I just love some of the professors here for their humor, humility and accessibility. One of them who is retired but is still teaching for my program, and who was at the forefront of the Cliometrics revolution, had the following email conversation with me:

Attached is the first installment in my campaign to convince you that economic stories are all around you.

The blogs I mentioned last time are Brad DeLong and Marginal Revolution. Google them, if you wish.

PROF

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Thanks for the article. Doubt the author will agree with a Tobin tax. Aren’t Brad DeLong and Marginal Revolution conservative economists?

Cheers,
Oikono

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I have to confess I had to look up “Tobin Tax.” I predict a highly successful Wharton career if you are willing to play “Stump the Professor” during your first week at Penn. Of course, I may be easier to stump than most Penn professors.

In answer to your query, if you believe with me that speculation is an equilibrating force, ceteris paribus, you would probably also feel that a tax on short-term currency trading (so-called hot money) would slow the return to equilibrium and is therefore a bad policy choice. I might add that I believe successful short-term currency traders are those who haven’t gone broke yet.

Brad DeLong is very interventionist, and Tyler Cowan and Alex Tabarrak are libertarians in their normative prescriptions. They often cite each other on positive economic analysis. It is worth pointing out that most professional economists can still conduct civil discussions with each other on economic matters, regardless of ideological stance. I wish liberal and conservative politicians could claim the same common ground.

PROF