The Economic Way of Thinking

Assorted Links

(1) I often ask students in Public Choice what would happen to policy if the franchise were extended to those under age 18.  Here's an Economist magazine article discussing why the franchise should be extended to prisoners.

(2) Are you a lurker?  I've been posting more Facebook updates to avoid being considered that kind of Facebooker! (HT: Anemone)

(3) My dog is the Nomar Garciaparra of labs.  That is, she has ticks like you wouldn't believe.  We're seriously considering giving this new collar, which was discussed in the Wall Street Journal's "Personal Journal" section today, a try. 

(4) One way of measuring the return on publicly funded stadiums. 

(5) Frank Jacobs discusses the excellent site, "Strange Maps" over at the Freakonomics blog. 

Kenny & Charles Time

UPDATE: My radio appearance has been pushed to Monday at 6:35 am.  You can watch me here.   

For anyone interested in hearing my latest thoughts on the US economy, feel free to watch me on the Kenny B & Charles E show tomorrow morning at 6:35 am or tune into WPGA 100.9 FM locally.  

 

Coke or Pepsi?

While preparing for class this evening, I was able to dig up this oldie but goodie about substitute goods and rationality.  It's from the night Tim Harford visited with Stephen Colbert to discuss The Logic of Life.   

Is Our Wealth Hurting Africa's Feelings?

That's what this Onion video asks. 

The Beauty of Technology (and a Running Update)

I get a lot of "How's the running?" questions from our readers and friends, and I realized I haven't talked running in months.  That's because there isn't a lot to talk about--Southern summers are ridiculous (see here), and most runners just try to maintain through the summer months.

When I do come out of my relative hybernation, though, I look forward to cranking the mileage back up and employing a version of this training program.  The program produced a "PR" (runner jargon for personal record) a couple years ago for me, and I'm sure it will again.   

As I plug the program into my calendar, I'm once again amazed by technological advance.  Some of my older running friends tell me they used to buy books or go to the library to develop training programs in the 1970s and 1980s.  Today, I can sit here and Google "Ryan Hall Half-Marathon Training Program," work it around my schedule, and have an elite level training program ready in minutes. 

Horwitz Still Loves Markets

Our friend, loyal EWOT reader, and blogger at The Austrian Economists blog, Steve Horwitz, has a nice post on the emerging market of "digital asset" protection. 

Before I go signing up for a service like the one described in the article and Horwitz post, I have one small problem...in some cases, it's me who can't remember my own passwords or the "secret question" answers to unlock them!