Monthly Archives: October 2006

The Art of Economics

Posted on October 13, 2006 by andrewleigh

Who says economists have nothing to say about aesthetics? A Conceptual World: Why the Art of the Twentieth Century is So Different From the Art of All Earlier Centuries by David W. Galenson This paper surveys 31 new genres of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics Generally | Comments Off on The Art of Economics

New thinktank, anyone?

Posted on October 12, 2006 by andrewleigh

My brother in-law used to work for a US-based thinktank/lobby group called Free Press, which campaigns on ownership and local coverage issues in US media. One of the issues they work on is the homogeneity of coverage in local news broadcasts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Comments Off on New thinktank, anyone?

Defining "us"

Posted on October 11, 2006 by andrewleigh

For a number of years, Harvard Professor Robert Putnam has been working on the issue of ethnic diversity and social capital. During that time, he’s spoken about the research at a host of “closed door” seminars, including one I organised … Continue reading →

Posted in From the Frontiers, Social Capital | 16 Comments

Maybe we should cut the company tax rate instead?

Posted on October 11, 2006 by andrewleigh

Blogger and unlisted public intellectual Nicholas Gruen has a CEDA paper out today, which he writes up in the AFR (oped posted at Club Troppo). Nicholas is arguing that cutting the company tax rate could do more for growth than … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Politics, Tax | 4 Comments

Nobel Ned

Posted on October 10, 2006 by andrewleigh

Macroeconomist Edmund Phelps has won the economics Nobel. More information on his work is available at the Nobel website. Two surprises in this. First, he was awarded it all by himself (this is unusual for economics). And second, wasn’t on most shortlists – … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics Generally | 2 Comments

Led by Donkeys

Posted on October 10, 2006 by andrewleigh

Amy King and I have written up our ballot order paper for the e-zine New Matilda. Full text over the fold.

Posted in Australian Politics | 3 Comments

If you like the blog, how about the audiovisual version?

Posted on October 9, 2006 by andrewleigh

ANU undergraduates will vote from Tuesday to Thursday in an online poll to determine which academic will deliver The 2006 Last Lecture. To any ANU undergrads reading this, I just wanted you to know that I’m not too proud to beg … Continue reading →

Posted in Universities | 2 Comments

Standardise the test, not the curriculum

Posted on October 8, 2006 by andrewleigh

On returning to urban life, I’ve been surprised to spruikers and critics of Julie Bishop’s national curriculum describing it as “US-style”. The US does national testing. If you’re after a country with a standardised national curriculum, it’s France (the stereotype goes … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education | 24 Comments

Taswegian Telephony

Posted on October 8, 2006 by andrewleigh

I’ve been showing my in-laws around central and western Tasmania over the past week. It turns out that Optus mobile phones don’t work on the west coast of Tassie, and broadband is still just a name for the all-female singing group … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Comments Off on Taswegian Telephony

Write About Wealth, Increase Wealth

Posted on October 6, 2006 by andrewleigh

If you were born in 1970 or later, and have some ideas on the taxation of wealth, then the Institute for Research on Economic and Fiscal Issues is running a competition that you may want to enter (hat tip: Kirsten … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Comments Off on Write About Wealth, Increase Wealth

Stay, just a little bit longer

Posted on October 6, 2006 by andrewleigh

In August 2005, Chris Ryan and I released a paper in which we found that raising the compulsory school leaving age significantly benefited children growing up in such states (oped version). On average, being forced to stay on at school for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education | 12 Comments

Looking for a research assistant?

Posted on October 5, 2006 by andrewleigh

Michael Dunstan, an undergraduate economics student at Monash, did some research work last year for my colleague Daniel Mulino and me, in the field of the economics of education. He’s now looking for more work. Since I now employ a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Wider horizons

Posted on October 4, 2006 by andrewleigh

Further to my recent flatscreen post, a new Dell 20″ widescreen arrived yesterday, and is now happily running from my IBM T41p laptop. Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Wider horizons

The chance your vote will matter is 1 in 4500

Posted on October 3, 2006 by andrewleigh

Last week, I posted on close elections in Australia, asking which elections had been closest. I suggested that no federal election had been closer than 14 votes, but Mark Davis and other readers corrected me. In 1919, the seat of Ballaarat … Continue reading →

Posted in Australian Politics | 15 Comments

Novel idea: evidence-based criminal justice policymaking

Posted on October 2, 2006 by andrewleigh

According to the NYT, the US is running a randomised trial to test whether post-release employment programs improve the life chances of ex-prisoners. Hard problem, difficult to know without running the experiment what the answer will be. I’m looking forward to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics Generally, Low Wage Work | Comments Off on Novel idea: evidence-based criminal justice policymaking

Have Rising Tuition Fees Forced Students to Work More?

Posted on October 1, 2006 by andrewleigh

In a neat coincidence of blogworld meets realworld, regular commenter and Australian expat Christine Neill (Wilfrid Laurier University) is presenting a seminar at ANU. Topic: Have Rising Tuition Fees Forced Students to Work More? Time: 12.30pm Date: Tuesday 10 October Venue: Seminar … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Education, Universities | 7 Comments