Interesting Economics Related Articles

The “Superstar Effect”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26excerpt.html
From the above article:
“Nearly 30 years ago, Sherwin Rosen, an economist from the University of Chicago, proposed an elegant theory to explain the general pattern. In an article entitled “The Economics of Superstars,” he argued that technological changes would allow the best performers in a given field to serve a bigger market and thus reap a greater share of its revenue. But this would also reduce the spoils available to the less gifted in the business.”

Robert Shiller on the ““balanced-budget multiplier theorem””
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/business/26view.html

Bhagwati on the India vs. China Debate

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/bhagwati/2010/12/06/india-or-china/

Brazil - Finally Ready to Fulfill its Potential

Business School Rankings

World’s Best Business Schools (Ranking Based on the International Influence of the Schools)
http://www.eduniversal-ranking.com/business-school-university-ranking-5palms.html

2010 - Top European Business Schools (Ranking by Financial Times)
http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/european-business-school-rankings-2010

Jon Stewart's Take on QE

The Big Bank Theory

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

Overcoming Poorly Drawn Maps and Geographic Ignorance

One of the best mapping projects ever - an attempt to capture the true size of the African continent

On Corruption

Corruption in High Places

Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-cables-shell-nigeria-spying

Wall Street, Government Agencies and the Revolving Door

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-12-01/citigroup-said-to-discuss-hiring-former-white-house-budget-director-orszag.html

Federal Reserve Gives Up a Few Secrets

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/business/05gret.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/business/02aig.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/business/economy/02fed.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/business/economy/03fed.html

For some excellent insights into the Wall Street-Treasury nexus, it is worth reading Simon Johnson's article in The Atlantic: The Quiet Coup

Tax Deal

The proposed tax deal - a great graphic from the NYTIMES. It has something for everybody. The one tiny problem is that it is expected to add $900 billion to future deficits. I guess this is analagous to giving a drug addict more drugs and hoping that miraculously it will fix his or her addiction problem.

PISA Scores

I am not exactly sure why "experts" in the US are surprised by the rankings. Have they actually been to top US research universities in recent decades?

See Graphic from NYTIMES.

Bernanke on 60 Minutes

The Blind Trader

An interesting profile of a forex trader at JP Morgan Chase ... who happens to be blind

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/managing-risk-for-jpmorgan-and-blindness/


"As a trader at JPMorgan Chase in London, Ashish Goyal helps manage billions of dollars of the bank’s exposure to risks like foreign exchange fluctuations. In his spare time, he takes tango lessons, plays cricket and goes clubbing with friends. Mr. Goyal is also blind.
Watching him in the middle of the trading floor as he switches back and forth between computer screens, that is not apparent at all. But to check his e-mail, read research reports and look at presentations, Mr. Goyal uses a screen-reading software whose speed is so high that it sounds like gibberish to the untrained ear. When he needs to read graphs, which the software cannot do, Mr. Goyal goes through the data and tries to imagine the graph in his head." 

Tom Friedman on Squawk Box

A Fascinating Discussion on CNBC's Squawk Box:


Tom Friedman mentions the extraordinary improvement in China's railway infrastructure. Here is a recent piece on the unprecedented development of bullet train networks in China:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-02/china-bullet-trains-double-rail-stocks-as-boom-brings-most-tracks-in-world.html