An expert on urban economics and co-author of the new book Survival of the City, Ed says cities have faced far worse than Covid. Steve talks with the Harvard professor…
Ed Glaeser is an economist’s economist — as smart as they come, driven by empiricism, with something interesting to say about nearly anything. He has just published a new book,…
…end. Glaeser finishes off the piece with a great anecdote about Henry David Thoreau that I have never heard before. I am told that Glaeser’s next target is Goodnight Moon….
…couple days ago. Glaeser (who’s showed up on this blog before, and surely will again) isn’t leaving Economix just to sit in the sun; he’s one of several noteworthy contributors…
(Photo: NCReedplayer) Over at Bloomberg View, Ed Glaeser argues that the shift in government aid from cash payments to in-kind transfers like food stamps is a mistake: We should ask…
I’m a bit late on this but last night I finally read Jon Gertner’s profile of economist Ed Glaeser in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. It’s a wonderful article,…
Ed Glaeser is one of the smartest economists around. He is a professor at Harvard with an astonishing list of academic papers on topics all over the map. He was…
While other countries seem to build spectacular bridges, dams and even entire cities with ease, the U.S. is stuck in pothole-fixing mode. We speak with an array of transportation nerds…
The pandemic has hit America’s biggest city particularly hard. Amidst a deep fiscal hole, rising homicides, and a flight to the suburbs, some people think the city is heading back…
Tony Hsieh, the longtime C.E.O. of Zappos, was an iconoclast and a dreamer. Five years ago, we sat down with him around a desert campfire to talk about those dreams….
Zappos C.E.O. Tony Hsieh has a wild vision and the dollars to try to make it real. But it still might be the biggest gamble in town.
As cities become ever-more expensive, politicians and housing advocates keep calling for rent control. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. They say it helps a small (albeit noisy) group of…
As cities become ever-more expensive, politicians and housing advocates keep calling for rent control. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. They say it helps a small (albeit noisy) group of…
Most industries have become more productive over time. But not construction! We identify the causes — and possible solutions. (Can you say … “prefab”?)…
Being green is rarely a black-and-white issue — but that doesn’t stop marketers and politicians from pretending it is.
There are a lot of upsides to urban density — but viral contagion is not one of them. Also: a nationwide lockdown will show if familiarity really breeds contempt. And:…
Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?
Has our culture’s obsession with innovation led us to neglect the fact that things also need to be taken care of?
The Harvard economist on what’s joyous about cities, what to do with vacant office space, and what his profession got wrong about China.
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Could it be that cities are “our greatest invention” – that, despite their reputation as soot-spewing engines of doom, they in fact make us richer, smarter, happier and (gulp) greener?…
What does it mean to pursue something that everyone else thinks is nuts? And what does it take to succeed?
…apocalyptic (Kunstler, natch) to the appreciative (Glaeser). It is not fair that Glaeser is so smart and also writes so well. Consider this beautiful kicker to Glaeser’s piece: “Humans are…
Photo: iboy daniel and Jesse Bikman Edward Glaeser (over at the Economix blog) and I are doing a few posts on the high-speed rail (HSR) component of the economic stimulus…
Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our…
Unlike certain elected officials in Washington, mayors all over the country actually get stuff done. So maybe we should ask them to do more?
Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our…
Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our…
What do Renaissance painting, civil-rights movements, and Olympic cycling have in common? In each case, huge breakthroughs came from taking tiny steps. In a world where everyone is looking for…
It isn’t just supply and demand. We look at the complicated history and skewed incentives that make “affordable housing” more punch line than reality in cities from New York and…
What do Renaissance painting, civil-rights movements, and Olympic cycling have in common? In each case, huge breakthroughs came from taking tiny steps. In a world where everyone is looking for…
