Assorted Links (2/28/2011)

Here’s a list of article that I have been reading lately:

Who’s Paid More? Experts Can Disagree

www.nytimes.com

“Detailed analyses of whether state workers are overpaid have come down on either side.” Not surprisingly, liberal-leaning think tank studies tend to view state workers as underpaid vis-à-vis private sector workers, whereas conservative-leaning think tanks come up with the opposite conclusion…

How Beneficial is Widespread Medical Screening?

www.advancingafreesociety.org

Excellent essay on this very important topic by economics Nobel laureate Gary Becker!

Unions vs. the Right to Work

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Harvard economist Robert Barro says that states should consider passing right-to-work laws that will reduce the power of unions. Collective bargaining on a broad scale, he says, is more like an antitrust violation than a civil liberty.”

Break a leg

www.economist.com

“Do you have the claim forms with you? WITH categories like “sound mixing”, “make-up” and “art direction”, this weekend’s Oscars ceremony appears to celebrate almost every aspect of film-making. Insurers, how ever, do not make the red carpet, which may be why Fireman’s Fund has started nominating the year’s “riskiest film”.”

Atlas Shrugged Movie

www.atlasshruggedpart1.com

“Atlas Shrugged The Movie finally makes it to the silver screen 54 years later. Based on Ayn Rand’s epic novel, the Atlas Shrugged Movie comes to a theater near you April 15th.”

Is ‘Shutting Down Government’ A Threat Or A Promise?

blogs.forbes.com

“Perhaps gridlock can accomplish what reason can’t.”

Risky Roadmap to $7 a Gallon Gas

www.huffingtonpost.com

“Some Persian Gulf watchers say more political uprisings, swelling strife throughout the Middle East,mean likely oil supply disruptions, higher crude prices and a bigger bite at the gas pump, perhaps as much as $7 a gallon.”

Indiana Governor Bores In on Federal Debt

online.wsj.com

“Gov. Mitch Daniels rescinded collective-bargaining rights for state employees six years before that became an issue in Wisconsin; now he ponders a G.O.P. presidential run with a stern cut-the-debt message that would usually be politically problematic but might fit the times.”

Go Ahead, America, Leave It to Bieber

online.wsj.com

“From commodity prices to the state-budget crisis, Justin Bieber has wisdom to spare, says Joe Queenan.”

B-Schools: It’s time to globalize

management.fortune.cnn.com

“New research has revealed a sizable gap between what the business world needs and what business schools provide to their students. What’s standing in the way and what can business schools do to step up their game?”

“Information Technology and Economic Change: The Impact of the Printing Press,” J. Dittmar (2011)

afinetheorem.wordpress.com

“Dittmar reexamines the case for economic effects of the printing press by looking at growth in city population – a good proxy for economic growth in the 1500s – in cities that had the press versus those that did not. He finds cities that got the press grew quite a bit faster than those did not.”

The Real Problem with Government Employee Unions

www.american.com

“Although collective bargaining by government employee unions may offend one’s sense of justice, what’s truly unacceptable is government labor’s stranglehold over the local, state, and federal governments with which they bargain.”

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