Barro on Unions

Robert doesn't like them.  An excerpt:

There is evidence that right-to-work laws—or, more broadly, the pro-business policies offered by right-to-work states—matter for economic growth. In research published in 2000, economist Thomas Holmes of the University of Minnesota compared counties close to the border between states with and without right-to-work laws (thereby holding constant an array of factors related to geography and climate). He found that the cumulative growth of employment in manufacturing (the traditional area of union strength prior to the rise of public-employee unions) in the right-to-work states was 26 percentage points greater than that in the non-right-to-work states.

big butt baby pants for boys

It is high time I joined the sewing for boys fun this month, don't you think?  Over the weekend I made four pairs of toddler-sized Big Butt Baby Pants - one for Oscar, and three for some of our best NYC pals.

I posted a few months ago how much I like this pattern (from Made by Rae), but I think I love it ten times more on a toddler.  Oscar is a fan, too.  Do you like his breakfast spot?  He likes to perch high on a stool and eat his waffles on the dishwasher.  We are the picture of safety over here.

(fabric - Heather Ross, Mendocino collection)

 

I was even able to stretch the pattern to fit a slim 4-year old by adding several inches to the hemline.  I cut the rest of the pattern to the normal 2T size and it is still a perfect fit.

(fabric - Riley Blake, Wheels collection)

 

Ok, this next pair is for a girl ... but the point is, this is a great pattern!

 (fabric - Lizzy House, Red Letter Day collection)

Also, I bought a box of gorgeous ranunculus this weekend to plant in our window boxes, despite the fact that I am a notorious plant-killer.  Here's hoping I can remember to water them this go round!

L Letterpress Winner

Thank you for entering last week's giveaway!

Congratulations to lucky winner #803, Sarah, who said, "I love making custom invites to our birthday and holiday parties, so this would be SO COOL!!  Thanks for such a great giveaway!"

You are going to l.o.v.e. the L Letterpress system!  Thanks to Lifestyle Crafts for providing such an exciting prize. 

An Econ Conference for Undergrads

Conferences for econ profs are too common to mention here, but conferences for undergrads are more rare.  So let me call attention this conference at Georgetown. Application deadline is just a couple weeks away.

Empiricists versus Theorists

Christy Romer on the monetary policy debate.

baby ballerina slippers

So ... I am in a creative funk this week.  I even left my sewing studio time an hour early last night because I just didn't feel like sewing.  I can't believe I just typed that.

Anyway, here are some baby shoes I sewed for Ruby recently using the Angelina Ballerina pattern from Sweet Pea Patterns.  I have bought several pdf patterns from that etsy shop, and they always come out great.

I'm off to browse the Celebrate the Boy flickr group and get inspired for a boy project.  If that can't get me going, I'm not sure what will!

MIT Symposium

A few weeks ago, I spoke at an MIT symposium along with several other macroeoconomists (some of whom you will surely recognize).  If you have a spare couple of hours, you can watch it here.  I start at about 1:05.

Tax Fact of the Day

"The U.S. effective corporate tax rate on new investment was 34.6 percent in 2010, which was the highest rate in the OECD and the fifth-highest rate among 83 countries. The average OECD rate was 18.6 percent, and the average rate for 83 countries was 17.7 percent."

Source.

"facebook" birthday photo wall

My sweet husband had a birthday over the weekend.  He isn't into big parties, doesn't eat dessert, and generally buys himself the things he wants these days, so finding the right way to celebrate can be hard.

One thing Jared does love is friends and family.  So I asked them all to email me a photo of themselves holding a happy birthday sign, had the pictures printed in a large size, and stuck them all up on the wall in the middle of the night.

Jared woke up to a birthday greeting from everyone he loves.  I wasn't thinking about it as I put it together, but Jared commented that it was like a real, live Facebook wall!  Kind of fun, especially since he is not on Facebook.

For my family photos, I made some fun little party hats using the template at Oh Happy Day.  I glued some pretty papers to plain white cardstock before cutting them out with the template.  Very easy and festive!

Econ Summer Camp

Grad students with an interest in the history of economic thought might want to consider this summer program.

Update: Here is a summer program for undergrads.

Tax Fact of the Day

"The worst place to die is New Jersey with a combined effective estate and inheritance tax rate of 54.1%."

Source.

L Letterpress Giveaway (CLOSED)

Remember my fun new toy?  Would you like to have one, too?

I am so excited for this giveaway because you can't imagine the fun I've been having with this simple machine.

The L Letterpress by Lifestyle Crafts is really easy to use - Just place your printing plates, apply the ink with a brayer, close the lid, run it through the Epic die-cut machine and ...

 out pops beautifully letterpressed stationery!

Of course, I couldn't resist making something for Oscar, too.  Who says toddlers can't enjoy a little letterpress?  I used a circle die-cut to cut lots of little discs and then letterpressed them with numbers and flowers to make a number matching game.

Each disc is two pieces of letterpress paper, glued together with paper mod-podge, so they are nice and sturdy.  Oscar calls them his "coins" and carries them around like little treasures.  So far it is the only bit of "mama's paper" that I let his usually sticky fingers come anywhere near, so he is pretty excited.

Check out the Lifestyle Crafts website and blog for tons of creative ideas for using the L Letterpress system.

So ... you want one, right?  One lucky winner will receive a prize valued at over $250:

• The Epic Combo Kit
• 2 Letterpress Inks
• Letterpress paper and envelopes
• 2 additional printing plates

This giveaway is now CLOSED.  Thanks for entering!

If you would love to win, visit the Lifestyle Crafts website and leave a comment on this post by midnight (PST), Friday, February 25th telling me your favorite project or how you would use the combo kit.


Giveaway Rules:  

• Only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s).
• Contact information must be provided.  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must include an email address on your comments.  Anonymous comments will be deleted. 
• One winner will be selected via random.org and announced on February 28th. 
• This giveaway is available to U.S. readers only (so sorry international friends!)

Gita Gopinath

A profile of my Harvard colleague.

The Ec10-mobile is dead!

Over the past decade, Harvard students have seen me tooling around campus in my light blue 2002 BMW 3-series with the Ec 10  license plate.  How I loved that car!  But sadly, it is now gone. 

On Friday evening, as I was driving straight through an intersection, a 17-year old driver in an SUV heading the opposite direction made a left turn right in front of me.  We crashed head-on.  Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the car is most likely beyond repair. :(

Is the Fed printing money?

Yes and no.  Jim Hamilton explains.

Reinhardt on Trade

Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt has some observations about free trade, picking up where I left off in my recent Times column.

making wall art using vinyl - two ways

As a renter, I'm always looking for temporary ways to add color to my apartment.  In the past, I've even pasted fabric to the wall.  The easiest solution, though, is just to add some bright artwork.  I love taking blank canvases from the craft or art supply store and making something unique. 

I'm not a great artist, so using vinyl has really stepped up my homemade artwork.  For these blue prints, I cut the vinyl design (using my Silhouette) and applied it to a blank white canvas to use like a reverse stencil.  Then I painted right over the top of it.  When the paint was mostly dry, but still a little tacky, I peeled the vinyl away, leaving the white space underneath.  The edges of the canvas were painted brown to add a bit of contrast.

 I propped the pair up on top of a bookshelf to add a pop of color to an otherwise boring corner.

For this dandelion, I cut the vinyl and applied it to the canvas once again.  And that was it!  Talk about easy.  I also cut strips of vinyl and adhered them to the edges of the canvas to give it another dark border.

Check out my past posts to see canvases I covered in tissue paper, and another set I painted for Oscar's nursery.

Pin It

President Obama's Budget

Via Keith Hennessey (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

I heart Santa Barbara onesie

Ruby likes to wear her heart on her onesie, and we are madly in love with Santa Barbara.

I used the ol' Silhouette to make these onesies with the Heat Transfer material.  It is fantastic, and yes, it holds up well in the wash.

Coming up on the blog ... home dec projects.  I've been working on artwork and new pillows and stuff.  Fun!

Ed Glaeser on The Daily Show

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Edward Glaeser
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Death by Price Control

Chapter 7 of my favorite textbook has a case study about whether there should be a market for kidneys. A similar issue is now making its way through the U.S. court system.

Smog-Eating Roof Tiles

Here is a cute example of a positive externality:

A California company is selling a “smog-eating” concrete tile roof that it says neutralizes the nitrogen oxides spewed by automobiles.

Boral Roofing says each year, one of its concrete tile roofs on a typical 2,000-square-foot house can break down the same amount of nitrogen oxides as a car’s engine typically produces during 10,800 miles of driving.

When sunlight hits the roof, it activates titanium dioxide, which breaks down the nitrogen oxides in the air into oxygen and nitrates, the company say. The tiles’ smog-fighting ability was proved in extensive laboratory testing and field studies conducted by a European Union consortium of academic and industry experts from 2002 to 2006.

The tile adds about $800 to the cost of the average 2,000-square-foot house.

Question for class discussion: What should government policy be regarding these new roof tiles?

happy valentine's day!

I hope you feel loved today!

(spoils of the church cookie party)

Over the weekend I whipped up some easy flower hair clips for some of my favorite church ladies, made with the same fabric I used for last week's Party Skirt.  I've recieved a lot of questions about that fabric, but sorry to say, I'm not sure what it is.  That fabric is from my mother-in-law's stash - it feels like a heavy linen-ish cotton, but I'm pretty sure she bought it many years ago.  It has been great for valentine projects!  :)

[

p.s. how excited are you that Celebrate the Boy is starting again tomorrow over at Made and Made by Rae?!  I've been looking forward to all the delicious boy-themed projects all winter.  It has been a little too pink around here lately, don't you think?

The new edition is here!

The 6th edition of my favorite textbook has now rolled off the presses.  You can buy at it Amazon here. (Amazon appears not to have it in stock just yet, but it should very soon.) If you are an instructor considering it for one of your courses, you can get information about the new edition by contacting John Carey.

Just in time for Valentine's day.  Order it now, and you can tell your Valentine that the world's best economics textbook is on its way!

The Case against "Winning the Future"

Click here to read my column in Sunday's NY Times.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

In this article, Allen Sanderson, who teaches introductory economics at the University of Chicago (using my favorite textbook, of course), takes on the political rhetoric about job creation.

my new toy: the L Letterpress

Are you a fan of letterpress stationery?  Me too.  I love the look, the texture ... it just feels luxurious.  This week I've been playing with the L Letterpress combo system from Lifestyle Crafts and it is kind of rocking my world.

The L Letterpress is actually a plastic system that you run through a die cut machine to simultaneously ink and deboss the paper, which creates the look and feel of real letterpress.  I love that this system gives the at-home crafter the opportunity to experiment with letterpress - you don't need a studio, or a 1,000 pound machine (although that sounds dreamy, too).   While it won't replace the ancient method, it sure is a lot of fun.  You can learn a little more about the L Letterpress by watching these demo videos.

Last night I devoted the evening to my tube of pink ink and made lots of valentines.  For this first card, I did a blind deboss (no ink) for the words "I" and "you" using the Scholastic Plate.  I also pressed some matching envelopes with my last initial on the back flap.

 I used the Blossom printing plate to create this all-over blink debossed card, and a die cut to add the love tag (the word love comes from the Twigs and Sprigs printing plate).

More love cards ...

And finally, a little something for Ruby's wall.  Now I just need to find a frame.

Can you tell I love that Blossom all over print?  It is one of my favorites.  I also can't wait to get my hands on the new plates that have just been released - the Botanical and Wooden printing plates are calling my name.  And don't get me started on the custom plates.   I see glorious Homemade by Jill letterpress in my future.

If you want to get in on the letterpressing fun, Lifestyle Crafts is offering you a 20% discount using the online code: LC2011BLOG02.  The code is valid through Friday, February 18.

Check out The L Blog for more eye candy and inspiration.

A Portrait

From The Pixelite

valentine cookie bags

Tonight I am having a little Valentine activity with the ladies at church.  We are decorating heart shape cookies and making these little cookie bags to go with them.  Nice and simple.

The bags are just a white lunch sack that is punched along the top using a Martha Stewart scalloped edge punch (decorative scissors would work, too).

I cut the tags on my Silhouette.  It is a two piece tag that I designed myself (although, I'm being liberal with the word "designed" - the software is so easy to use). If you want a copy of the files, just email me!  homemadebyjill@gmail.com

Do you love my background today?  I have a new craft tool.  :)  It is fun, easy to use, and makes beautiful things.  Check back tomorrow and I'll show you more.

In other news, I was diagnosed with shingles yesterday.  Boo hoo for me.  I am accepting all forms of pity.  :)  Pray for me that it will pass quickly?  Thanks.

Incentivizing Customers to Monitor Workers

A blog reader sends in this photo, taken in a souvenir shop in Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Economics Video Contest

The St. Louis Fed is running a video contest on the importance of an independent central bank.  Winner gets a free lunch with Ron Paul.

Actually, $1,000.

Update: If fiscal rather than monetary policy is your thing, check out this video contest.

On Comparative Advantage, Imperfect Markets, and Boston Weather

Seth Gitter asks, very sensibly, why did I spend time shoveling snow from my own roof a few days ago, rather than relying on the invisible hand to do it for me?  Shoveling is, after all, not my comparative advantage. 

His speculation is right: I could not immediately find someone else to do it.  Everyone my wife and I called had a queue of roof work to do.  (Question for class discussion: Why didn't the price rise to clear the market?)  Eventually, however, we did get to the front of the queue, so I could get off the roof and return to teaching and writing.  But not before the huge ice dams pulled down a gutter on one side of my house.

By the way, as I look out the window right now, it is snowing again.  Anyone know of any job openings for middle-aged economists in warm climates?  Maui would be nice.

A Behavioral Econ Business Plan

Chapter 22 of my favorite textbook includes a discussion of behavioral economics, and ec 10 students enjoy a guest lecture on the topic by David Laibson.  This article describes how some recent Harvard students are using the ideas of behavioral economics to design a better type of gym membership.

sewing for me

We had a pretty slow weekend for crafting at my house - Jared sucked me into a new tv show (the British "Downton Abbey"), so we were camped out on the couch.  It was wonderfully lazy.

I did sew this skirt for myself last week, using the Party Skirt Tutorial at Creative Spaces.  The directions are very easy to follow, and the only changes I made were to sew two side seams and sew the sash into the waistband.   It turned out really cute!  I should sew for myself more often.

The State of U.S. Manufacturing

A nice piece by Jeff Jacoby.

The Lucky Break of Rent Control

For those instructors teaching about the economics of rent control (Chapter 6 of my favorite textbook) or the Coase Theorem (Chapter 10), this article about buyouts of rent stabilized tenants should generate a good class discussion.

The Jobs Report

One for My Photo Album

From last week's conference at MIT:

Photo by Dominick Reuter for MIT

Update: One of my Harvard colleagues suggests a caption contest and proposes the first two entries.  Readers should feel free to email me others, and I will add them to the list.  My favorite in in bold.

1. "He really is a socialist!"
2. "I'm thinking of writing a principles text."
3. "Freshmen really are a faster study than Presidents."
4. "Goolsbee wanted me to ask you how to adjust the lumbar support on his office chair."
5. "Buy GE."
6. "I voted for Obama."
7. "Your tie hasn't matched my outfit this well since your wedding."
8. "CDO's were my idea...."
9. CR: "Lend me twenty bucks for cab fare home."  GM:"I'll give you 15. You can model the other 5."
10. "I'm sorry, Greg, but I just don't think Brad wants to be friends."
11. "'Mr. President,' I said, 'if I were you, I wouldn't sign this thing into a law'. 'Really? Then I won't sign it!', he answered." Christina Romer tells her dream of how she stopped the President from signing the Healthcare Bill.
12. “I was wondering, Greg, where does that bottled water fit in your ten principles?”
13. "Water or diamonds, Greg?"
14. "I'm going green. I use cap-less bottles now and assume away the spills!"
15. "Greg, hasn't the government increased taxes enough to prevent you from attending these conferences?"
16. "I understand what you're saying, but let me show you the supply side of things."
17. “And then I told him WTF doesn’t stand for Win the Future.”
18. "Really, snow on your roof?  We don't get that in Berkeley."
19. "Seriously, the weather in Boston is not REALLY that bad. So, the job swap is still on?"
20. "I wish we had hired you to explain our policies in plain English.  Instead, Paul Krugman is the closest thing we have to a spokesman."

The two paths to success

The recent WSJ article on the supposedly Chinese style of parenting has generated a lot of interesting discussion. The most amusing commentary comes from The Last Psychiatrist, who also points out that Amy Chua, the "Chinese" mother, was actually born in America. There were also claims that the WSJ misrepresented her views, which may or may not be true, but is ultimately irrelevant since it's the ideas that are being debated.

Here's the part of the article that interests me:

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up. But if done properly, the Chinese strategy produces a virtuous circle. Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something -- whether it's math, piano, pitching or ballet -- he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun. This in turn makes it easier for the parent to get the child to work even more.

She has two main points here: 1) Learning is not fun and 2) It's important to make kids dependent on praise and admiration.

One of the problems I've faced throughout life is that I'm kind of lazy, or maybe I lack will power or discipline or something. Either way, it's very difficult for me to do anything that I don't feel like doing. If I try to force it, my energy disappears, and I hate life. Furthermore, not only were my parents not Chinese, but they had five kids, so there wasn't time for Amy Chua's style of parenting. I kind of had to figure it out on my own.

My strategy can be reduced to two rules: 1) Find a way to make it fun and 2) If that fails, find a way to do something else.

For example, I didn't really like school, and I especially hated homework, so I turned it into a game to see how little time and effort I could possibly waste on it while still getting "good enough" grades. I barely made it into the top 10% of my public high school class, so I probably wouldn't be accepted into whatever college Amy Chua has picked out for her kids, but I find that I really don't care. Instead, I went to a "good enough" college, slept through most of my classes, then got a "good enough" job after graduation. Meanwhile, I taught myself how to program and build all kinds of things, which to me was much more fun than school.

I'm not going to claim that my approach is superior to Amy Chua's, or that it will work for everyone, but I do think it provides an interesting contrast.

Amy Chua's approach is based on extrinsic motivation. Children must do exactly what they are told to do, and they must not be happy unless an external authority gives them praise and admiration. They must learn that their own internal motivations and judgement are worthless and not to be trusted. They are successful when an external authority, such as an Ivy League school, tells them that they are successful.

The extrinsic path to success is to focus on being the person you are told to be, and put all of your energy and drive into fitting that mold.

The approach I stumbled into is based on intrinsic motivation. To the greatest extent possible, do whatever is most fun, interesting, and personally rewarding (and not evil). External constraints, such as the need to go to school or make money are simply obstacles to be hacked. Be skeptical of external authorities, as they are often manipulating you for their own benefit, or for the benefit of the institutions they represent (often unknowingly, as they were already captured by the same systems which are attempted to ensnare you). Your identity comes from within -- external recognition such as degrees and awards are only of tactical importance -- don't allow them to define who you are.

The intrinsic path to success is to focus on being the person that you are, and put all of your energy and drive into being the best possible version of yourself.

Of course this leads to the question, "What is success?" Someone who spent his life working 80 hour weeks, living in hotels, and fighting his way up the corporate ladder to become VP of toilet paper marketing would probably consider himself more successful than a sandwich shop owner who spends his nights and weekends playing with his kids and working on hobby projects, but maybe the sandwich shop owner would be happier and healthier. Ultimately, it is up to each person to decide what success means to them, but I think it's important that everyone be mindful of the decision they are making. 

It's often said that people become entrepreneurs because they can't handle a regular job. Perhaps these people are simply too "defective" to fit into any mold, or maybe they lack the extrinsic motivation necessary to care about bosses, performance reviews, and other things which are so important for success in the corporate environment. However, what they do have is the creativity and natural sense of direction necessary to run their own business. I doubt that this is a coincidence.

As explained in this TED talk by Dan Pink, extrinsic motivation is a great way to get people to do boring and repetitive tasks, but it actually harms performance on more creative tasks. Creativity is a surprisingly fragile thing. It comes from deep inside, and external concerns (most especially, "What will people think?") seem to scare it away. But that's a topic for another time.

Of course, intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation isn't a completely black and white distinction, and we probably can't survive entirely on one or the other (I aim for 90% intrinsic). I also doubt it's possible to simply "switch" from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. It's a skill like anything else. It takes time to find your internal voice, learn when to trust it, and stop fearing outside opinion (closely related: ego-fear).

Amy Chua's book was about parenting. Her style is based on extrinsic motivation. How do we raise successful, intrinsically motivated children? I'm sure someone will leave book recommendations in the comments -- Alfie Kohn comes to mind. However, I suspect that one of the most important factors is how we live our own lives. If we demonstrate that work and creativity can actually be fun and enjoyable, that at least sets an example. If we first solve the puzzle for ourselves, we have a better chance of helping others to find their answer.

Donald Marron on Tax Reform

Some very sensible congressional testimony.

Moral Hazard

With the tremendous amount of snow we have had lately, my roof has started to develop some ice dams.  So a little while ago, I climbed out onto the roof to shovel off as much snow as I could.  The conversation as I exited through the window went something like this:

My wife: Be careful.

Me: I will.

My wife: It's slippery out there.  I don't want you to fall.

Me: Well, remember that I have a lot of life insurance.

My wife: Ha. Ha.

Me: But I don't have nearly as much disability insurance.  So if I do have an accident, make sure the fall kills me.

Fix the Economy, Win $15,000

The Hamilton Project is running a contest for good economic policy ideas.

baby shower cookies

It's been a few years since I've broke out the old onesie cookie cutter.  I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy decorating sugar cookies (despite hours of icing turning my hand into a decrepit, arthritic claw).  For my friend's baby shower, I stuck to the classic white onesie because she doesn't know her baby's gender.

The Blonde Designs Blog has a really good cream cheese sugar cookie recipe. It is tasty and holds its shape really well while baking.  I used  Wilton's Royal Icing recipe using meringue powder for the icing.  The basic recipe is the perfect consistency for piping, and you can add a little extra water to make "flow" icing, which spreads nice and smooth for the base.

Yum! Or so I heard.  I'm still temporarily gluten-free, so I couldn't even eat one.  How sad is that?