September 04, 2006
Random Link - Open University
In theory, Open University will be great...with lots of brilliant people on their list of contributors, including Larry Summers, and multiple posts per day. Of course, as Homer once said, "In theory Communism works!" Let's see how long this, the umpteenth venture into academic blogging, lasts.
I got the link from Greg Mankiw's blog.
Posted by benkeys at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2006
Resource for discussion sections
If you're running out of things to talk about in discussion section, or need some examples to spice up otherwise dull econ 101 topics, then take a look at the Aplia EconBlog, which discusses current events in an undergrad-economics framework. No more relying on the "think-boxes" in the textbook!
Posted by benkeys at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
Your favorite movies are decoys
Here's me channeling Reading Rainbow:
If you like movies, and you like economics, then you'll love reading columns by Edward Jay Epstein, a.k.a. The Hollywood Economist. His latest column on Slate is about how the Oscars are a big scam to legitimate movies as culturally meaningful when in reality Hollywood makes all its money from blockbusters. Those two-faced bastards! Or maybe just dual-purposed. Whichever way you want to think about it.
There has to be some good papers to be written about Hollywood though. So far the best idea I have is one about the game theoretic strategy of when to release your movie, to avoid competing with other big films but also come out on a busy weekend.
Posted by benkeys at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2006
House-shopping on Google Earth
Today's random link comes from Steve Levitt's Freakonomics blog. You can see the estimated value of any house in the U.S. on Zillow.com. Try your parents' house, your old apartment building, or professors' houses if you're particularly bored.
Posted by benkeys at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
Random link - Go "Social Exploring"
This is a mind-blowingly cool website, where they have interactive data maps of everything asked in the census, for every tract in the country, for both 1990 and 2000-normalized tract boundaries. You'll waste an afternoon at socialexplorer.com! I know I did.
Posted by benkeys at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2006
Skit Night planning is underway
Hi and welcome to the GES blog. I'm your dutiful President, and you should check back regularly for my "random links from the President" posts, the first of which is this one: Vote "miscount" in Ohio. The proof is in the pudding.
The biggest social event of the year for us, which is something like the tallest midget, is Skit Night. We're starting to plan but always appreciate your input and feedback.
Here are the main issues under consideration:
-Dates: Probably in late March / early April
-Food: We'll have a sign-up sheet in the lounge soon
-Raffle: Donate prizes for a great cause (beer)
-Awards: Yeah, we'll do 'em again. send ideas to gabri@umich.edu
-Afterparty: Want to host a kick-ass afterparty? let us know
Send any ideas or suggestions to ges.board@umich.edu, and long live the blog!
Posted by benkeys at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)