economics a Science? (liquidity Trap Edition)

At http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/marginalrevolution/feed/~3/ycq8YZirYR0/is-economics-a-science-liquidity-trap-edition.html Marginal Revolution today, Tyler Cowen asks this question, does some research on empirical analyses of the existence (or not) of liquidity traps, and comes up with a conclusion in which I concur: economics is not a science of the researcher cares about the outcomes of the analyses. By the way, apologies for any …

Is Economics a Science? (liquidity Trap Edition) Read More »

Deirdre Mccloskey on Bourgeois Dignity

Lynne Kiesling For your weekend intellectual stimulation and viewing pleasure … I cannot recommend this highly enough: Deirdre McCloskey’s recent talk at George Mason University about her new self-recommending book Bourgeois Dignity, the second in what’s likely to be a 4-volume re-examination of Western economic history.  I guarantee you will learn more, and think more, …

Deirdre Mccloskey on Bourgeois Dignity Read More »

Update on “Will Faking a Consumer Cartel Help Make Power Markets More Efficient?”

Michael Giberson Last September I asked, “Will faking a consumer cartel help make power markets more efficient?“, “Does FERC really want to go down this path?” and “Do they really think that faking a consumer cartel will help make wholesale power markets work more efficiently?” The answer to the first question is “no, it won’t make markets …

Update on “Will Faking a Consumer Cartel Help Make Power Markets More Efficient?” Read More »

Netflix Recommendations: Deep or Random?

Michael Giberson I know that Netflix’s recommendation engine has some serious computation behind it, and it often offers up interesting and useful suggestions. But occasionally it puzzles me, and I wonder if it is incredibly deep in its analysis or simply somewhat random. Case in point: Suggested: American Experience: Into the Deep Because you enjoyed: It Might …

Netflix Recommendations: Deep or Random? Read More »