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What's Your Econ 101 Professor Worth?

The Texas A&M University system has embarked on a new accountability program. For every department – indeed, for every professor – revenue generated and cost incurred are calculated; and profit – the difference – is reported. Each professor is presumably supposed to have a marginal revenue product above his/her compensation. Read More »



How Obama Moves Markets (But Not the Obama You Think)

Barack Obama may be under fire for failing to jump-start the economy, but a feature in the Harvard Business Review points out that Michelle Obama is doing her part to rejuvenate the fashion industry – at least the part of the fashion industry she likes. Read More »



Quotes Uncovered: The Top 10

As the calendar marches on, the pressure is mounting on me to produce my annual list of the top 10 quotations of the year. In addition to politics, economics, and sports, I need to consider the outstanding (or, more accurately, the most famous or most revealing) quotations of 2010 uttered by celebrities. Read More »



At Microsoft, Two Views on a New Tax

In Washington State, high-income residents and corporations are coming together to battle I-1098, a ballot initiative that would levy a 5 percent tax on “income above $400,000 per couple and a 9% levy on income above $1 million per couple.” Read More »