Category Archives: General
Well – it was bound to happen at one point!
I finally caved and got myself a twitter account. You can see my tweets on the right or you can follow me by using this link: @clausportner
Want to go to law school?
If you are interested in going to law school it might be worthwhile reading this article from the New York Times. You might still want to go, but at least you will have more information before making your decision.
Does the flu vaccine prevent deaths?
The Atlantic has a very nice article summarising the discussion of whether the flu vaccine prevents death among older people. The basic problem in evaluating interventions like these is self-selection, which can make “cohort studies” unreliable. Not really news to … Continue reading
Economics is *really* hard…
Apparently the relationship between price and demand seems to be a slippery concept. Elizabeth Kolbert (in an otherwise interesting piece) on obesity in the New Yorker has this to say about the argument that part of the reason for the … Continue reading
Crash
Well, I know much of the attention these days are to the economy, but this crash hit a little closer to home. I was stopped on the highway because of traffic when I got rear-ended. I got transported to the … Continue reading
Sex Ratios and Latitude
Last week’s Science section of the New York Times had an article about variations in sex ratios by latitude, based on an article in Biological Letters. Essentially, the upshot is that people in Africa are less likely than people in … Continue reading
David Lam seminar Friday 20 February
David Lam (University of Michigan) will be giving a seminar Friday 20 February at 2.00 PM in Condon 309. The title of his talk is “Schooling as a Lottery: Racial Differences in School Advancement in Urban South Africa”. The abstract … Continue reading
Ubuntu
Okay, so this is strictly speaking not about research, but it has interesting applications for developing countries. There is a nice article about Ubuntu and Shuttleworth (its sponsor or benefactor) in this Sunday’s NY Times (see link below). Essentially, Ubuntu … Continue reading
Panel on Iraq and development
Friday 14 November I was on a panel on Iraq, organised by the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, with Prof. Ellis Goldberg from political science, UW, and Judy Joseph from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. My role was mainly … Continue reading
Seminar at SMU, Dallas
I gave a seminar at SMU in Dallas 26 September 2008. The paper was “Gone with the Wind? Hurricane Risk, Fertility and Education.”