Econ Club: It's about logic, not emotion.

Under the guise of Econ Club, I have sat in many of bars alongside peers and professors, attempting to solve the world’s problems with economic logic. Couched primarily in economic topics, attendees are encouraged to be blunt, using logic not opinion to discuss current events. It is because of the success of these meetings and encouragement from past participants that I am moving Econ Club into blog form. As such, post articles, comment on them and of course keep a refreshing beer nearby.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Watch my big boss (the Director General of IFPRI) take on Food Prices in the Economist.

It's interactive, and for those of you who are interested in development, you can watch heavy-hitters debate while simultaneously reading the ridiculously uninformed comments of the Economist audience at large, who are allowed to vote and participate. A pretty entertaining (and sometimes educational) debate.

1 comment:

KLR said...: This is extremely interesting, but it seems like kind of a silly debate to me. Of course *humanity* would be improved if food prices were lower. Wouldn't it be great if they are zero?!?! For that matter, wouldn't everyone be better off if everything in the world had a zero price?!?! The fact is, prices communicate the fundamentals of supply and demand. Perhaps you would like some government policies to change (I certainly would) so the fundamentals are more stable and less distorted, but that doesn't change the fact that food is more scarce. Prices are not to blame...and they are not inherently bad. If anything, rising food prices have helped minimize social unrest. The IFPRI DG is talking past the issue and trying to address poverty by wishing away scarcity. Silly.; August 5, 2008 at 8:41 AM