Beer Choice as a Signaling Device

I just shaved today and didn't get carded at the store to buy beer.  I can almost always count on getting carded when I'm clean shaven.  I wonder if the beer I bought is one reason I did not get carded.  I picked up a 6er of Abita Restoration Ale and a big bottle of Abita Abbey Ale.

I think that underage drinkers are more likely to buy Natty Light or Bud Light or something along those lines.  I wonder how effective it would be for underage kids to try buying better beer as a signaling device that they are older.

Pick #322

K C & the Sunshine Band - "Boogie Shoes" from their self titled release

Student Interpretation of Graphs

This illustration was done by Katie Sauer.  I think it's spot on for some students.

"Price Gouging" After Sandy

Notice that this gas station had gas.  One man informs the reporter that other stations are out of gas.  This one has gas precisely because they increased the price.  THE GAS STATION IS NOT FORCING ANYONE TO BUY THEIR GAS!  The price appears to be not high enough.  People are waiting in a very long line, so they must really want gas at this price.  Their demand for gas has increased due to the storm and they are willing to pay more for it.

Normally, gas is just used in their cars but now they are without centralized power production so many residents have a generator that they can use to keep the food in their fridge from spoiling.  Isn't that worth $5/gallon in unspoiled food alone?

Everyone should thank this gas station for raising its price so that there was still gas around for high valued uses like the generator above.  People who don't really need gas right now can wait until the price drops again before filling their tanks.  If the price stayed low, then everyone with 3/4 tank would try to top it off and there wouldn't be gas left for the generators.  Some people would benefit from paying a bit less for gas but others would be harmed by not getting it at all.

Weekend in New Orleans

I just had a great weekend at the Southern Economic Association's annual meeting in New Orleans.  We got in late Thursday night and one of the people with us wanted to eat at the Arby's across from the hotel.  Unacceptable.  I asked the check-in girl where we should go instead.  We ended up about 2 blocks away at Daisy Dukes and I had alligator sausage for the first time.  It was delicious.  It was also filled with locals and devoid of tourists (except us).  

Friday was a full day of sessions.  I had to present on Sunday at 8am and I filled in for Rosie as discussant for a paper on Sunday at 1pm.  I ended up revising my presentation (and my discussion) after sitting in on a few of the sessions.  Some of the talks I saw were phenomenal and others abysmal.  One terrible presentation was actually a keynote on Friday night.  This guy droned on for over an hour in his monotone about how Obama sucks.  I didn't expect it to be that partisan.  A week ago, Mankiw railed on some policies but gave specific recommendations for making things better.

I went to dinner at the Palace Cafe on Friday night with the people from W. W. Norton Publishing.  Dinner was delicious and the people were all fun and interesting and smart.  I woke up on Saturday morning to go to their focus group for Dirk Mateer's new textbook.  They wanted feedback on their online homework component.  If they are able to incorporate all our suggestions, they'll have the best online homework solution on the market, hands down.  I still haven't read the chapters from the book, but I plan on doing that before I get a job somewhere.  The textbook should be out for the fall semester at a reasonable price.

I ran into a bunch of other people I know who don't live in Tallahassee.  I got to see Glenn from my cohort who now lives across the pond in Innsbruck and Krista who is in Switzerland.  I attended a couple sessions put together by Dr. Salmon and he even gave a talk at one of them.  I saw some people who I'd met last year in DC and even a guy from UF who I met last week at the teaching conference.  I also ran into the focus group people all day Saturday.  Whitney came to my presentation and we went to lunch together on Friday.  I think it's a great idea to get yourself on the agenda at conferences so that you can go and visit with colleagues from all over.  The only downside is missing a bit of class.

I was lucky enough to have Marc cover my class for me on Friday.  The class was about the crash of 2008 and Marc was working on Wall Street at the time, so I think he had a better perspective than I could ever have.  I hope to incorporate more guest lecturers into my course design in the future.  I don't want just to use them to free myself up but also to give my students some variety.  Speaking of changes to my course, I got a lot of great ideas on how to improve classes and presentations.  I've made note of the actionable items and I'll begin to incorporate them the next time I teach and maybe even make a few modifications for the rest of the semester (like leaving some extra text off my powerpoints when I present in class but making it available online for students to download).

I guess I didn't mention that we traveled in style.  Mike's Limousine sent us a 50 passenger bus.  It was supposed to be a 20 passenger bus for about 11 people.  We only had 7 ride the bus.  It's a bit of a waste, but better than everyone driving individually.  Better than putting miles on my car.  Nice to sleep on the bus (or write this blog post).  It was cheaper for the department than reimbursing all of our travel expenses.  All around great stuff.

Pick #321

Seven Mary Three - "Favorite Dog"

Open Letter to Peter Morici

from http://cafehayek.com/2011/08/open-letter-to-peter-morici.html

by DON BOUDREAUX on AUGUST 29, 2011

in CURRENT AFFAIRS, MYTHS AND FALLACIES, SEEN AND UNSEEN

Prof. Peter Morici
University of Maryland
Smith School of Business
College Park, MD

Dear Peter:

In your guest blog-post yesterday at CNBC you argue that the destruction caused by hurricane Irene will spark a “process of economic renewal [that] can leave communities better off than before” (“Economic Impact of Hurricane Irene“).  Central to your argument is your claim that, because of the rebuilding, “the capital stock that emerges will prove more economically useful and productive.”

In other words, whenever assets still in use are destroyed, wealth will thereby be created – that is, people whose assets are destroyed will be made richer – because these destroyed assets are replaced with ones that are newer and more productive.

I hereby offer my services to you, at a modest wage, to destroy your house and your car.  Act now, and I’ll throw in at no extra charge destruction of all of your clothing, furniture, computer hardware and software, and large and small household appliances.

Because, I’m sure, almost all of these things that I’ll destroy for you are more than a few days old (and, hence, are hampered by wear and tear), you’ll be obliged to replace them with newer versions that are “more economically useful and productive.”  You will, by your own logic, be made richer.

Just send me a note with some times that are good for you for me to come by with sledge hammers and blowtorches.  Given the short distance between Fairfax and College Park, I can be at your place pronto.

Oh, as an extra bonus, I promise not to clean up the mess!  That way, there’ll be more jobs created for clean-up crews in your neighborhood.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux