Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading and podcasts that I have been listening to lately:
Sam Altman on Start-ups, Venture Capital, and the Y Combinator
www.econtalk.org
I listened to this very interesting and highly informative podcast during one of my daily walks in my hometown of Austin, TX. Basically this is a tutorial on how entrepreneurship and venture capital promote economic growth and innovation, and mostly make the world a better place…
100 Years Ago Today It Began: “Austria Has Chosen War”
zerohedge.com
“The good news is that 100 years later the world is a far more stable and peaceful place.”
Why Corporate Inversions Are All the Rage
online.wsj.com
This is the best explanation I’ve seen concerning the phenomenon of so-called corporate inversions…
Putin Restores a Cuban Beachhead
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Americas columnist Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes that the Kremlin and the Castros are chummy again, and Moscow is offering military aid.”
The Danger of Too Loose, Too Long
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher writes that with an improving labor market and an uptick in inflation, the danger now is to wait too long to tighten.”
The Lingering, Hidden Costs of the Bank Bailout
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith asks why is growth so anemic? New economic activity has been discouraged. Here are some ways to change that.”
ted.com
“Humankind has been looking for the giant squid (Architeuthis) since we first started taking pictures underwater. But the elusive deep-sea predator could never be caught on film” (until now).
Yes to Coffee and Wine: Rewriting the Rules of Pregnancy
online.wsj.com
“Go ahead, have a glass of wine during pregnancy, writes Emily Oster.”
Math nerds are taking over Wall Street
money.cnn.com
“Elie Galam is a math geek turned finance wizard. Check out how he and other quants are taking over Wall Street.”
Freakonomics » Does Religion Make You Happy?
freakonomics.com
I listened to this podcast during one of my daily walks in my hometown of Austin, TX. It showcases research on the “economics of religion” by various economists and sociologists. I was particularly intrigued to learn about MIT economist Jonathan Gruber’s recently published research on this topic. Professor Gruber finds (among other things) that “[The religious are] more likely to have higher incomes, higher education, have more stable marriages, be less likely to be on welfare, essentially be more successful on any economic measure you want to use”. He also empirically documents (the somewhat counter-intuitive result) that religious giving and religious attendance are substitutes, not complements… (see http://www.nber.org/papers/w10374 for access to Gruber’s paper entitled “Pay or Pray? The Impact of Charitable Subsidies on Religious Attendance”…
Libertarian Charles Murray: The welfare state has denuded our civic culture
pbs.org
For my “bleeding heart” libertarian friends, I recommend Charles Murray’s book “In Our Hands: A Plan To Replace The Welfare State” (cf. http://amzn.to/1x66BGW)…
Progressives’ hot new poverty-fighting idea has just one basic problem: Science
theweek.com
“Look at the evidence, liberals!”
Reining in ObamaCare—and the President
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Jonathan H. Adler and Michael F. Cannon write that Halbig v. Burwell is about determining whether the president, like an autocrat, can levy taxes on his own.”
Obama’s Law Professor: ‘I Wouldn’t Bet’ on Obamacare Surviving Next Legal Challenge
www.nationalreview.com
“President Obama’s old Harvard Law professor, Laurence Tribe, said that he “wouldn’t bet the family farm” on Obamacare’s surviving the legal challenges to an IRS rule about who is eligible for subsidies that are currently working their way through the federal courts.”
US military enlistment rates by state: A Texas-sized difference
aei-ideas.org
“An 18-24 year-old from Florida or Texas who enlists in the US military has more than double the chance of bumping into a fellow Southerner in uniform than a resident from Massachusetts, Connecticut, or New York does with a Northeast compatriot.”
New York law thinks a burrito is a sandwich
vox.com
“New York’s “sandwich tax” might be the greatest fraud every played on New Yorkers if you don’t count the ones that involve rent or drugs.”
Hamas’s Civilian Death Strategy
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Thane Rosenbaum argues that Gazans shelter terrorists and their weapons in their homes, right beside sofas and dirty diapers.”
Why a federal court just ruled Obamacare subsidies are illegal in 36 states
vox.com
“This little-known lawsuit is Obamacare’s biggest threat.”
Heading Off the Entitlement Meltdown
online.wsj.com
“Demography is destiny: The retirement of 77 million baby boomers is not a theoretical projection.”
Four Years of Dodd-Frank Damage
online.wsj.com
“In The Wall Street Journal, Peter Wallison writes that the financial law has restricted credit and let regulators create even more too-big-to-fail companies.”
Income Inequality Is Not Rising Globally. It’s Falling.
nytimes.com
“Though the income gap has widened in many individual nations, it has been shrinking globally for most of the last 20 years.”
Uber Upstarts: Technological Progress and Its Discontents
american.com
“The battle between new smartphone-enabled ‘transportation network companies’ and legacy taxicabs largely mirrors the age-old war over productivity, a war that only ever has one outcome.”
Microsoft lays off 18,000 with ridiculous letter
linkedin.com
“I have never been laid off, but I would assume that the process begins with an apology of sorts. “I’m sorry.” “Do you have a moment?” or “Can we talk?” are probably good first steps….”
Jury Awards $23.6 Billion in Florida Smoking Case
nytimes.com
“A jury in Florida awarded a staggering $23 billion judgment against R. J. Reynolds, the country’s second-largest tobacco company, for causing the death of a smoker who died of lung cancer.”
Doctors get due dates wrong 96.6% of the time
vox.com
“Your baby is most likely to be born one week before your due date.”