Jonathan B. Wight A column in today's New York Times argues that public policy should indeed be paternalistic with regard to product packaging. This topic has been covered extensively on this blog (here, here, here, here, and here). Similar to the "super-sizing" soda law attempted by Mayor Bloomberg, Ezekiel J. Emanuel argues that public policy should ban the super-sizing of over-the-counter drugs associated with accidental overdoses and suicides. Emanuel argues: "We need to make it harder to buy pills in bottles of 50 or 100 that can be easily dumped out and swallowed. We should not be selling big bottles... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Many economists have an interesting schizophrenia when it comes to patents. Normally, the moral imperative in neoclassical economics is to maximize the economic surplus. But seemingly out of nowhere, most textbooks are perfectly willing to entertain the idea that another kind of moral imperative could suddenly trump efficiency—and that is long run dynamic growth and innovation. Allowing patent monopolies will hurt output and the economic surplus but—the traditional story goes—will create incentives for risk-taking and discovery. Schumpeter's "creative destruction" is widely touted. But what if the desired dynamism actually results from more competition and less patent monopoly?... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight I am generally not a fan of the Tea Party, but this might be time for an uprising. Vote the politicians out. Chicago plans to spend $100 million (that's correct—million) to subsidize a stadium for DePaul University. Meanwhile, Chicago will close 50 schools, largely in poor neighborhoods, for lack of funds. The deal is justified, according to DePaul, as a way to hold down college tuition: "Any way we can keep the cost down so I don't have to put this on student tuition is a wonderful thing," said Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, president of the university. A... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Earlier this year the Cambridge Debate Society provided a wonderful debate on the role of religion in the 21st century. Much of the discussion related to the origins and importance of ethics in society. Richard Dawkins (biologist of The Selfish Gene fame) and others present sharp arguments against the theology of God, original sin, blood sacrifice, and other religious dogmas that deliberately obscure the search for truth via science. Dawkins notes that the laws of physics somehow gave rise to trees, insects, and humans, and it is a glorious achievement—but it was not the result of a... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argue that politics matters when considering economic reforms ("Economics Versus Politics: Pitfalls of Policy Advice," Journal of Economic Perspectives 27(2)(Spring 2013): 173-192). This is an idea that only economists would think is novel. No kidding—really?—economic policies play into the political power of vested interests? Who would've thought! The authors note: …one should be particularly careful about the political impacts of economic reforms that change the distribution of income or rents in society in a direction benefiting already power groups. In such cases, well-intentioned economic policies might tilt the balance of political... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Last January The Atlantic ran an interesting article with that title, and it's worth reading. Modern economists who study utility are careful not to equate maximizing utility with any mental state, such as happiness. But others have gone overboard in trying to study self-reported measures of happiness. I am a skeptic of happiness research, not because alternative measures of well-being are not important: I am a skeptic because I think it is a seriously incomplete measure of well-being. The Atlantic article properly notes that happiness is a transient mental state. Like all animals, humans need food and... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight The new economy is one of massive unemployment in youth age groups. Rather than sit around and complain, many are doing something, creating their own opportunities outside the mega-corporate channel. Along the way, they are developing a new culture of consumer engagement with the products produced. Young people are learning perseverance and commitment and hard work, which comes from not having life handed to you on a platter. This is the new normal and represents the ethical silver lining of the current economic calamity. Thankfully, the Internet has lowered the barriers to starting-up. The support of neighborly... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight The bard of social economics, Adam Smith, poses with one of his admirers, Patricia Dan (University of Richmond, Class of 2016). Thanks Patricia for this inspiration. Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Wilderness surprises us, draws us out of conventional thinking. Wilderness enchants us in ways we could not have anticipated. Wilderness presents novelty on a scale unimaginable to the human brain. Wilderness delights while generating positive environmental and social externalities. St. Mary's Wilderness, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Another good news story came out this week, this one about health care. Obamacare apparently creates incentives for treating the whole person, not just giving tests or scheduling visits. Hospital emergency rooms typically cover a lot of uninsured people. They provide treatment, but do not provide care in the holistic sense. Emergency rooms deal with acute symptoms, but may not deal well with chronic problems. St. Francis Family Medicine, a practice in Richmond, Virginia, was highlighted on NPR for providing an example of how money can be saved by providing the indigent with access to regular medical... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Too rarely do we read good-news stories. My next two posts seek to change that. First up is a cover story by Jim Bacon in this week's Style Weekly about the impact of a prison ministry program that saved Virginia's government millions of dollars through lowered recidivism and violence in the justice system. Jim writes: "Jails aren't what they were 30 or 40 years ago," [a drug rehabilitator] says. "They're not full of criminals. They're full of addicts who do criminal things. ..." "The criminal justice system is focused on the war on drugs. The war on... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY has an interesting group of faculty who are tackling Adam Smith and the Enlightenment from three separate but coordinate course angles: Economics (Clair Smith) Business ethics (Linda MacCammon), and Political philosophy (Tim Madigan). SJFC students read excerpts from The Theory of Moral Sentiments and other Enlightenment works and write assignments and hear lectures with students from the other classes. It's a great way to engage students in interdisciplinary learning, and specifically to integrate ethics and economics. I recently visited SJFC and had a 30-minute interview with Linda MacCammon about Adam... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight I wish I could publish the whole thing, but don't want to get into copyright issues. So here's a short excerpt from Qasim Rashid's Huffington post on the Boston episode: It took 9,000 officers, five days, and roughly $1 billion in lost revenue for Boston, but suspect one is dead and suspect two is in custody. So let me start with the standard roll call: As an American Muslim, I condemn all violence in the name of religion. Terrorism has no religion and Islam is no exception. If the Tsarnaev brothers are guilty of the Boston bombings,... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight For those who want to reduce America's burgeoning health crisis—induced in part by a self-inflicted sugar-water soda craze—here is a new approach (care of David Frum): Doctor blogger Aaron Carroll highlights an interesting study that suggests there's a better way than a mere calorie count to get people to reduce the calorie count of their meals: Using a web-based survey, participants were randomly assigned to one of four menus which differed only in their labeling schemes... (1) a menu with no nutritional information, (2) a menu with calorie information, (3) a menu with calorie information and minutes... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Austerity causes economic contractions that increase unemployment, as shown in the European economies of late: The contrary view—that cutting spending magically inspires private demand and positive supply shocks—doesn't seem to be working out so well. Why should business invest when capacity utilization is so low? For the U.S., capacity utilization plummeted in the Great Recession and although recovering, is still below its pre-recession average of about 81.5 percent. I remember struggling and deeply digesting the Keynesian IS/LM framework my junior and senior years in college. The four-quadrant diagrams were enough to make my future wife abandon economics... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Amidst the gripping drama in Boston last week, the Texas chemical plant explosion has received relatively modest attention. We learn that 11 of the estimated 14 dead were first responders—police, fire, and other rescue personnel. And in Boston 1 police officer was killed and another seriously wounded in the week of terrorism. A standard economic view is that jobs offer pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits and costs; individuals select their professions accordingly. If so, no one needs to be (or should be) congratulated for heroism. In the economic model bravery is simply behavior calculated to win rewards. This... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Crony capitalism is the use of insider knowledge and government connections to gain unfair advantages in the market. Money is often the lubricant that enables such transactions. Freedom of information laws should cast a wide light to reveal how money influences politics. Unfortunately in Virginia, politicians have removed the teeth from the disclosure law. Here's the scenario: A doting father wants to have a lavish wedding for his daughter but can't afford it on the governor's salary. In comes a "family friend" who just happens to have numerous business dealings with the state. The friend gives $15,000... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight This is dated and I meant to link to this sooner. Bruce Bartlett makes "A Conservative Case for the Welfare State". Strange as it may sound, there are efficiencies to be gained by certain state welfare functions. Privatizing Social Security, for example, is a bad idea because it privatizes gains and would socialize the losses (huge moral hazard created). Badly-run welfare programs are a mess—and I would include corporate welfare that is off the charts. Bartlett's point is that reforming welfare would be easier and better if Americans could come to some consensus on the desirability of... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Ed Stringham is sponsoring a contest for econ students on the subjectivity of economic value. To enter, students create a 3 minute video and can simply add new lyrics to any existing song. The winners get $2,500 and the professor of the winning entry gets $500. Entries are due May 15, 2013. That's a lot of cash! Full details about the contest are here: http://hackleychair.wordpress.com/ To see the current entries click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aAHR8NEpnP8&list=PLjiT5tt-WVpqPX1roEXtp8kttcHYVEv4g Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight The new Pope's Easter homily is enlightening and uplifting. It sure sounds as if he thinks women have a key part to play in the future church. It sure sounds as if he is saying not to listen to the dead traditions of the past and to embrace new ones. It sure sounds as though he has the ability to reach out and capture the imaginations of fresh audiences, even as he alienates an old guard. (But kissing feet—I have to admit—that's not my thing.) Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight The ethics of unemployment is tricky. By providing the unemployed with welfare benefits we clearly create a moral hazard: Econ 101 teaches us that humans are lazy and that work is drudgery. If I can free load off of government, why should I look out for myself? This view of human nature is right in many instances, and it may create even larger inter-generational effects. But it is also dangerously incomplete. Many people—I'll go on a limb and say most people—derive some form of identity from their work, even if it is menial and hard. Being out... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight Larry Summers on the choice between debts and austerity: I am the father or stepfather of six children. Yes, on their behalf, I am concerned about the possibility that an overly inflationary psychology will develop in my country. Yes, on their behalf, I am concerned that an excessive debt not be placed upon them. But I am vastly more concerned, because I care about their long-run future, that a slack economy will not provide them with adequate jobs when they leave school. I am vastly more concerned, on behalf of their long-run future, that they will live... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight If you want to read someone shaking theology to its roots, try Bishop Jack Spong, whom I have previously mentioned here, here, here, here, and here. I don't think my emphasis on Spong is misplaced, when we consider how few monumental thinkers we have currently living. Spong spoke again in Richmond today, visiting St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where he served as rector in the 1970s. Spong is working on a new book, due out in June, on the Gospel of John. His talk was very funny in places, but dead ly serious in message. Here are some... Continue reading

Jonathan B. Wight From Aparna Mitra at the University of Oklahoma: The Association for Social Economics will host 3 sessions at the Southern meetings in Tampa, Florida, November 23-25, 2013. This year's theme will be "Social Issues and Human Development." Research oriented towards health, education, poverty, family structure, and welfare of the general population in the U.S. as well as in any other parts of the world are especially welcome. Please submit your proposals along with your department names, addresses, and affiliations to Dr. Aparna Mitra (amitra@ou.eduail) by April 15, 2013. Continue reading