Author Archives: mkevane

Today, that changes thanks to the work of Andrew Reagan at the Computational Story Lab at the University of Vermont in Burlington and a few pals. These guys have used sentiment analysis to map the emotional arcs of over 1,700 … Continue reading →

The poem always gives me the shivers.  Especially the stanza I had to learn by heart for Mrs. Kramer’s third grade class in English language arts.  We had to stand in front of the class.  Yes, she was an odd … Continue reading →

I strongly recommend Humans.  Imagine Never Let Me Go made as a TV series.  The synths are complex, their interactions amongst themselves and with humans are complex, the human families are complex.  This is not one of those ridiculous sci-fi … Continue reading →

And this is where things begin to get interesting. Over a month ago, an anonymous post appeared at Economics Job Market Rumors (EJMR), a popular internet forum frequented (I am guessing) by many young economists. This post noted that Family … Continue reading →

They shouted angrily about “colonialism” and called for a Prexit, or Puerto Rican exit, from the United States. They denounced the “junta” — or federal control board — that will soon direct this island’s failing governance and finances. Late Thursday … Continue reading →

Since I am teaching MBA macroeconomics this summer, here is Brexit in the standard AD-AS model.  It ignores the zero lower bound, which complicates things, and also assumes that the short run negative effects we have seen this week persist. … Continue reading →

In the European Economic Review. Jack and Alex are going to have to use polite words to work out their differences.  I am not a macroeconomist, so I am not going to spend too much time figuring out for myself … Continue reading →

It’s nice to see a randomized trial of three different techniques for planting tree seedlings.  The locally developed Zaï technique did not fare well.  A similar study is available here.  Time for farmers to change? In the Sahel of Africa, … Continue reading →

Que risque le général Zida ? Il risque deux choses, du point de vue redévabilité de la comptabilité publique il risque d’être poursuivi mise en accusation comme le demande il n’y a longtemps les citoyens. Je pense que si le … Continue reading →

West African Resources issued a press release saying they had found gold at 175m… their share price quadrupled… from .05 to .20…. wish I were an expert in gold mining press releases and knew what to make of it.

Interesting question in the first day of macro.  Maybe a Trump-effect?  First off, immigrants who are legally permitted to work are eligible for unemployment insurance.  Second, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does report unemployment numbers for the total population regardless … Continue reading →

Luther Blissett is an Italian quartet who co-wrote Q in 1999.  I saw a reference somewhere when doing some background reading on Ada Palmer’s Too Like the Lightning.  Maybe an interview with here somewhere, like this one.  Anyway, Q is … Continue reading →

Following the Executive Board’s discussion today, Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair issued the following statement: “Despite challenging internal and external circumstances, Burkina Faso’s performance under the Fund-supported program has remained satisfactory. Although the terrorist attacks posed … Continue reading →

Last week the Supreme Court insulted Puerto Rico by saying its people aren’t sovereign. This week the court added injury to the insult, denying Puerto Rico access to federal bankruptcy laws that would have created a path to recovery for … Continue reading →

It is right in front of Mar Chiquita.  Ruining the most beautiful place on the island. On Tuesday in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Zurab Tsereteli’s huge sculpture of Christopher Columbus was inaugurated.  At 350ft, Birth of a New World is not … Continue reading →

They find GDP tends to grow much faster under Democratic presidents (averaging 4.33% per year) than Republican presidents (averaging 2.54% per year)….The authors find two important factors that might be expected to matter but don’t: fiscal policy and monetary policy. … Continue reading →