While I was away, Arnold picked up on a couple of my posts in the context of a commentary on Krugman’s column last week about the California energy crisis. I think Arnold is absolutely right to say that “most economists would predict that California’s experience is not the shape of things to come. Even among …
After the Coase workshop, most of the attendees stuck around for the annual conference of the International Society for New Institutional Economics, which had lots of great papers on electricity, so I was thrilled.
In a hotel that only has dialup, that’s where! Last week I was honored and delighted to be on the faculty of the Ronald Coase Institute’s Workshop on Institutional Analysis. The workshop gathers together 25-30 economists from developing countries, either graduate students or young Ph.D.s, who are doing research on formal and/or informal economic institutions …
For anyone interested in the financial difficulties at British Energy, and the dilemma facing the government in thinking of bailing them out, this Financial Times article gives a nice summary of the issues. Bottom line: government-driven nuclear investments and the inability to predict the future. And people complain about market processes? Please.
I share the comments of Virginia Postrel, Jim Henley, and others who are very, very sad to hear of Warren Zevon’s illness. I think that Virginia’s right, that some of his allure is a dark intellectual geek hipness, and that he’s also wry and clever and whimsical. His best-of 2-CD set is always in our …
As reported by the Financial Times, the Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Energy News, OPEC officials meeting in Japan have decided not to change the existing quotas. Crude prices in New York are still flirting with $30 per barrel, the OPEC benchmark price is close to $28 per barrel, and OPEC officials know that this relatively high …
On Tuesday 17 September, the California Public Utilities Commission released a study indicating that the five largest private generators in the California wholesale market did not produce up to their capacity during the winter 2000-2001. Looking at 38 blackout days between November 2000 and May 2001, the PUC study concludes that because of this lack …
California Puc Study Of 2000-2001 Blackouts Adds Little Substance Read More »
This nifty Tech Central Station article by Duane Freese talks about the value to consumers of bundled telecom/technology services. I have a similar vision for companies being free to offer a portfolio of contract options to consumers, even extending to bundling with other infrastructure industries if there’s a market for it and they can make …
According to Robert Samuelson at Newsweek, the expected cost of a possible war in Iraq is only one percent of our GDP. Not that our wealthy society is a reason to go wage war, but it does mean that we are more likely to be insulated from most of the economic effects on us experienced …
I’ve noticed this twice now in London — many more cyclists, almost none of whom wear face masks. And then I come home to find this commentary by my Reason colleague Joel Schwartz on improvements in air quality in the U.S. in the past decade. Joel knows more about air quality science and policy than …
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