The New York Times carries a profile of Ben Bernanke: you can read it here.
Year: 2010
Here‘s an interesting report on the Irish residential property market prepared by Karl Deeter’s Irish Mortgage Brokers in association with PropertyWeek.ie & Frank Quinn (Senior College Dun Laoghaire). Its conclusion: “residential investment property is overvalued currently by an average of 37% in Dublin, 43% in Cork, and 39% in Galway.”
The UN will suspend Bulgaria as of June 30 from trading emission permits under the Kyoto Protocol, and hence in the EU ETS. The reason is that its accounts are intransparent and untrustworthy. See here and here.
This is good news and bad.
The good news is that the problem seems to be incompetence rather than dishonesty. If organized crime had taken over Bulgaria permit accounts, I would expect that they would not be caught out by maternity leave.
The bad news is that the suspension is not immediate. In the EU ETS, permits trade under “seller beware” liability. That is, if an Irish company buys a dodgy permit from Bulgaria, that is Bulgaria’s problem. Bulgarian companies have thus been given six weeks to sell permits, knowing that their government will not be able to verify their accounts.
On the 28th May, the Geary Institute will hold a major event on “Behavioural Economics, Policy and Business” in Dublin City Centre.
The currently confirmed panelists include Liam Delaney and Colm Harmon of the UCD Geary Institute, Peter Lunn of the ESRI and author of the well-known behavioural economics book Basic Instincts, and Gerard O’Neill, Director of Amarach Research. The event begins at 2pm and ends at 4pm, and will be followed by coffee. The venue is the Institute of Bankers building on North Wall Quay.
The session will begin with a short introduction to the field of behavioural economics. This short introduction will provide a working definition of behavioural economics; a short history of the field; an overview of the major global centres and projects in the area; a description of the most widely cited applications of behavioural economics ideas to real-world problems; and a brief overview of potential applications in the Irish business and policy context.
A wide ranging panel discussion will follow, addressing such questions as:
– What aspects of behavioural economics should particularly interest business people? For example, how is behavioural economics relevant to product development, advertising and marketing? What are the potential regulatory changes emerging from this literature?
– Why should policymakers care about behavioural economics? What is the relevance of behavioural economics to such questions as how we should design taxation and regulation? Is there any role for government to protect citizens from themselves in areas such as financial services?
– What has this new literature to say about economic renewal in Ireland including its relevance to major strategic initiatives such as the Smart Economy and the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation?
We welcome suggestions for other questions to pose during the panel discussion. There will also be ample opportunity for audience participation.
In order to help us plan the event and print registration details, we would be very grateful if people could RSVP to Emma.Barron@ucd.ie at their earliest possible convenience if they intend attending the event.
The current issue of the New Yorker has a profile of Esther Duflo. In the article, the views of Angus Deaton on the limitations of randomised controlled trials are assessed as wondering if “someone put sand in Angus’s toothpaste”. Readers will find the offending substance here.
You will undoubtedly make your own assessment of the following direct quote from Duflo in the New Yorker piece: “I want a baby goat” she mused. “I’ll take good care of it”.