Reading

Created
Thu, 20/01/2022 - 22:22
I’m delighted to receive some advance paperback copies of my book ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’. It publishes on 3rd Feb and is available to pre-order. I’ve taken a photo of it next to a plant because that’s what book bloggers sometimes do if a cup of cappuccino is unavailable. It’s available…
Created
Wed, 19/01/2022 - 09:04
by Lekha Chakraborty and Harikrishnan S. Omicron is a reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over. This ongoing health crisis should act as a trigger for greater investments in public health in India. Public spending on health by the union government is still below 1 percent of GDP, though the estimate has increased from […]
Created
Wed, 19/01/2022 - 06:51
The outbreak of COVID-19 brought back to the forefront the crucial importance of structural change and productive development for economic resilience to economic shocks. Several recent contributions have already stressed the perverse relationship that may exist between productive backwardness and the intensity of the COVID-19 socioeconomic crisis.
Created
Fri, 14/01/2022 - 08:14
Last month, Inside Higher Ed was kind enough to post an interview that Joshua Kim, Dartmouth, and Eddie Maloney, Georgetown, did with me regarding our recent move to a remote officeThe Office of Digital Learning has gone remote. For good. And we are hiring. A lot.. I highly suggest that you read the interview in […]
Created
Wed, 12/01/2022 - 12:47

This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.

Food supply chains disrupted leaving items temporarily unavailable

Created
Wed, 12/01/2022 - 03:54
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is pleased to announce it will be holding a summer seminar June 11–18, 2022. Through lectures, hands-on workshops, and breakout groups, the seminar will provide an opportunity to engage with the theory and policy of Modern Money Theory (MMT) and the work of Institute Distinguished Scholars Hyman Minsky […]
Created
Tue, 11/01/2022 - 15:12

A half-empty glass

Here's my answer to that age-old question: the glass is half-empty. Whether or not that makes me a pessimist is irrelevant, because my answer is based on statistics!

Whether or not a glass if half-full or half-empty depends on whether it is in the process of being filled, or emptied. If a glass is being filled, when it reaches half-way then it's half-full. If it's being emptied, when it reaches half-way then it's half-empty. Make sense?

So how do we know whether the glass is being filled or emptied? Well we don't. But we can work out the average based on (admittedly unscientific) statistics...