Bobbio se vai

Eis um grande pensador que nos deixa.
Primeira Leitura : entenda : Norberto Bobbio, 1909-2004

Auto-propaganda sem-vergonha

Sim, estou com artigo publicado aqui.

Minha ex-aluna Ayla é que gostará de saber que reconheci sua leitura nos agradecimentos. Agora, se ela não souber onde encontrar a revista, eu juro que mando tirá-los da revista....:-)

Eu tenho uma edição anterior...

...deste livro, mas eu recomendaria a sua tradução para editores, se pudesse.

O livro é ótimo!

E nossos xenófobos-nacionialistas diziam que era seguro...

Se uma empresa de votos online pode ser hackeada...porque não uma urna eletrônica?

Por isso eu prefiro o sistema de votação antigo.

Wired News: Electronic Voting Firm Site Hack

Mais humor

Poderia ser aplicado ao Brasil...


Cox & Forkum

Humor

Excelente cartoon aqui.

Yes!

Minha grande amiga Joaninha conquistou um prêmio legal!!

A monografia intitulada "A feminização da pobreza no Rio Grande do Sul", de autoria de Joana Ines Bender Antiqueira, orientada pelo prof. Flávio Vasconcellos Comim, conquistou o 2º lugar no XVII prêmio CORECON/RS de Monografias. Mais detalhes no site CORECON/RS.

Parabéns, Joana! Sucesso mais que esperado e, espero, comemorado!

Uma entrevista que vale a pena (mesmo)

Numa das minhas primeiras conversas com Leo Monasterio, ele exclamou: "este Tyler Cowen deve ser um cara muito bom de se conversar!"

E eu nunca discordei. Aliás, sou um fã dele há tempos. Pena que a taxa de câmbio seja tão proibitiva para que eu compre mais livros dele. Mas ainda posso ler esta boa entrevista que bem pode ser usada em sala de aula para se ilustrar a beleza do funcionamento dos mercados. Recomendo com alegria e convicção.

reason: Really Creative Destruction: Economist Tyler Cowen argues for the cultural benefits of globalization: "Really Creative Destruction
Economist Tyler Cowen argues for the cultural benefits of globalization
Interviewed by Nick Gillespie

What are we to make of the fact that Saddam Hussein selected Frank Sinatra’s version of "My Way" as the theme song for his 54th birthday?

Cultural pessimists and critics of globalization would tend to view such a curious choice with alarm or condescension, as just one more case of tawdry American, profit-based pop supplanting "authentic" indigenous music. On the left, political scientist Benjamin Barber decries the spread of "McWorld," a "bloodless economics of profit" that relentlessly exports cheesy American goods to far-flung lands. On the right, conservatives such as philosopher John Gray fret that free trade is destroying local customs while homogenizing culture and lowering standards.

In his recent and important book Creative Destruction: How Globalization Is Changing the World’s Cultures (Princeton University Press), economist Tyler Cowen argues that something very different -- and much more heartening -- is going on. He takes his cue from Joseph Schumpeter, who famously described the "perennial gale of creative destruction" at the very heart of market orders. Cowen contends that "cross-cultural exchange...creates a plethora of innovative and high-quality creations in many different genres, styles, and media," and that such exchange "expands the menu of choice, at least provided that trade and markets are allowed to flourish."

The result is a powerful, richly evocative contribution to our understanding of how art and commerce, often seen as natural enemies, are in fact closely related. Cowen, described by The Boston Globe as "the leading proponent of a free market position within the arts and culture," writes: "A typical American yuppie drinks French wine, listens to Beethoven on a Japanese audio system, uses the Internet to buy Persian textiles from a dealer in London, watches Hollywood movies funded by foreign capital and filmed by European directors, and vacations in Bali; an upper-middle-class Japanese may do much the same. A teenager in Bangkok may see Hollywood movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (an Austrian), study Japanese, and listen to new pop music from Hong Kong and China, in addition to the Latino singer Ricky Martin."

Assimetria

Quantas mensagens você recebe diariamente com gente falando mal do Windows? Bem, desde o Windows XP eu, surpreendentemente, passei a gostar do Windows. Não que eu o achasse ruim, mas...

Agora, a assimetria de que falo é a seguinte: ninguém fala dos problemas do Linux. Quando aparece, é uma noticiazinha escondida na internet. Bem, aqui está uma delas.

A inveja do Bill Gates seria um fator importante? Ou será que a lenda do "tudo que é open source é sempre melhor" prevalece? Ou é cisma minha? Palpites?

Nós, os economistas, e o povo

Neste artigo temos uma dica para uma questão importante: devemos nos comunicar melhor com os leigos? Tudo bem que eu não sou fã do lado normativo do Paul Krugman. Mas, por outro lado, ele tem um mérito: tenta esclarecer os conceitos para os não iniciados.

A existência deste viés indica, no mínimo, que pode ser uma boa modelar agentes econômicos em, pelo menos, dois tipos: os que sabem economia e os que não sabem.

Mas, claro, já tem gente fazendo isto (se não me engano, Akerlof fez algo assim).

Dica cultural

Ok, este realmente não tem nada a ver com Economia, mas eu revi - hoje com mais cuidado e um certo olhar atento - o Annie Hall (primorosamente traduzido como "Noivo Neurótico, Noiva Nervosa") do Woody Allen.

Seria redundante dizer duas coisas: (i) Diane Keaton sempre será atraente; (ii) o filme é genial.

Se alguém quiser comprar - e se achar - um dos links é este aí embaixo.


Noivo Neurótico, Noiva Nervosa
O desenrolar da paixão entre o neurótico Alvy Singer (Allen), um comediante de Nova York, e Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), sua namorada estressada. O filme de Woody Allen ganhou quatro prêmios Oscar nas categorias melhor atriz, diretor, roteiro e filme.

Compre este livro e me presenteie! :D

Taí um presente que nunca ganho. O livro linkado no trecho abaixo referente à sua resenha.

Compre e me dê de presente, leitor(a)!! :-)

Laissez Faire Books: "The politically correct view is that critics of capitalism were good guys. This is why early critics of capitalism like historian/biographer Thomas Carlyle and novelist Charles Dickens are treated in textbooks as enlightened thinkers.

George Mason University intellectual historian Levy reveals, however, how Carlyle defended slavery. Carlyle offered racial explanations for many problems, such as the persistence of poverty in Ireland (the Irish were like that). Carlyle thought that since blacks weren't human, they could be legitimately exterminated. Levy notes that Carlyle's vicious writings brought tears to the eyes of Hitler. Levy doesn't spare Charles Dickens, who admired Carlyle (Hard Times was inscribed to Carlyle), and implicitly embraced Carlyle's views about blacks and slavery. Levy goes on to talk about Karl Marx's racism and how Friedrich Engels thought blacks were incapable of learning mathematics.

Levy delights in pointing out that champions of capitalism opposed slavery. He discusses Adam Smith, Thomas Babington Macaulay, John Stuart Mill and others. It was because of their ardent antislavery views that Carlyle denounced classical economics as the 'dismal science.' Levy's solid scholarship illuminates the overlooked links between capitalism and emancipation. "

Milton Friedman, a máquina pensante...mesmo aos 91!


Welcome to Mskousen.com -- Mark Skousen's Website for the Best of Money and Economics

Trechos:

1. Re: Social Responsibility of Business: Milton Friedman's thesis is that the sole purpose of business is to make profits for its shareholders, and not to engage in charitable activities. However, in talking to him, he seemed to be willing to compromise somewhat on this issue. He said that it might be appropriate for a major corporation with a large presence in a community to engage in various charitable, public activities if it would increase positive
exposure about the company and lead to increased demand for its products. However, if a company is small, he sees no advantage. He is also opposed to companies creating their own charitable foundations, although he sees nothing wrong with founders and executives setting up their own personal foundations with their own funds.

(...)

3. Re Schwarzenegger as governor of California: Milton and Rose seemed pleased that he is governor, and that he will be highly successful. "He has a proven record of accomplishing his goals, and he has strong libertarian leanings."

(...)

5. Re Who is the greatest economist? Some of us wondered when he was asked this question at New Orleans Investment Conference a few years ago, and he did not say "Adam Smith." His response: "Adam Smith is a great economist, but you asked me who is the greatest economist, and in technical economics, I'd have to say David Ricardo, Alfred Marshall, or Irving Fisher. Fisher is the greatest American economist....." after which I said, "not counting present company." He smiled. Rose, by the way, disagrees with her husband on this issue; she does not think much of Alfred Marshall because of the way Marshall treated her wife, who was also an economist.

Marte: a fronteira final (inicial)

Eu me pergunto se o fracasso do satélite europeu se deve a problemas organizacionais (organizar um consórcio é mais difícil do que uma única firma?) mais do que a um simples defeito técnico...

De qualquer forma, o futuro da Economia mundial está aí, em Marte. Mais recursos, mais problemas de alocação...fascinante, não é?

Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Home

Feirazinha bacana

Taí uma feira bacana. Mas eu ainda concordo com a observação do Ronald (meu ex-orientador): a falta de um bookholder (veja este mais sofisticado) no mercado nacional é que mostra o subdesenvolvimento, não a ausência de (maravilhosos) brinquedinhos como os citados abaixo.

Wired News: Gadget Hounds Line Up for CES: "Featured items at this year's show will include hybrid devices -- gadgets that have more than a single function.

'Handsets are becoming digital cameras, handsets are becoming music players handsets are becoming game consoles,' said Seamus McAteer, who follows trends in mobile electronics for Zelos Group. 'It will be interesting to see how those category leaders in the console arena and the music player sector compete with the threat from handset vendors.'

Analysts are also anticipating the debut of Sony's PSX, released in Japan, in the United States. The console includes a gaming system, DVD player and digital video recorder -- all in a single box.

Another focus of this year's show will be technology for cars, especially products originally developed for the home that have migrated to automobiles, said CES spokeswoman Lisa Fasold.

A satellite TV antenna for the car, the first auto HDTV and a product that provides music, video or games to four areas of a car are among the new products showcased to outfit a vehicle, Fasold said. A device that stores and burns CDs onto a hard disk within the car is also new.

Cyber X Games will hold a gaming tournament at CES for the first time this year.

And as they seek out new gadgets at CES, environmentally conscious attendees can recycle old gadgets at a local Best Buy in Las Vegas during the show."

Oh, yeah, pacifistas-babies...

Direto do Gaspari de hoje...

Se Saddam falar

Se Saddam Hussein contar o que sabe aos seus interrogadores americanos, pode sobrar para os sábios do programa nuclear brasileiro durante os anos 70.

É fato sabido que em 1981 o governo brasileiro vendeu 27 toneladas de pasta de urânio ao programa nuclear iraquiano. Ainda não se conseguiu saber direito a história de uma ilha em Angra dos Reis que teria sido passada a Saddam ou a um de seus protegidos. Era o troco de contratos de engenharia assinados pelo ditador. A Kroll já andou atrás dessa ilha.