Month: June 2012
*Peter Singer and Christian Ethics*
The author is Charles C. Camosy and the subtitle is Beyond Polarization, you can buy it here.
Most philosophies draw heavily from religion, as Ross Douthat suggested recently. Peter Singer is no exception, as Camosy ably demonstrates. There should be more books like this.
My new question for visitors to the lunch table is: “What is it you really believe in?”
Public Choice Outreach!
Students are invited to apply to the Public Choice Outreach Conference. The Conference is an intensive lecture series on public choice and constitutional economics that will be held at George Mason from Friday August 10 to Sunday August 12. Speakers will include Tyler Cowen, Robin Hanson, Peter Boettke, Nobelist Jim Buchanan and many others. It will be a lot of fun!
Graduate students and advanced undergraduates majoring in economics, history, international studies, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, public administration, religious studies, and sociology have attended past conferences. Applicants unfamiliar with Public Choice and students from outside of George Mason University are especially encouraged. A small stipend is available and meals and rooms will be provided by the conference (for non-locals). Space, however, is very limited.
Applications are due June 22. You can find more information here. Contact Lisa Hill-Corley if you have further questions about applications.
Questions from Nick_L
I believe he is a loyal MR reader:
1) What’s the most important economics question you ever asked? 2) How do economics professors negotiate their salaries? Do econ professors share notes on this? 3) Predictions for US economic policies if Obama is re-elected? 4) Where do you see the next boom/bubble/bust occurring? 5) Possible remedies for the continuing rise in Income inequality? 6) If you had to move overseas, which country would you most likely pick, and why?
My answers:
1) “What is the required type font for submitting this dissertation?”
2) Quietly. Angus adds comment.
3) Continued denial, no matter who wins.
4) We’re done with bubbles for a while, though I think Facebook may still be one.
5) Destroy American export capacity.
6) For living I think I would like Berlin, Singapore, and London, but the answer depends on my income and opportunities.
We will see (the future of the Philippines)
Analysts say the country [the Philippines] is on the cusp of its first investment boom since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, after more than a decade of political instability.
Many of the country’s biggest conglomerates are rolling out their most ambitious spending plans in years to build shopping malls, office towers and residential projects.
The president is inviting private companies to build infrastructure projects, such as airports and light rail systems, through public-private partnerships that bind the government to help ensure investors recover costs and earn minimum returns through user charges or direct government payments.
Here is more.
Spain fact of the day
Data published by Spain’s central bank showed €97bn had been pulled out in the first quarter – around a 10th of the country’s GDP – as concerns mounted over Madrid’s ability to contain its twin economic and financial crises, which have forced government borrowing costs to euro-era highs.
Here is more. Overall I am finding economic conditions here — most of all in the cyclical, macroeconomic sense — to be much worse than in Italy. There is also this:
“My concern is that we haven’t yet seen the most recent numbers, which could be far worse,” said Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “We are seeing a perfect storm.”