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Italy and original sin

2011-11-11T12:10:00.002+01:00

Krugman on our original sin paper

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/original-sin-and-the-euro-crisis/

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Chinese Perfume Brands

2011-10-31T23:35:00.002+01:00

I took this picture in a shopping mall in Wuhan (Hubei Province, China)

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When Financial Sectors Become “Too Large”

2011-09-02T09:21:00.001+02:00

At the end of July Alan Greenspan published an Op Ed arguing that tighter financial regulation and capital standards will lead to the accumulation of “idle resources that are not otherwise engaged in the production of goods and services” and are instead devoted “to fending off once-in-50 or 100-year crises” resulting in an “excess of buffers at the expense of our standards of living.”...

....While former Chairman Greenspan implicitly assumed that stricter regulation will have a negative effect on financial intermediation and depress future GDP growth, our results suggest that there are many countries for which tighter credit standards could actually increase growth.

The rest on EconoMonitor
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Lebanese Innovations

2011-08-04T22:45:00.003+02:00

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11 luglio CORIPE day

2011-06-30T14:05:00.002+02:00

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100 trillion dollars (Zimbabwe)

2011-06-24T10:53:00.003+02:00

These bills are worth more as a souvenir (5 USD) than when they were legal tender. Below are 10 and 5 billions.

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:)

2011-05-30T22:23:00.002+02:00

But the best recent paper I have come across on the subject is from October 2008, just after Lehman Brothers collapsed, and was written by Eduardo Borensztein and Ugo Panizza....

The rest is here

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I think that the IMF women are right..

2011-05-27T17:57:00.002+02:00

the NYT piece was a bit pathetic, good job Taline et al.

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Too much finance?

2011-03-25T14:55:00.008+01:00

This paper examines whether there is a threshold above which financial development no longer has a positive effect on economic growth. We develop a simple model in which the expectation of a bailout may lead to a financial sector which is too large with respect to the social optimum. We then use different empirical approaches to show that there can indeed be “too much” finance. In particular, our results suggest that finance starts having a negative effect on output growth when credit to the private sector reaches 110 percent of GDP. We conclude by showing that the size of the financial sector was a significant amplifying factor in the global crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

The vox.eu article about it is here

The paper is here

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The Fund about the Fund

2011-02-15T15:45:00.004+01:00

Here is the report by the IEO, one of tha main authors is my friend Angana

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Housing prices in Geneva are still going up

2011-01-18T10:01:00.011+01:00

For what is worth, the Switzerland and Geneva series appear to be cointegrated.
Such a long-run relationhsip suggests that either rest of Switzerland prices need to increase a lot or that Geneva prices need to go down (or both).
If I were a hedge fund, I would be short on Geneva and long on the rest of Switzerland.
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Keynes on exams

2010-11-03T17:06:00.000+01:00

The results of his civil service exams infuriate Keynes. He writes to Strachey:

"I have done worst in the only two subjects of which I possessed a solid knowledge - Mathematics and Economics. I scored more marks for English History than for Mathematics - is it credible? For Economics I got a relatively low percentage and was eight or ninth in order of merit..."

He was later to say: "I evidently knew more about Economics than my examiners."

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Super sad true love story

2010-10-11T11:25:00.002+02:00

I just finished reading the book. It's very funny, at the end the IMF starts running the US economy with the support of China, Norway, and Saudi Arabia; somebody manages to get a visa to Canada because she has a degree in econometrics. Here's a video
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Another reason to buy an iphone

2010-08-17T22:06:00.000+02:00

here

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How to quit a job

2010-08-10T23:29:00.001+02:00

Yesterday morning, Jenny quit her job with a (flash)bang by emailing these photos to the entire office. Awesome doesn't begin to describe this office heroine.....

the rest is here

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Sign the petition!

2010-08-08T20:36:00.000+02:00

http://freesakineh.org/
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MD and SA

2010-07-30T00:24:00.002+02:00

When I suggested we visit, Abdullah smiled with sweet exasperation. It was a smile I would grow all too accustomed to from Saudi men in the coming days. It translated into “No f---ing way, lady.”
“Women are not allowed to go into cemeteries,” he told me.
...
“Can they go in if they’re dead?,” I asked.
“Women can be buried there,” he conceded, “but you are not allowed to go in and look into it.”
So I can only see a dead woman if I’m a dead woman?
The rest is here

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Who are the cheaters

2010-07-28T11:36:00.001+02:00

Bankers

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Management and personal life

2010-07-15T22:07:00.003+02:00

Nice HBR piece by Clayton Christensen
Here

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Picky eating adults

2010-07-13T21:55:00.003+02:00

The story is here
here is the support group
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How to network

2010-07-07T14:21:00.000+02:00

Here
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The future of Italian tourism

2010-07-02T10:53:00.004+02:00

Italy gets a lot of tourists for stuff that was built a long time ago. Will it continue? Probably not. This list of Architecture’s Modern Marvels (best buildings built over the last 30 years) does not include enaything built in Italy. There are 5 building in the US, 4 in France, 3 in Germany, 3 in Japan, 3 in China,...

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Amici di DC su Sole 24 Ore

2010-07-01T18:07:00.003+02:00

Francesca mi odiera' per questo, yah yah yah
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Other amazing photo

2010-06-25T11:42:00.001+02:00

Think about the size of an ipod 55 years ago. Here
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Fantastic Photos

2010-06-25T11:34:00.001+02:00

here
The site of the artisto is here
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IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

2010-06-18T13:40:00.002+02:00

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.

I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles,
but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely
hour after hour,
day after day.

Oh, I've had my moments,
And if I had it to do over again,
I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else.
Just moments, one after another,
instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those people who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle,
a raincoat and a parachute.
If I had to do it again,
I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

Nadine Stair (written when she was 85)
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Last minute goals and national identity

2010-06-15T11:57:00.001+02:00

Not sure I understand, but here it is
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Writing inspired by the fabulous lifestyle of Tyler Brûlé

2010-06-14T13:35:00.001+02:00

The Blog is here. Very funny! Check out the TBI.
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Nasty women against wall street

2010-06-14T13:30:00.002+02:00

Very funny:

This unpleasant idea was introduced by Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and it leads me to a point that is worth underscoring: We do not have a problem with the American people, we have a problem with American women. Elizabeth Warren, our TARP supervisor, continues to ask questions about what we did with our government money; Mary Schapiro has used her authority at the S.E.C. to sue Goldman Sachs. Of the four Republican senators who crossed over to vote with the Democrats, two were women — and one of the guys posed naked for Cosmopolitan magazine.
Going forward, we should discourage women from seeking higher office

The rest is here.
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Development and grammar

2010-06-13T23:50:00.001+02:00

Here

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World cup for dummies

2010-06-13T23:29:00.003+02:00

This guy does not understand much about soccer, but at least he tries to be funny about a VERY SERIOUS topic

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Last generation

2010-06-13T14:13:00.004+02:00

Here

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Roger Waters

2010-06-07T22:07:00.002+02:00

Here

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On economists

2010-05-28T15:02:00.001+02:00

Therefore, the total impact includes a journal's impact on many disciplines
other than economics. For many purposes this may be an entirely reasonable
measure of influence, but economists, being a rather narrow-minded and
self-centered group, are probably more concerned with a journal's impact on the
economics profession

Liebowitz and Palmer (1984)
Journal of Economic Literature 22, p.81-82.
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Interview with the BBC on the costs of default

2010-05-25T23:47:00.003+02:00

here (my part starts at minute 8)

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Ravi Kanbur is very wise

2010-05-14T22:19:00.004+02:00

issue makes me uncomfortable within myself, takes me off my high moral perch when I talk (or lecture) to others about poverty, and it is an issue for which I do not have an answer. It is quite simply this—those of us, including me, who analyze poverty and discourse about poverty, seem to do rather well out of it. Working on poverty issues, whether in international agencies, in bilateral donor

The rest is here

The development set poem by Ross Coggins

‘Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I’m off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I’ve had all my shots
I have traveller’s checks and pills for the trots!

The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.

In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.

We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.

We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution –
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.

The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like “epigenetic”
“Micro”, “macro”, and “logarithmetic”

It pleasures us to be esoteric –
It’s so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.

When the talk gets deep and you’re feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, “Is it really development?”

Or say, “That’s fine in practice, but don’t you see:
It doesn’t work out in theory!”
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.

Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.

Enough of these verses – on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.’

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Grecia edi costi del default

2010-05-07T18:31:00.001+02:00

Il debito pubblico si differenzia da quello privato, per la mancanza di una procedura ben definita per punire uno stato che non ripaga i debiti. Le ripercussioni si pagano in termini di reputazione, commercio estero e accesso ai mercati internazionali. Ma sono effetti che durano pochi anni. Per la teoria economica la ristrutturazione del debito sembrerebbe meno costosa di quanto si pensi. Forse perché è stata sempre accompagnata a un deprezzamento del tasso di cambio. Cosa impossibile per la Grecia.

il resto e' qui

grazie a Giulia

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What will happen if Greece defaults? Insights from theory and reality

2010-05-06T13:42:00.001+02:00

My piece (with Eduardo Borensztein) on the costs of default: here

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Esther Duflo at Ted

2010-05-06T11:33:00.004+02:00

Here
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Intervista sulla crisi greca alla radio della svizzera italiana

2010-04-30T11:22:00.002+02:00

qui oppure qui

http://reteuno.rsi.ch/modem/welcome.cfm?IDc=40891

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Greece-based conspiracy theories

2010-04-27T10:01:00.003+02:00

The Greek crisis looks so absurd that it is hard to rationalize. Here are two possible (semi-serious) explanations:

German behavior: cause a mess; go long on Greek bonds; announce a bailout; make a lot of money.

Increase the competitiveness to the European economies: cause a mess, the euro depreciates; European exporters gain competitiveness but nobody can accuse European policymakers to engage in competitive devaluation

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Development day

2010-04-24T16:51:00.002+02:00

I liked Easterly on double standards and Blattman on industrial policy. More stuff here

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The Corrupt Reign of Emperor Silvio

2010-04-22T13:42:00.000+02:00

Here

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Nadine with models

2010-04-21T09:59:00.002+02:00

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The new iphone

2010-04-19T17:50:00.000+02:00

Here

• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It's unclear if it's the 960x460 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the "Connect to iTunes" screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

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Bankers' conflicts of interest in the interwar years: Lessons for today’s regulators

2010-04-18T22:47:00.001+02:00

My (joint with Marc Flandreau and Norbert Gaillard) new piece on VOX

The global crisis is frequently compared to the Great Depression and the interwar debt crises. This column argues that, contrary to prevailing opinion, the interwar debt crisis had little to do with bankers’ conflicts of interest – intermediaries were in fact careful in selecting and placing sovereign bonds. Then, as now, public opinion may not be the best guide to policy
The rest is here

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Sabreena Da Witch: Arabic political hip hop

2010-04-13T13:54:00.000+02:00

Here

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INET VIDEOS ET AL

2010-04-13T00:11:00.000+02:00

here
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I wish

2010-04-08T00:26:00.000+02:00

I could attend The INET program looks amazing

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Me on the Economist

2010-04-02T22:18:00.001+02:00

Eduardo Borensztein and Ugo Panizza counts as many as 257 sovereign defaults between 1824 and 2004. Between 1981 and 1990 alone, there were 74 defaults....Messrs Borensztein and Panizza show that having defaulted is associated with a credit-rating downgrade of nearly two notches.....That said, markets appear to have short memories. Only the most recent defaults matter and the effects on spreads are short-lived. Messrs Borensztein and Panizza find that credit ratings between 1999 and 2002 were affected only by defaults since 1995.....Messrs Borensztein and Panizza find that a defaulting country grows by 1.2 percentage points less per year while its debt is being restructured compared with a similar country that is not in default. This effect, too, is concentrated in the first year after default. Once again, measuring from the point of default will somewhat understate the damage: defaults tend to occur during recessions, so GDP is already depressed when a country reneges...Another element to the costs of default may also alarm Greek policymakers. Messrs Borensztein and Panizza find that political leadership changed in the year of default or the year after in half of the 22 cases they study. That is twice the usual probability of such change. These political costs, at least, are unlikely to vary.

The rest is Here

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Time well spent...

2010-03-26T18:15:00.001+01:00

Listen to Lant Pritchett
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Amazing blog about dating preferences

2010-03-13T17:46:00.001+01:00

With commentary based on real data: OKTRENDS

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The answer is 42

2010-03-12T18:20:00.001+01:00

Just finished reading Mostly Harmless Econometrics

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Macro Wars from

2010-03-09T23:59:00.001+01:00

Here from Bard de Long

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Amazing pipi graph

2010-03-09T23:53:00.000+01:00

here

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Late for class

2010-02-25T20:37:00.002+01:00

A student at NYU Stern showed up late for class, the professor asked him to leave. The student complained saying that he did not know about this policy. The professor replied:

your logic effectively means you cannot be held accountable for any code of conduct before taking a class. For the record, we also have no stated policy against bursting into show tunes in the middle of class, urinating on desks......
Getting a good job, working long hours, keeping your skills relevant, navigating the politics of an organization, finding a live/work balance...these are all really hard, xxxx. In contrast, respecting institutions, having manners, demonstrating a level of humility...these are all (relatively) easy. Get the easy stuff right

The rest is here

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Caolavoro della musica italiana

2010-02-24T14:22:00.001+01:00

From ELIO ELST

grazie a MLM

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Great vox piece

2010-02-24T12:44:00.001+01:00

with great pictures too. Here

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meat and not machines??

2010-02-19T10:07:00.001+01:00

"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of
the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way
through. They're completely meat."

"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the
stars?"

"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them.
The signals come from machines."

"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."

"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the
machines."

"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to
believe in sentient meat."

the rest is Here

Macro Data 4 STATA

2010-02-16T17:28:00.002+01:00

is now public http://sites.google.com/site/md4stata/.

This is Alex Tabarrok on MR. One commenter suggests to install Kountry. I did not now about it and it's indeed very cool (however, I am not sure that it is more useful than Md4Stata, they are both useful and I think that they complement each other)

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New paper on "Old Bonds"

2010-02-15T14:08:00.002+01:00

Conflicts of Interest, Reputation, and the Interwar Debt Crisis: Banksters or Bad Luck?
(with Marc Flandreau and Norbert Galliard)

This paper builds a new dataset with detailed information on the universe of
foreign government bonds issued in New York in the 1920s and uses these data to
describe the behavior of the financial intermediaries which operated in the New
York market during the period leading to the interwar debt crisis. The paper
starts by showing that concerns over reputation played an important role in
intermediaries‘ underwriting choices. Next, the paper checks whether banks
managed to charge abnormal underwriting fees on bonds that would eventually
default and finds no evidence of such practice (―banksterism‖). The paper
concludes by discussing some parallels between the experience of the 1920s and
the current debate on the "originate and distribute" model.

The paper is here
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Bill Gate's blog

2010-02-13T23:57:00.000+01:00

Here (the look is very nice)

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How to save money on travel

2010-02-13T23:28:00.001+01:00

Check out Kayak

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Valentine's day post

2010-02-13T22:54:00.000+01:00

Contrary to widespread belief, only two very specific types of people flirt: those who are single and those who are married.

The rest is here

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At more than 200 euro, the price

2010-02-13T21:35:00.005+01:00

of the tasting menu at El Bulli was clearly too low (the price elasticity of the 3000 people in th waiting list cannot be that high). Here's a review with photos. Here are more photos.

Here's Tyler Cowen

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Social mobility in Italy: The second lowest in the OECD

2010-02-12T15:38:00.002+01:00

The paper is here

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New paper with Ricardo Hausmann on abstinence versus redemption

2010-02-09T12:51:00.004+01:00

Abstract:
This paper updates our previous work on the level and evolution of original sin. It shows that while the number of countries that issue local-currency debt in international markets has increased in the past decade, this improvement has been quite modest. Although we find that countries have been borrowing at home, thanks to deepening domestic markets, we document that foreign participation in these markets is more limited than what is usually assumed. The paper shows that the recent decline of currency mismatches and the consequent ability to conduct countercyclical macroeconomic policies is due to lower net debt (abstinence) and not to redemption from original sin. We conclude that original sin continues to make financial globalization unattractive and developing countries have opted for abstinence because foreign currency debt is too risky. The promised paradise of financial globalization will need to wait for redemption from original sin.

The full paper is here.
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Americans prepping their kids to go to the right kindergaten..

2010-02-07T01:40:00.001+01:00

...so that they can go to the right elementary school, so that they can get to the right high school, and end up getting drunk in the right college. here
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Redemption or Abstinence

2010-02-06T01:43:00.001+01:00

Our (Ricardo Hasumann and I) new piece on original sin is here.

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Vecchia Costituzione Amore Mio

2010-01-21T12:23:00.004+01:00

A scuola continuavano a dirci quanto era bella la nostra Carta Costituzionale. A me tutti questi discorsi sembravano delle cagate.

Poi, nel 2002 abolirono i primi due commi della XIII disposizione transitoria e finale della Costituzione, proprio quelli che recitavano:

I membri e i discendenti della Casa Savoia non sono elettori e non possono ricoprire uffici pubblici ne' cariche elettive.
Agli ex re di casa Savoia, alle loro consorti e ai loro discendenti maschi sono vietati l'ingresso e il soggiorno nel terriotorio nazionale

Adesso San Remo 2010, ci propone questo:

ITALIA AMORE MIO
(Pupo) Io credo sempre nel futuro, nella giustizia e nel lavoro,
nel sentimento che ci unisce, intorno alla nostra famiglia.
io credo nelle tradizioni, di un popolo che non si arrende,
e soffro le preoccupazioni, di chi possiede poco o niente.
(E. Filiberto) Io credo nella mia cultura e nella mia religione,
per questo io non ho paura, di esprimere la mia opinione.
Io sento battere più forte, il cuore di un’Italia sola,
che oggi più serenamente, si specchia in tutta la sua storia.
(L. Canonici) Sì stasera sono qui, per dire al mondo e a Dio, Italia amore mio.
Io, io non mi stancherò, di dire al mondo e a dio, Italia amore mio.
(E. Filiberto) Ricordo quando ero bambino, viaggiavo con la fantasia,
chiudevo gli occhi e immaginavo, di stringerla fra le mie braccia.
(Pupo) Tu non potevi ritornare pur non avendo fatto niente,
ma chi si può paragonare, a chi ha sofferto veramente.
(L. Canonici) Sì stasera sono qui, per dire al mondo e a Dio, Italia amore mio
io, io non mi stancherò, di dire al mondo e a Dio, Italia amore mio
(Pupo) Io credo ancora nel rispetto, nell’onestà di un ideale,
nel sogno chiuso in un cassetto e in un paese più normale.
(E. Filiberto) Sì, stasera sono qui, per dire al mondo e a Dio, Italia amore mio

Sono tentato di scrivere una canzone intitolata: "Vecchia Costituzione Amore Mio"

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Senza parole

2010-01-20T16:42:00.001+01:00

Avanti Savoia

grazie a Luca M.

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Bailout

2010-01-15T12:09:00.002+01:00

Thanks to RK

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I agree with MW

2010-01-15T10:37:00.000+01:00

Here is Martin Wolf on Iceland

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More evidence that housing prices in Geneva are too high

2010-01-14T17:59:00.003+01:00

The rental yield in Zurich is twice that of Geneva. This is not because rental prices are lower (they are basically the same) but because houses are much more expensive to buy: Here

Older posts: here, here; here

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Another post on cheap economists

2010-01-10T23:09:00.001+01:00

Here

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Ethnic food in Switzerland

2010-01-07T15:30:00.002+01:00

The sign says: "Indian and Pakistani Specialties. Pizza"

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Swiss Humor

2010-01-07T15:14:00.003+01:00

Picture taken in Interlaken.

The Jungfrau (which means Virgin) is next to the Eiger (Ogre) and the Mönch (Monk)

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Stuff I did not remember having written about

2010-01-05T16:56:00.002+01:00

The cultural values of Islam (Written in 2002, probably because I was pissed off at Oriana Fallaci, but why was I qualified to wrote about this???).

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Time goes by very faaaaast

2010-01-05T16:55:00.000+01:00

It is particularly discomfiting to play this game with cultural products that are supposed to be, by definition, new, fresh and youthful, like rock music, for instance. The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks (1977) is closer to the second world war than it is to the present.

The rest is here

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Cheap economists

2010-01-04T15:20:00.000+01:00

An answer SiL Nadine's puzzles.
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Nosonly

2009-12-30T19:13:00.001+01:00

..and GW Bush Said: He speaks English very well

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Economists and civilization

2009-12-30T12:06:00.001+01:00

I give you the toast of the Royal Economic Society, of economics and economists, who are the trustees not of civilization, but of the possibility of civilization.
JM Keynes (1945)
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1884148
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Dating coach for men

2009-12-28T22:55:00.001+01:00

Here

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Singer and Easterly

2009-12-26T23:38:00.000+01:00

Well worth 46 minutes on Boxing Day

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Excellent Hamilton post

2009-12-26T22:51:00.001+01:00

On stock prices (also read the November 2008 and Spring 2009 posts)

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Happy Holidays/Buone Feste

2009-12-25T12:13:00.000+01:00

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The Onion, Egyptian Style

2009-12-23T12:01:00.001+01:00

Here

Thanks to EJ

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JB on DM

2009-12-22T10:49:00.001+01:00

Here. methink: he too kind. But at least he says:

Moyo is less convincing, however, when she tries to argue that aid itself has been the crucial factor holding Africa back, and she verges on deliberate provocation when she proposes terminating all aid within five years -- a proposal that is both impractical (given existing long-term commitments) and unhelpful (since an abrupt withdrawal of aid would leave chaos in its wake).

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Ramadan and Child Health

2009-12-21T21:56:00.001+01:00

The effects of maternal fasting during Ramadan on birth and adult outcomes

Abstract

We use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as a natural experiment for evaluating the short and long-term effects of fasting during pregnancy. Using Michigan natality data we show that in utero exposure to Ramadan among Arab births results in lower birthweight and reduced gestation length. Preconception exposure to Ramadan is also associated with fewer male births. Using Census data in Uganda we also find that Muslims who were born nine months after Ramadan are 22 percent (p =0.02) more likely to be disabled as adults. Effects are found for vision, hearing, and especially for mental (or learning) disabilities. This may reflect the persistent effect of disruptions to early fetal development. We find no evidence that negative selection in conceptions during Ramadan accounts for our results. Nevertheless, caution in interpreting these results is warranted until our findings are corroborated in other settings. ; Not for Citation.. Prenatal care ; Ramadan ; Fasting (Islam)

Publication details

Download	http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/workingpapers/wp2007_22.pd

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Intellectuals and the Crisis

2009-12-21T21:45:00.000+01:00

Here's the list. Claudio Borio is missing

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Feynman on rubber bands

2009-12-20T23:06:00.001+01:00

the great physicist talks like a character from "The Sopranos"

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Worse than losing your computer in a taxi

2009-12-18T14:11:00.002+01:00

Lily Sussman's story
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Surely

2009-12-17T19:09:00.000+01:00

Surely, no sentence beginning with the word ‘surely’ can validly contain a question mark at its end? However, one paradox is enough for one article …” This was Paul Samuelson
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Ultimate proof that I am not a materialistic guy

2009-12-14T20:22:00.002+01:00

Assume I could pick whoever I want for a date. Who would I pick? My first choice would da wife, but that's too easy. Assume I could pick anybody but da wife, who would I pick? Would I pick a hot top model? Would I pick the sexiest minister in the whole world? Of course not! I would pick Lucy, who else can direct me to websites like this? Check out the spider story, the logo story, and the party story.

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Paul Samuelson passed away

2009-12-13T21:00:00.000+01:00

Here's Krugman
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Strange and interesting places

2009-12-13T17:40:00.001+01:00

Here

This place is not too far from Cafasse

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Back from Beirut...

2009-12-13T15:23:00.003+01:00

The traffic is out of control, people claim that it is because the city has now several working traffic lights. Here is Dani Rodrik on traffic lights and institutions.
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On Marriage

2009-12-05T21:21:00.001+01:00

This will be my reading on the flight to Beirut (need to print one for da wife)

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Website I shoudl check daily

2009-12-01T12:05:00.001+01:00

The browser (thanks to manu manu)
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Capitalism, a love story

2009-11-28T22:17:00.002+01:00

While I share Alberto Bisin's view on the movie, I did learn a few things from it. The most shoking were pilot pays and the most intersting was the plutonomy memo. The clip about Rogoff was unfair but very funny.

By the way, the Poutonomy memo says that Italy is the only plutonomy in continental Europe. So Anglo-Saxon countries are plutonomic and efficient, Continental Europe is more egualitarian but maybe less efficient and then there is Italy that magaes to get the worst of both worlds:

The U.S., UK, and Canada are world leaders in plutonomy.... Countries and regions that are not plutonomies: Scandinavia, France, Germany, other continental Europe (except Italy), and Japan.

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