Economic Advantage

2009-04-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

Conclusion

I sincerely hope that this brief introduction to economics blogging has been in some way useful. Please continue the forum by submitting your comments and questions to each topic. To conclude I would like to provide a few other useful sources for connecting to our increasingly globalized world through the field of economics.

Professor’s Web Pages

There are many professors out there who do not post a blog per say, but do maintain thorough homepages for use by their students. Most of these homepages are open to the public and can be great resources for students.

Alan Deardorff: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/

For the study of international economics Alan Deardorff’s homepage is a great resources. The materials he uses to teach his international economics courses are readily available as is an excellent glossary of terms and more supplemental reading materials than you could reasonably get through in your college career.

Other Sites

The Economist: http://www.economist.com/

The Economist is published weekly, and more frequently on-line and highlights economic and international affairs issues. It is a form of advocacy journalism rather than simply a news source and is ideologically based on free trade, and classical liberalism. As will all other sources mentioned the slant of the articles must me taken into account.
Another noteworthy factor is that the articles do not list an author; rather each article is published with a title only. This can be somewhat misleading in saying that these are the views of the entire paper, or the only views that exist because they are published under this overarching authority of “The Economist”. This aside, the articles in The Economist are for the most part well written and resourceful.

2009-04-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

“Dani Rodrik’s weblog”
John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
[Unconventional thoughts on economic development and globalization]
http://rodrik.typepad.com/

Dani Rodrik has published many articles, papers and books in the areas of international economics, economic development, and political economy. He focuses on what good economic policy, as well as on economic development and globalization in general. While is blog is not one of the better-developed blogs, he is an important player in the world of international economics. His papers, specifically "The Global Governance of Trade As If Development Really Mattered”, are frequently used in classes focusing on international economics.
Besides providing his own commentary on current affairs and the publishing of other economists Rodrik also does an excellent job highlighting some of the major events in international economic news and providing links to the stories, everything from credible news sources to random blogs and articles.
Rodrik is a must read for anyone studying international affairs or economics.

2009-04-06T01:07:00.000-07:00

“Freakonomics”-The Blog
The New York Times
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/

I’m sure you’ve heard of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, the non-fiction book written by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times Journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book was praised for its creative fusion of pop culture and economic principles. As an international studies major who before her senior year of high school had never taken an economics course, I accredit this book with helping me make that leap between economic principles and the real world…a leap that takes many people ages to make.
The basic premises behind the book is the study of incentives through interesting theoretical questions, such as what are the negligible effects of good parenting on education? The authors wanted to “continue the conversation” by creating their own blog in conjunction with the New York Times, and now you can find a multitude of daily posts to expand the parameters of what you though fell under economics.
For example, did you know that the Zimbabwean dollar is now worth more on eBay as a novelty item than it is in a currency exchange? This blog is a great credible source to find those extra tidbits of information and to find a way to connect what you’re learning in class to something you’ll actually remember!
Remember to pick up the book as well-it is an easy, and fascinating read!

2009-03-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

“From ABBA to Zeppelin, Led”

Joshua Hall, Robert Lawson, and Dirk Matteer
http://www.divisionoflabour.com/music/

This blog is surely something out of the ordinary! Each blog posting is of song lyrics that teach economic principles. Each post has a selection from the lyrics and an assignment for students or individuals to do. The lyrics are both in written form and you can listen to them. Search through for your favorite artist and see if they have been featured yet! You can search thought the entries by musical genre or topic area covered.
You really won’t ever listen to song lyrics in the same way again!
If you’re wondering how this method has been received by the academic community, the site was accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Education.

A personal favorite is “Thousands are Sailing by The Pogues” posted by Joshua Hall about the effects of immigration on both host and home countries. Check it out!
http://divisionoflabour.com/music/2008/09/thousands_are_sailing.php

2009-03-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

“Economics Roundtable” by Professor William R. Parke
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
[A compilation of opinions from both sides of the spectrum and in between]
http://www.rtable.net/index/rt/economics/recent

While most economics blogs out there either forward personal opinions, or a back and forth debate and commentary between economists on their prospective blogs, the Economics Roundtable is different. It compiles links to news and opinions from a wide range of web sites. So when you are working on that economics homework or as you are studying development in your Latin American studies class, take a look through the many resources that the site provides such as overview of micro and macro models in chronological order as well as definitions for economics terms. This compilation also saves you the hassle to searching through independent sites and search engines for blogs and other sources. The other advantage of this site is its adherence to searching for more objective sources. The sites selected are based on how difficult it is to separate the economics from the political and personal content, making the blogs that it features the top picks.

2009-03-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

“Economics View” Mark Thoma
Department of Economics at the University of Oregon
[Perspectives on current economics]
http://economistsview.typepad.com/

Mark Thoma’s daily blog is a much more in-depth and serious look into the world of economics than Marginal Revolution. His blog is easy to search by topic, title, and via a search function increasing its functionality. He also includes links to a multitude other economist’s blogs as well as to his comments on the articles and postings of other fellow economists. Much if not most of his postings are reactions to the posts of others, including the authors of Marginal Revolution.
You could spend months digging through and trying to piece together Thoma’s arguments and opinions. However I really do encourage you to visit his personal webpage as well in order to get a clearer picture of his background. He teaches upper level econometrics and monetary policy courses, so his actual lecture material may not be very useful, however through the utilization of quotes from famous economist’s Thoma shows some of his views and leanings.
Once again I can’t stress enough how complete of a source and how useful the search functions are for Economist’s View.

Mark Thoma’s Web Page:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~mthoma/

2009-03-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

“Marginal Revolution” Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok
“Small steps towards a much better world”

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/

Marginal Revolution is a blog that is written by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, both professors at George Mason University. It is an economics blog that is updated on a daily basis and tends to focus mostly on current events, as well as review of recent books and articles. Both Professors are well established and know for reliability. They also focus on a wide range of topics, and often pose intriguing theoretical questions. They advocate policies that are usually based around free-market policies.
This has become one of the most popular economics blogs, if not the most popular and frequently visited, much due to the theoretical questions that it poses, such as “Would Idaho have more people if it were a separate country?” and “Is it a good sign to see cops eating at a restaurant?”
If you’re looking for a more serious straightforward look at economics then this is not really the blog for you. However if what you are looking for is an interesting mix of economic debates, reviews with a trickling of jokes, photos and even a link to Tyler Cohen’s ethnic dining reviews then this is a must read blog.

If you would like more information about either of its authors please visit their web pages:
Tyler Cowen:
http://www.gmu.edu/jbc/Tyler/

Alex Tabarrok
http://mason.gmu.edu/~atabarro/

2009-02-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

The Project

As mentioned there are many sources out there to provide a more interesting and relevant look at economics. The question is, what is reliable and what is actually useful? I hope that his tool will help you to get started on your way to discovering and utilizing economics blogs, news sources and other resources. I would like to focus mainly on different economics blogs.
As you will come to understand, many blogs tend to be politically aligned or biased in some way. This is why it is important to do your research and to look for clues in taglines and postings. However this blog should be a starting point for you to become acquainted to some of the more interesting blogs out there.

For a semi-comprehensive list of some of the most frequented blogs on the web please check out this list compiled by Bankling.com (webpage which compiles articles pertaining to the internet and personal finance).
http://bankling.com/2009/top-50-economics-blogs/

2009-02-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Students who are studying international affairs must have solid background knowledge in a variety of disciplines. This interdisciplinary background includes studies in political science, anthropology, geography, history and economics. While a balance of disciplines is necessary to understanding international events and policies, this balance is also a challenge. For most students this challenge comes with the study of economics.

International economics concerns the study of goods-and-services flows across international boundaries, the size and distribution of gains from trade and the relevant policies. While it would seem that the study of international economics would be easily comprehendible for international studies students this is not necessarily the case. Most economics courses are taught for students with a more economic background, leaving many students questioning the applicability of the course to their needs and interests.

In order to make these economic concepts more relevant and accessible for students of international studies there are many options. An increasingly popular and emerging approach is blogging. Many major economists now debate and comment on current economic events and decisions as they unfold through their credible blogs. These economists include Mark Thoma in his blog “Economics View” and Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok in their blog “Marginal Revolution”. Not only do these blogs create academic discourse in real time between economists across the globe, but they are also having a profound effect on foreign policy. This blog will explore the pros, cons and different perspectives of these blogs and their general relevance to the study of international economics.

I hope that this blog will be a useful tool for students of international studies to introduce them to the world of economics blogging and to be a useful resource for students to learn alternative approaches to learning economics, and most importantly to show that economics can be fun, interesting and relevant!

Please feel free to comment or e-mail me with questions, comments or suggestions!