Jun
12
Freakonomicsis not the only place to find some interesting real-world applied economics. One needs only to scan the blogosphere, where Cafe Hayek points out this from Bryan Caplan:
Textbooks may say that economics is about “incentives” or “trade-offs.” But you can publish papers in econ journals about the effect of birth weight on educational attainment. I don’t see any incentives or trade-offs there. Or take Emily Oster’s early researcharguing that hepatitis, not infanticide or selective abortion, explained a lot of Asia’s gender imbalance. Some economists asked, “How is this economics?” But if some economists argue that the gender imbalance is driven by incentives, how can you object if other economists say that the real explanation is medical? Or consider happiness research. Economists like Justin Wolfers are in the vanguard; but the connection to incentives or trade-offs is unclear.
You could deplore all this as a loss of focus. But I see massive progress. Economics has grown hard to define because we now focus primarily on real-world problems, not “literatures.” If we want to understand income determination, we don’t waste time with topological proofs. We still think about supply and demand, but we also think about policy, psychology, behavioral genetics, and much more. As a result, we come to understand the world, instead of solving unusually difficult homework problems.
Over at Coyoteblog, the following chart is featured, showing the end-of-regulation scores in the NBA, with an inordinate proclivity for ties:
It was found at Cheap Talk, with an explanation and videos. Warren found the link from The Sports Economist, where I found the post regarding the economics of sportsmanship interesting:
As an economist I’m intrigued by the widespread nature of sportsmanship standards. The exact threshold for good and bad sportsmanship differs across individuals and tends to be influenced by a variety of variables including the specific sport along with fan age, urban/rural, income, nationality, or ethnicity. Despite nuances across individuals, sportsmanship seems to be part of wider moral/ethical standards.
Finally, via Galley Slaves is this piece showing why Gotham City’s villians shouldn’t team up to kill Batman.
Exit question: Is the joker considered a negative externality?
Mar
8
Buffalo Bills Sign Terrell Owens
Filed Under Sports | Leave a Comment
So yesterday the Bills signed former 49er’s, Eagles, and Cowboys WR Terrell Owens with a one-year deal. What is a hardcore Bills fan such as myself to think? Personally, I am very excited! Yes, T.O. comes with a lot of baggage, and is very cocky. But the Bills have really been missing character, and haven’t made the playoffs this millennium. We could use a little spunk, and what do we have to lose? Since 1999, our best year has been a 9-7 finish in 2004 with no playoffs. Even if T.O. is a bust and him and Trent Edwards have it out and Lee Evans gets upset, we’re still in the place we started. I’m looking foward to a very interesting, and hopefully improved, 2009 Bills team. Getcha popcorn ready!
Jan
23
The Culture of Success Apology
Filed Under Sports | 4 Comments
I found this lovely story over at Yahoo. Apparently The Covenant School’s girls basketball team beat Dallas Academy 100-0 in a game last week. Both are private Christian schools in Dallas, Texas. But now Covenant wants to forefeit the game and apologize for its stunning success.
DALLAS — A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.
Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.
“It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened,” Kyle Queal, the head of the school, said in a statement, adding the forfeit was requested because “a victory without honor is a great loss.”
The private Christian school defeated Dallas Academy last week. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.
A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers — even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.
The question I ask is: Whats the real problem here? I’ll grant that 100-0 is a little much. Dallas Academy got their asses whooped, and the point was made. Maybe they should have stopped scoring at around 70-0 or something. But this is sports, folks. Both teams practiced hard, and the girls at Covenant have every right to not only ensure a solid margin of victory against their opponent but show off a little. Covenant’s success is not the problem.
The problem is the destructive culture of success apology that is leeching its way into our national psyche. Everywhere, it seems, success is seen as a sin and failure as a virtue. And the best way to legitimize failure is to remove responsibility for the unsuccessful’s deficiencies. Could this be what is happening with Dallas Academy?
Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with “learning differences,” such as short attention spans or dyslexia.
Do you see a connection here? Apparently the culture of apologizing for success and celebrating failure is alive and well. “Short attention spans” or ADD or ADHD are not “learning differences” or disorders. They are kids who should have been spanked as children. Dyslexia is very real, but it can be overcome (see Jay Leno). Plus, you don’t need to be able to read the names on the jersey to put the ball in the basket.
When will we see that babying people only exacerbates their weaknesses and harms them in the long run? But the culture of success apology is not confined to high school girls basketball in Texas. With the election of Barack Obama, it is now the national economic paradigm.
Update: January 28th - The head coach of the Covenant School, Micah Grimes, was fired on January 25th after disagreeing with school officials over apologizing for the win. Said Grimes:
“In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed,” Grimes wrote in the e-mail, according to the newspaper. “We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity.”
Update on a tip from Moonbattery.
