From the monthly archives:

May 2007

Mobility vs. Movement

May 30, 2007

Point of conceptual clarification. As far as I can tell, income mobility studies don’t actually study mobility in the sense of the ability to move. They study actual movement in incomes. Mobility is a dispositional term. If I have been immobilized, I am prevented from moving. If I am immobile, but not immobilized, then I could [...]

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Killing or Letting Die… With Kindness

May 23, 2007

Via Leiter, Jeffrey Brand-Ballard’s review of Frances Kamm’s Intricate Ethics is a gorgeous example of killing (letting die?) with kindness. This is, I think, a brutally dispositive review, effectively tearing to shreds the brand of autobiographical moral phenomenology in which Kamm deals. But it’s so nice in between slicings and dicings, which makes it hurt all the [...]

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Wall to Wall Floors in America!

May 23, 2007

I take on George Borjas on the implications of Puerto Rican (non-)covergence for immigration policy over at Cato@Liberty. West Side Story lyrics fly!

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Justice, Passport Lotteries, Liberal Population Sinks, etc.

May 22, 2007

Some embryonic thoughts on justice, citizenship, and the distribution of passports…
Political philosophers sometimes completely confuse justice for something else, like some kind of disposition of stuff among people. It’s confusing and confused when they talk about “distribution” because it evokes the idea that all this stuff is just out there and that the fundamental institutions [...]

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Barber at Brookings

May 17, 2007

Through a weird confluence of events, I will be discussing Benjamin Barber’s new book Consumed with Barber and E.J. Dionne at Brookings this afternoon. You may be surprised to discover that I was not impressed with this book. Should be a blast! Come if you have the time. Info is here.

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The Moral Calculus of Climate Change

May 16, 2007

The RealClimate guys report on a conference on the ethics of climate change. Here’s their summary of Henry Shue’s presentation:
Henry Shue, a Oxford philosopher well known for his work on such issues as the moral implications of torture and pre-emptive war, made the argument that the moral implications of not dealing with climate change should [...]

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Ed Glaeser on Utility, Freedom, and Happiness

May 11, 2007

Harvard’s Ed Glaeser essay in this month’s Cato Unbound is fresh this morning. He says lots of interesting things, but I thought I’d pick out this bit, which concerns my pet issues:
A belief in the value of liberty flows strongly through mainstream neoclassical economics. Economists frequently speak about an aim of maximizing utility levels, and [...]

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The Evolutionary Psychology of Lou Dobbs

May 11, 2007

Fly Bottle regulars will probably enjoy this Economist.com post riffing on Paul Rubin more than the average Economist reader. A taste:
Rather than emphasize our grasp of positive sum interaction, or lack thereof, I think it would be better to say that we do not understand economic growth—the periodic increase in the size of surplus from cooperation. This [...]

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Bloggingheads with Rosa Brooks

May 11, 2007

I neglected to link my most recent appearance on Bloggingheads TV with Rosa Brooks. I found Rosa really interesting, and really enjoyed the conversation. I’m sure we disagree about a lot of stuff, but we seem to have found a bunch of topics where we mostly agree. Fun fact: I just discovered this morning that Rosa is [...]

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No Child-Shaped Hole in Hearts of Barren Women

May 10, 2007

The solipsism of childlessness may be deplorable, but it’s not unhappy:
Although they won’t receive flowers or candy on Mother’s Day, women who have not had children seem to be just as happy in their 50s as those who did go down the family path.
In fact the loneliest, least contented and most vulnerable women were found [...]

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Economist-blogging Continues

May 8, 2007

I’m blogging up a storm (relative my average blogging output) over at The Economist’s  Free Exchange blog. So if you’re looking for me, that’s where I am.

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Dear Sirs,

May 5, 2007

I am guest-blogging at the Economist.com’s Free Exchange blog this week. Kerry and I are currently in New York, so posting won’t get hot and heavy until tomorrow or Monday, but check it out.
And speaking of check it out, check out Kerry on Thursday’s Red Eye. (Click the “Hoff the Wagon” and/or “Homesick Blues” clip.) [...]

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Hey, France: Buck Up!

May 4, 2007

Over at National Review Online, I examine how French economic policy is giving French folk short shrift happiness-wise in light of the upcoming election. 

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