Politics Roundtable

Politics Roundtable

Political blogs of interest to economists.

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Emirates Economist (John Chilton)

"Economic analysis of events in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf”

Economist calls himself bizarre
The Emirates Economist
March 6, 2010, 8:18 pm, 662013
Paul Krugman disagrees with himself. Ad hominem style -- which is his style.

Greece and Germany; Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The Emirates Economist
March 6, 2010, 10:18 am, 661928
What do you think? The Germans don't want to bail out profligate Greece. Is this anything like Abu Dhabi's reluctance to bail out Dubai? The logic of a bail out is that although it rewards behavior, the alternative of letting Greece, or Dubai -- or AIG to give an American ...

Famous economics majors
The Emirates Economist
March 4, 2010, 6:18 am, 660675

Name this famous economics major.

Latest Wall Street binge: Curling
The Emirates Economist
February 27, 2010, 12:18 pm, 657788
And, no, it's nothing like a hedge, a straddle, or a stripped mortage-backed security:

NYT:

This slow-poke game, which originated in 16th-century Scotland, has captivated the Type-A world of Wall Street almost by accident. CNBC, whose market chatter is the background music on trading floors, ...

IMF report on UAE is out
The Emirates Economist
February 26, 2010, 10:18 pm, 657661
February 18, 2010 --Transcript of a Press Briefing on the 2009 Article IV Consultation with the United Arab Emirates by Masood Ahmed, Director of the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia ...

Emergency shipment of condoms headed to Olympic athletes - Post Sports
The Emirates Economist
February 26, 2010, 8:19 pm, 657647
Vancouver Now - Emergency shipment of condoms headed to Olympic athletes - Post Sports

Lights out for Chávez
The Emirates Economist
February 26, 2010, 6:18 pm, 657592
Hugo Chavez has a power failure:

Power failures have become a fact of life in Venezuela, but the energy problems have not affected the presidential palace - until now.

President Hugo Chavez was giving a televised address Thursday when the broadcast on state TV was suddenly interrupted. ...

Markets in everything
The Emirates Economist
February 26, 2010, 2:18 pm, 657403
What happens to those pre-printed t-shirts for championship games, the ones where the team loses?

Our job on Saturday was to pack boxes for the Haitian relief effort – boxes of hats and shirts. We were all arrayed at our folding and packing tables, staring at ...

Pigeon beats man....
The Emirates Economist
February 26, 2010, 12:18 pm, 657323
...in the Monty Hall Problem:

Are birds smarter than mathematicians? Pigeons (Columba livia) perform optimally on a version of the Monty Hall Dilemma

Walter Herbranson & Julia Schroeder
Journal of Comparative Psychology, February 2010, Pages 1-13

Abstract: The “Monty Hall Dilemma” ...

Isn't this a good signal, not a bad one?
The Emirates Economist
February 23, 2010, 8:18 am, 655034

Q : I went out for dinner with this guy, and it was great — we got along well, and there was a definite spark. But when it came time to pay, he pulled out a coupon. I'm hardly a princess, but that totally killed ...