Climatopolis

Just finished Matt Kahn's book, Climatopolis: How Our Cities will Thrive in a Hotter Future. His main goal, as he states often on his blog, is to introduce some microeconomics in the climate change discussion. He does in a couple of places, however to me a large portion of the book came off as attempts to make more specific predictions than he was capable of making. A few comments:

On page 86, Kahn highlights the important changes in air quality in California brought about since the 1980s by good regulation. Among economists, there are plenty of examples of when regulation fails and produces unintended consequences. However, I never hear economists commend regulation for doing basically what it was supposed to do. With Cali regulations, there is still the complaint that they hit the poor disproportionately hard, but nonetheless the air in LA is much cleaner than it was 20/30 years ago and I think good regulation is at least a small part of that story.

Specifically on page 194, but truly throughout much of the book, Kahn at least hints at the idea that climate change presents the world with a lot of zero-sum decisions. For example, I see Kahn claiming that (basically) Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit will likely all be made better off by climate change; LA, Miami, and New York will likely be made worse off. I wish this would have been a major explicit theme of the book - the contrast between problems posed by climate change (where there are winners and losers) and economic problems (where there are winners and... winners). One of the most important and misunderstood aspects of economic life is the fact that it is NOT zero sum. I enjoyed the contrast and would be interested in a book/article/paper by Kahn that emphasized the difference (and implications) in greater detail.

On page 201, Kahn talks about "the victims" of climate change. Throughout Chapter 3 he also talks about the victims, stating that he is not interested in helping those who do not take into account the risk of climate change if they suffer the consequences. There is a definite parallel to the recent bank bailouts and the idea that some cities might get bailed out by the federal government if climate change does present us with a day of reckoning. Kahn hopes that governments can precommit not to protect those who suffer, but recent history suggests that is an impossible task.

Last thing - I want to commend Matt for his discussion of the role of insurance in human adaptation to climate change. I thought that was the most interesting section in the book and wish it wasn't buried at the end. If I had to recommend one portion for those who don't want to read the entire book, that would definitely be it.

Greg Mankiw's Latest Column is Mostly Nonsense

Normally, I enjoy reading Greg Mankiw both on his blog and in the New York Times. His writing is thoughtful and clear, and although his blog does not allow comments, I do appreciate his explanation why (he's blogging for himself, not for me, and policing comments was too costly for a personal hobby). A recent controversial column, on marginal tax rates, elicited such a large response he even got involved in the conversation.

However, I want to disagree with the sentiment of his most recent column. On my reading, his advice to President Obama is basically that it will be easier to work with Republicans if the President simply becomes a Republican, by (for example) taking a more long-term view of the economy and not using government as a tool for redistribution. This is just silly. Obama was voted in on the Democratic ticket. Voters could reasonably expect him to support typical Democratic policies, such as redistribution of income. Changing course would be a disservice to the voters, who chose the President in part because of his party affiliation.

Greg - it's obvious that by becoming a Republican, or at least making policies that coincide with Republican ideals, it would be easier for the President to work with Republicans. But that's not a realistic or useful policy prescription. Stick to the last point (don't cast the Republicans as your enemy) and focus on how the two sides can find middle ground to make meaningful changes in deficit reduction, entitlement reform, and the future of our nation.

Department of Wow, or, Valuing a Great Teacher

A new NBER working paper from Eric Hanushek makes the following claim:

A teacher one standard deviation above the mean effectiveness annually generates marginal gains of over $400,000 in present value of student future earnings with a class size of 20 and proportionately higher with larger class sizes. Alternatively, replacing the bottom 5-8 percent of teachers with average teachers could move the U.S. near the top of international math and science rankings with a present value of $100 trillion.

I am using this post to save the link because I haven't yet read the paper. But if this is true, which I wouldn't find surprising, then... Wow.
HT: Greg Mankiw

Spousonomics

In the trendy fashion of applying economic logic to new fields, Spousonomics is applying economic reasoning to marriage, for better or worse.

I particularly enjoyed this interview with Economist and Game Theorist Jeff Ely of Northwestern University.

Does being an economist make you better or worse at resolving conflict with your wife?

As an economist and game theorist I have a unique understanding of the secrets of conflict resolution. And my marriage will be peaceful and harmonious once my wife accepts that.

...admittedly not terrifically funny , but I figure it was time I blogged about something.

Teaching Philosophy

I've sat down and written it on more than one occasion. Though I'm certain it is naive and misguided, here is what I have (and how I feel about education). Yeah, it's long. Sorry.

I'm terrified of feedback, but that seems to be all the more reason to put this up on the internet.

I do not subscribe to the idea that students are blank slates. They come to the classroom as a collection of experiences, shaped by their own families, their peers, their environments, previous teachers, and a whole collection of factors too numerous for me to count. Many students have influences I cannot name or begin to understand. Ultimately, great teachers and poor teachers are small subset of the influences on a student. A great teacher can unlock potential within a student, often by showing them how to succeed. However, without the support of other teachers, peers, community, or family, it is nearly impossible for a teacher to succeed in bringing out the most outstanding aspects of any individual student.

Successful teaching most often is a function of repetition. I looked to athletics first, and realized that most athletes learn how to perform in their sport (throw and catch a football, hit a baseball, etc.) simply by practicing over and over again. Even professionals must practice regularly to maintain excellence. Next, I looked to music. Musicians play their instruments every day, and even professionals spend time rehearsing before they perform. Finally, I looked back to basic subjects: reading, writing, and mathematics. In my experience, I have been most successful learning each of these when I am engaging myself on a daily basis. I struggle in math, even today, when I take multiple days and do not solve any problems. I cannot read or write as quickly when I go a week without doing so. Repetition is the key to become a master of a subject, task, or craft.

The biggest obstacle to utilizing repetition is student engagement. After all, it can get boring to perform the same tasks over and over again. The best way to avoid making repetition boring is to frame the repeated task in a different way. Begin each class by doing a quick warm-up exercise. Have a contest for students to see who can do the most simple problems in a period of time. Divide students into groups and get them to solve complex problems. Provide different instructions for each task, so that it is framed differently. This will help combat student boredom while still engaging them in repeating a task until they are proficient.

Finally, when it comes to teaching, it is important to understand the power of persuasion. Too often, leaders resort to using authority to convince persons to perform a certain task. This is a mistake, because authority can be bested by a higher authority. Persuasion, however, is much more difficult to overcome when used properly. If students can be persuaded to do something, then they will be doing so willingly. This will yield greater student interest, on net, than simply requirement by force.

Overall, the most successful teachers are those who can engage their students in doing a task they might otherwise find lowly or of mean reward. The power of repetition in the classroom at all levels should never be forgotten. However, teaching only with repetition will not provide the students with the intellectual stimulation they need to remain interested in learning new material on a regular basis. Framing tasks in such a way that students participate of their own accord simultaneously maximizes student interest and learning.

School Deregulation

At National Affairs, Frederick Hess has an extended piece onhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif school choice. One of his main points is that the rhetoric of "school choice" developed in a funny way (according to him, because the urban African-American leaders calling for better options in schooling had the most politically palatable rhetoric). I wonder if the fate of the school choice movement would be at all different if it were instead called school deregulation.

Lots of gems at the article, I won't quote many here because I encourage you to take some time and read it. My favorite quote:

Markets are a product of laws, norms, talent, information, and capital, and the absence of these can readily yield market failures — not because markets do not work, but because markets are not a magical salve.

I am totally fascinated by education policy right now. Is this because it's a compelling topic or because I should be studying for finals? Guess I will know next week.

(H/T Tyler Cowen)

Very Good Sentences

If we are looking to remedy the harmful kinds of inequality, we should focus on good educational reform, the benefits of which start accruing to a person quite early in life but also last through the entire life.

That's from Tyler Cowen (who else?) in a recent symposium at the New York Times, available here.

One of many reasons I am looking closely not only at Teach for America, but at teaching as a vocation for the rest of my life.