Econ Journal Watch

Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

Articles by Publication Date

Table of Contents January 2010
Editor’s Notes: Acknowledgements 2008-09 by Daniel Klein
It Can’t Happen, It’s a Bad Idea, It Won’t Last: U.S. Economists on the EMU and the Euro, 1989-2002 by Lars Jonung…
I Was a Euro Enthusiast by C. Fred Bergsten
A Political Scientist’s Perspective by Jeffry Frieden
Understanding the Euro Requires Political Economy, Not Just Economics by Charles Goodhart
Reflections on Currency Reform and the Euro by Steve H. Hanke
It Has Happened—And It Will Continue to Succeed by Otmar Issing
There Was No Analytical Alternative to the Theory of Optimum Currency Areas by Peter B. Kenen
Mundell Changed His Mind by Ronald I. McKinnon
The Secret of the Euro’s Success by George Selgin
The Euro and the German Veto by Roland Vaubel
Outliers and the Halloween Effect: Comment on Maberly and Pierce by H. Douglas Witte
305 Economists Called to Answer Questionnaire on the Pre-Market Approval of Drugs and Devices by Daniel B. Klein…

Table of Contents September 2009
Great Apprehensions, Prolonged Depression: Gauti Eggertsson on the 1930s by Steven Horwitz
The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members: The Results of a New Survey by Robert Whaples
Confession of an Economist: Writing to Impress Rather than Inform by David R. Hakes
Preference Falsification in Teaching by Stephen Kinsella
Confessions of a College Non-Economizer by William Patrick Leonard
Economic Dissociative Identity Disorder: The Math Gamer, the Anti-Policy Econometrician and the Narrative Political Economist by Bruce L. Benson
A Reply to Daniel Klein on Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand by Gavin Kennedy
The Scottish Tradition in Economic Thought by Alec Lawrence Macfie

Table of Contents May 2009
Occupational Licensing: Scant Treatment in Labor Texts by E. Frank Stephenson…
Do Economists Believe American Democracy Is Working? by William L. Davis…
The Debate on Shall Issue Laws, Continued by Carlisle E. Moody…
More Guns, Less Crime Fails Again: The Latest Evidence from 1977 – 2006 by Ian Ayres…
Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand: From Metaphor to Myth by Gavin Kennedy
In Adam Smith’s Invisible Hands: Comment on Gavin Kennedy by Daniel B. Klein
Intellectual Hazard: A Liberal Selection of Quotations by Daniel B. Klein

Table of Contents January 2009
Editorial Notes January 2009
Goldin and Katz and Education Policy Failings in Historical Perspective by Arnold Kling…
Some Anomalies Arising from Bandwagons that Impart Upward Sloping Segments to Market Demand by Micha Gisser…
Yet Another Refutation of the More Guns, Less Crime Hypothesis – With Some Help From Moody and Marvell by Ian Ayres…
Does Economics Have a Gender? by Christina Jonung…
Rent Control: Do Economists Agree? by Blair Jenkins
Desperately Seeking Smithians: Responses to the Questionnaire about Building an Identity by Daniel B. Klein

Table of Contents September 2008
The Debate on Shall-Issue Laws by Carlisle E. Moody…
Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-Events? by Dennis Coates…
Colleagues, Where Is the Market Failure? Economists on the FDA by Daniel B. Klein
The Curtailment of Critical Commentary in Australian Economics by Brian Dollery…
The Present State of Economic Science by Glenn E. Hoover
Toward a Public and Professional Identity for Our Economics by Daniel B. Klein
Uncovering the Costs of the Iraq War by Fred E. Foldvary
Correspondence September 2008

Table of Contents May 2008
The Soviet Economic Decline Revisited by Brendan K. Beare
Reply to Brendan Beare by William Easterly…
The Diluted Economics of Casinos and Crime: A Rejoinder to Grinols and Mustard’s Reply by Douglas M. Walker
Connecting Casinos and Crime: More Corrections of Walker by Earl L. Grinols…
Smoking in Restaurants: Rejoinder to Alamar and Glantz by David R. Henderson
Externalities in the Workplace: A Response to a Rejoinder to a Response to a Response to a Paper by Benjamin C. Alamar…
Symposium: Gender and Economics by Christina Jonung…
Symposium: Gender and Economics by Ann Mari May
Symposium: Gender and Economics by Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
Symposium: Gender and Economics by Catherine Hakim
Symposium: Gender and Economics by John A. Johnson
Symposium: Gender and Economics by Garett Jones
Honestly, Who Else Would Fund Such Research? Reflections of a Non-Smoking Scholar by Michael L. Marlow

Table of Contents January 2008
Foreword: Editor's Report January 2008
Do Casinos Really Cause Crime? by Douglas M. Walker
Correctly Critiquing Casino-Crime Causality by Earl L. Grinols…
Highway Penetration of Central Cities: Not a Major Cause of Suburbanization by Wendell Cox…
Reply to Cox, Gordon, and Redfearn’s Comment on “Did Highways Cause Suburbanization?” by Nathaniel Baum-Snow
Growth Accelerations and Regime Changes: A Correction by Richard Jong-A-Pin…
The EITC Disincentive: A Reply to Dr. Hilary Hoynes by Paul Trampe
Gulphs in Mankind’s Career of Prosperity: A Critique of Adam Smith on Interest Rate Restrictions by Jeremy Bentham
The Market for Lemmas: Evidence that Complex Models Rarely Operate in Our World by Philip R. P. Coelho…
“Theory” and “Models”: Terminology Through the Looking Glass by Robert S. Goldfarb…
Left Out: A Critique of Paul Krugman Based on a Comprehensive Account of His New York Times Columns, 1997 through 2006 by Daniel B. Klein…
Taking Stock of Paul Krugman’s 654 New York Times Columns, 1997 through 2006 by Harika Anna Barlett…
Sounds of Silence

Table of Contents September 2007
Smoking in Restaurants: Who Best to Set the House Rules? by David R. Henderson
Smoking in Restaurants: A Reply to David Henderson by Benjamin C. Alamar…
Deposit Insurance and Moral Hazard: Capital, Risk, Malfeasance, and Mismanagement by Gary Richardson
Quantifying Moral Hazard: A Reply to Gary Richardson by Linda M. Hooks…
The EITC Disincentive: The Effects on Hours Worked from the Phase-out of the Earned Income Tax Credit by Paul Trampe
The EITC Disincentive: A Reply to Paul Trampe by Hilary Hoynes
Got Replicability? The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Archive by B. D. McCullough
Thriving at Amazon: How Schumpeter Lives in Books Today by Arthur M. Diamond, Jr.
Economists Against Smoot-Hawley by Editors
Correspondence September 2007

Table of Contents May 2007
Symposium Introduction: Trailblazers Too Lightly Mentioned? by Editors
The Economic Analysis of Constitutions: Fatalism Versus Vitalism by Charles B. Blankart…
The Empirical Institutions-Growth Literature: Is Something Amiss at the Top? by John W. Dawson
Peter Bauer: Blazing the Trail of Development by Ian Vasquez
Model Building versus Theorizing: The Paucity of Theory in the Journal of Economic Theory by Daniel B. Klein…
The Role of Economists in Liberalizing Swedish Agriculture by Henrik Lindberg
Where Would Adam Smith Publish Today? The Near Absence of Math-free Research in Top Journals by Daniel Sutter…
The Internet and the Structure of Discourse: The Websites of Economists at Harvard and George Mason by Daniel J. D'Amico…

Table of Contents January 2007
In Memorium: Milton Friedman
Empire: Public Goods and Bads by Christopher J. Coyne…
Death and Taxes, Including Inflation: the Public versus Economists by Jeffreys Rogers Hummel
Textbooks and Pure Fiscal Policy: The Neglect of Monetary Basics by Lee C. Spector…
Handling Economic Freedom in Growth Regressions: Suggestions for Clarification by Julio H. Cole…
Handling Economic Freedom in Growth Regressions: A Reply to Cole and Lawson by Jakob De Haan…
Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Household and Municipal Recycling? by Matthew Gunter
The Practical Utility of Economic Science by Edwin Cannan
Reasons for Supporting the Minimum Wage: Asking Signatories of the “Raise the Minimum Wage” Statement by Daniel B. Klein…

Table of Contents September 2006
On Testing the Connection between Economic Freedom and Growth by Robert A. Lawson
How to Handle Economic Freedom: Reply to Lawson by Jakob De Haan…
Assume the Positional: Comment on Robert Frank by Andrew Kashdan…
Taking Libertarian Concerns Seriously: Reply to Kashdan and Klein by Robert H. Frank
Work Incentives and Employment are the Wrong Explanation of Sweden’s Success by Andreas Bergh
Second Reply to Bergh by Peter H. Lindert
A Little More Liberty: What the JEL Omits in Its Account of What the Economic Report of the President Omits by Daniel B. Klein…
Benjamin Franklin and Colonial Money: A Reply to Michener and Wright—Yet Again by Farley Grubb
Knut Wicksell, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin and Gunnar Myrdal on the Role of the Economist in Public Debate by Benny Carlson…
Do Economists Reach a Conclusion On Rail Transit? by Ted Balaker…
Correspondence September 2006 by Meir Kohn

Table of Contents May 2006
Is the Swedish Welfare State A Free Lunch? by Andreas Bergh
The Welfare State Is the Wrong Target: A Reply to Bergh by Peter H. Lindert
Farley Grubb’s Noisy Evasions on Colonial Money: A Rejoinder by Ronald W. Michener…
The Costs of Critical Commentary in Economics Journals by Robert Whaples
Why Has Critical Commentary Been Curtailed at Top Economics Journals? A Reply to Robert Whaples by Philip R. P. Coelho…
Do Economists Reach A Conclusion on Road Pricing? The Intellectual History of an Idea by Robin Lindsey
A List of the 364 Economists Who Objected to Thatcher’s Macro Policy by Philip Booth
Reply to Hortlund’s “Defense of the Real Bills Doctrine" by Richard H. Timberlake

Table of Contents January 2006
Foreword: Editor's Report January 2006
Miscounting Money of Colonial America by Ronald W. Michener…
Theory, Evidence, and Belief— The Colonial Money Puzzle Revisited: Reply to Michener and Wright by Farley Grubb
In Defense of the Real Bills Doctrine by Per Hortlund
Damned If You Do: Comment on Schuler’s Argentina Analysis by David Altig
Argentina’s problems went far beyond the absence of a strict currency board: Comment on Schuler by Brad Setser
Reply to David Altig and Brad Setser by Kurt Schuler
Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Taxi Deregulation? by Adrian T. Moore…
Textbook Entrepreneurship: Comment on Johansson by William J. Baumol
364 Economists on Economic Policy by Geoffrey Wood
AEA Ideology: Campaign Contributions of American Economic Association Members, Committee Members, Officers, Editors, Referees, Authors, and Acknowledgees by William A. McEachern
Sense and Sensibilities: Myrdal’s Plea for Self-Disclosure and Some Disclosures on AEA Members by Daniel B. Klein
Correspondence January 2006

Table of Contents August 2005
Rejoinder to Wittman: True Myths by Bryan Caplan
Second Reply to Caplan: The Power and the Glory of the Median Voter by Donald Wittman
Gold Standards and the Real Bills Doctrine in U.S. Monetary Policy by Richard H. Timberlake
Ignorance and Influence: U.S. Economists on Argentina’s Depression of 1998-2002 by Kurt Schuler
Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Free-Banking Episodes? by Ignacio Briones…
The Federal Reserve System’s Influence on Research in Monetary Economics by Lawrence H. White
Decline in Critical Commentary, 1963-2004 by Philip R. P. Coelho…
The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft by David R. Henderson
Correspondence August 2005

Table of Contents April 2005
From Friedman to Wittman: The Transformation of Chicago Political Economy by Bryan Caplan
Reply to Caplan: On the Methodology of Testing for Voter Irrationality by Donald Wittman
Rejoinder to Pesendorfer by Philip R. P. Coelho…
Second Reply to Coelho, Klein, and McClure by Wolfgang Pesendorfer
Symposium on Information and Knowledge: Introduction by Daniel B. Klein
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Brian J. Loasby
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Thomas Mayer
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Bruce Caldwell
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Israel M. Kirzner
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Leland B. Yeager
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Robert J. Aumann
Symposium on Information and Knowledge by Ken Binmore
Geo-Rent: A Plea to Public Economists by Fred E. Foldvary
The Ph.D. Circle in Academic Economics by Daniel B. Klein
The Mathematical Romance: An Engineer's View of Mathematical Economics by Warren C. Gibson
Salute to Schelling: Keeping It Human by Daniel B. Klein…

Table of Contents December 2004
Adam Smith’s Invisible Hands by Peter Minowitz
"Credibility" in Context: Do Central Bankers and Economists Interpret the Term Differently? by James Forder
Identity and Politics in School Reform Research by Fabio Rojas
Fashion Cycles in Economics by Philip R. P. Coelho…
Response to “Fashion Cycles in Economics” by Wolfgang Pesendorfer
Rate of Economic Growth, Level of Development, and Income Inequality: Rejoinder to the Reply by Edwards and McGuirk by Jih Y. Chang…
Scholasticism versus Pietism: The Battle for the Soul of Economics by Robert H. Nelson
The National Research Council Ranking of Research Universities: Its Impact on Research in Economics by Randal G. Holcombe
Economics without Entrepreneurship or Institutions: A Vocabulary Analysis of Graduate Textbooks by Dan Johansson
Correspondence December 2004

Table of Contents August 2004
Does Economic Performance Correlate with Big Government? by Peter Gordon…
Kuznets Curveball: Missing the Regional Strike Zone by Jeffrey Edwards…
Reply to Chang and Ram: Statistical Adequacy and the Reliability of Inference by Jeff Edwards…
Statist Quo Bias by Daniel B. Klein
Response to Klein by Cass R. Sunstein
Reply to Sunstein by Daniel B. Klein
Rejoinder to De Alessi by Michael Kremer
Licensing Doctors: Do Economists Agree? by Shirley Svorny
The Development Set: The Character of the Journal of Development Economics 2002 by Susan Anderson…
Institutional Ties of Journal of Development Economics Authors and Editors by Daniel B. Klein…
Size Matters: The Standard Error of Regressions in the American Economic Review by Stephen T. Ziliak…
Preference Falsification in the Economics Profession by William L. Davis
Response to Edwards and McGuirk: Income Level, Economic Growth, and Inequality: Flawed Methodology and Inaccurate Inference by Jih Y. Chang…
Learning to Lose a Leg: Casualties of PhD Economics Training in Stockholm by Anne D. Boschini…
Correspondence August 2004

Table of Contents April 2004
Overlooking the Obvious in Africa by Jane S. Shaw
How to Get Real About Organs by Alexander Tabarrok
Response to Tabarrok by Margaret M. Byrne…
Reply to Byrne and Thompson by Alexander Tabarrok
Stock Market Efficiency Withstands another Challenge: Solving the “Sell in May/Buy after Halloween” Puzzle by Edwin D. Maberly…
An Ivory-Tower Take on the Ivory Trade by Michael De Alessi
Response to De Alessi by Michael Kremer
Reply to Kremer by Michael De Alessi
Postal Reform by Rick Geddes
Drug Policy by Mark Thornton
Agricultural Economists and the State by E. C. Pasour, Jr
Symposium on Information and Knowledge: Arrow Correspondence by Kenneth Arrow
The Social Science Citation Index: A Black Box—with an Ideological Bias? by Daniel B. Klein…
Citation Counts and SSCI in Personnel Decisions: A Survey of Economics Departments by Daniel B. Klein…
In Sweden, Anti-Globalizationists Dominate Public Discourse, Econ Profs Do Little by Per Skedinger…
Ken Kam and Market Efficiency by Daniel B. Klein