Tag Archive
Prediction Without Markets
In the 2008 Summer Olympics Usain Bolt ran 100 meters in 9.69 seconds, earning the gold medal and garnering the international attention that comes with being the "fastest man in the world." While Bolt became a household name, his competitors didn't fare nearly as well: far fewer people... »
Scroogenomics vs Ulterior Motives (and Other Justifications for Gift Giving)
As a poser economist (as Jeff Ely calls me), I love to complain about the social inefficiency of gift giving. It's a terrible idea, guys! We waste 13 billion dollars a year on it! But I do appreciate that I have a tendency to pooh-pooh social conventions far too... »
Anatomy of the Long Tail
I admit I'm a movie snob. I'm less likely to watch blockbusters about toys gone wild that open on 4000+ screens than tales of food gone wild that open on 50 screens. And for this I always figured I was among a minority who ventured beyond... »
CentMail: Do Good, Fight Spam
Our anti-spam project, Centmail, has gotten some press this week. (New Scientist, ABC News, Wired, Slashdot, Hacker News.) In a nutshell, you donate a penny to a charity of your choice for every email you send, with the donation showing up as a "stamp" in your email signature.... »
High-Frequency Trading and the Robot-Led Holocaust
Michael Wellman launched a blog this week. Yesterday he made an excellent point about market efficiency. Tyler Cowen had pooh-poohed the problem of high-frequency trading. Mike set him straight and suggested an elegant solution to the problem, namely call markets. But what about the value of... »
