Two stories on the same day last week caught my eye. Here they are, both from the Globe and Mail:
Landmark ruling legalizes brothels in Ontario
"Ontario’s highest court has legalized brothels in a sweeping decision that condemned current prostitution laws for adding to the hazards of a highly dangerous profession."
Strauss-Kahn faces preliminary charges in prostitution case
"Dominique Strauss-Kahn was handed preliminary charges Monday alleging he was involved in a French prostitution ring, his lawyer said. The former International Monetary Fund chief is denying wrongdoing."
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
International Economic Science Association Conference 2012
Here's the announcement (note the April 21 submission deadline):
The Center for Experimental and Social Science (CESS) at the New York University is pleased to host the Economic Science Association Conference New York 2012 on June 21-24 2012. To submit papers or to register, click Submission or Registration, respectively. To find further information, click Location and Accommodation.
The Center for Experimental and Social Science (CESS) at the New York University is pleased to host the Economic Science Association Conference New York 2012 on June 21-24 2012. To submit papers or to register, click Submission or Registration, respectively. To find further information, click Location and Accommodation.
We proudly present our keynote speakers:
- Charles F. Manski (Northwestern)
- Dean S. Karlan (Yale)
Important dates
April 21st: Submit your paper
May 4th: Notification of acceptance & preliminary program
May 10th: Early registration cutoff
June 1st: Late registration cutoff
April 21st: Submit your paper
May 4th: Notification of acceptance & preliminary program
May 10th: Early registration cutoff
June 1st: Late registration cutoff
Fees
Early registration fees are $325/faculty and $225/students by May 10th 2012 deadline
Late registration fees are $425/faculty and $325/students by June 1st 2012 deadline
Early registration fees are $325/faculty and $225/students by May 10th 2012 deadline
Late registration fees are $425/faculty and $325/students by June 1st 2012 deadline
Local organizers
Guillaume Frechette (Frechette@nyu.edu)
Andrew Schotter (andrew.schotter@nyu.edu)
Caroline Madden (caroline.madden@nyu.edu)
Guillaume Frechette (Frechette@nyu.edu)
Andrew Schotter (andrew.schotter@nyu.edu)
Caroline Madden (caroline.madden@nyu.edu)
Sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics
Monday, April 2, 2012
Market design for radio spectrum: new NSF program
Here's an announcement that recently went out from the National Science Foundation:
"Dear Colleagues,
"Dear Colleagues,
"I am writing to you today because of a just published NSF
solicitation with the title “Enhancing Access to the Radio Spectrum (EARS)”
[and a submission deadline of June 14, 2012]. The complete solicitation
can be found here: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503480
.
"The synopsis reads:
“The National Science Foundation's Directorates for
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Engineering (ENG), Computer and
Information Science and Engineering (CISE), and Social, Behavioral, and
Economic Sciences (SBE) are coordinating efforts to identify bold new concepts
with the potential to contribute to significant improvements in the efficiency
of radio spectrum utilization, and in the ability for traditionally underserved
Americans to benefit from current and future wireless-enabled goods and
services. EARS seeks to fund innovative collaborative research that transcends
the traditional boundaries of existing programs, such as research that spans
disciplines covered by two or more of the participating NSF directorates.”
"A number of economists participated in an EARS Workshop here
at the NSF in 2010. The final workshop-report can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/nsf_ears_workshop_2010_final_report.pdf
.
"It is my hope that you could spread the word among
potentially interested social scientists who may want to submit an
interdisciplinary proposal that has social science as its central component.
"According to the solicitation:
“The key research areas of interest to the EARS program
include, but are not limited to, those that impact a wide range of
technologies, applications, and users. Some broad examples and general topic
areas include, but are not
limited to:”
...
- " Security of wireless signals and systems in the
context of spectrum sharing.
-
...
- " Economic models for spectrum resource sharing.
There exists a need for interdisciplinary research in the areas of market and
non-market-based mechanisms for spectrum access and usage to efficiently
organize the sharing of scarce spectrum resources. Examples of research themes
include, but are not limited to, real-time auctions, market design, spectrum
valuation, spectrum management for the home user and managing mixed-rights spectrum.
-
New and novel measurement-based spectrum
management techniques, including agent-based systems, policy-based spectrum
management, local and scalable spectrum management.”
"I would be thankful if you could forward information about
the solicitation to other potentially interested researcher.
"Please feel free to send us any suggestions you may have to
ensure that Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences will be prominently
represented among the EARS proposal submissions."
Michael Reksulak, Ph.D.
Program Director, Economics
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 995
Arlington, VA 22230
Sunday, April 1, 2012
FCC incentive auctions
Here's a good way to begin to design an auction: FCC hires top economists
"As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moves to implement its new authority to sell valuable radio spectrum via incentive auctions, it is seeking advice from a group of economists with expertise in auction design and competition policy.
"The commission has retained a group of prize-winning economists led by Paul Milgrom, the Ely Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University. Milgrom, who is considered one of the foremost thinkers in auction theory and design, helped the FCC create its first spectrum auctions — which have served as a blueprint for similar auctions around the world.
"The commission has retained a group of prize-winning economists led by Paul Milgrom, the Ely Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University. Milgrom, who is considered one of the foremost thinkers in auction theory and design, helped the FCC create its first spectrum auctions — which have served as a blueprint for similar auctions around the world.
"Milgrom will be assisted by Professors Jonathan Levin and Ilya Segal, also of Stanford. Levin chairs the university's economics department, and is a winner of the prestigious John Bates Clark medal, an award for young economists whose winners often go on to win the Nobel Prize in economics. Segal is a recipient of the Compass-Lexecon prize, which is awarded to significant contributors to the understanding and implementation of competition policy.
"The Stanford professors will be joined by Washington, D.C., based Lawrence Ausubel, an auction design expert who teaches at the University of Maryland."
"The Stanford professors will be joined by Washington, D.C., based Lawrence Ausubel, an auction design expert who teaches at the University of Maryland."
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sports agents and the NCAA
Joe Nocera in the NY Times talks about yet another way that professional and college hockey interact differently than do other sports: The Hockey Exemption. Professional agents, it appears, are transparently involved.
"By their mid-teens, good hockey players have the option of joining a Canadian junior league. Once they become eligible for the pro draft at age 19, they have to decide whether to sign with the team that drafts them or go to college. To help guide these decisions, agents often talk to the professional teams that draft their players; they also talk to college coaches."
*****************
In a previous post, I wrote about Hockey: the NHL draft is different
"By their mid-teens, good hockey players have the option of joining a Canadian junior league. Once they become eligible for the pro draft at age 19, they have to decide whether to sign with the team that drafts them or go to college. To help guide these decisions, agents often talk to the professional teams that draft their players; they also talk to college coaches."
*****************
In a previous post, I wrote about Hockey: the NHL draft is different
Friday, March 30, 2012
30 Rock "Kidney Now" song
Live kidney donation, set to music on the small screen, from 30 Rock:
HT: Mike Wheeler
Here's the song:
and here's a bit of the drama...
HT: Mike Wheeler
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Competition among kidney exchanges
I'll be spending today and tomorrow at a "consensus conference" to assess just how much consensus there may be among the different networks presently enabling kidney exchange. Here's a NY Times article on the conference...
Lack of Unified System Hampers Kidney Transplant Efforts
"Many of the most prominent names in the field of kidney transplantation agree that the way to maximize the number of transplants through paired exchanges is to create a single, nationwide registry. That, they note, would vastly expand the pool of potential matches among transplant candidates who have willing but incompatible donors.
"And yet, more than a decade after the first organ swap in the United States, the transplant world remains disjointed, with competing private registries operating with little government oversight or regulation. The federal government started a paired exchange pilot project in late 2010, but it lags far behind nonprofits like the National Kidney Registry in making successful matches."
...
"In late March, a consortium of medical societies plans to hold a “consensus conference” near Washington to begin the search for common principles, and perhaps a common structure.
“Organs should be seen as a national resource,” said the meeting’s organizer, Dr. Sandy Feng, a transplant surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, medical center. “And so we should look for agreed-upon principles to guide practice.”
************
Update: post conference, some political spin run through a well meaning NY Times reporter: Experts Recommend Single Registry to Oversee Kidney Transplant Donations
Lack of Unified System Hampers Kidney Transplant Efforts
"Many of the most prominent names in the field of kidney transplantation agree that the way to maximize the number of transplants through paired exchanges is to create a single, nationwide registry. That, they note, would vastly expand the pool of potential matches among transplant candidates who have willing but incompatible donors.
"And yet, more than a decade after the first organ swap in the United States, the transplant world remains disjointed, with competing private registries operating with little government oversight or regulation. The federal government started a paired exchange pilot project in late 2010, but it lags far behind nonprofits like the National Kidney Registry in making successful matches."
...
"In late March, a consortium of medical societies plans to hold a “consensus conference” near Washington to begin the search for common principles, and perhaps a common structure.
“Organs should be seen as a national resource,” said the meeting’s organizer, Dr. Sandy Feng, a transplant surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, medical center. “And so we should look for agreed-upon principles to guide practice.”
************
Update: post conference, some political spin run through a well meaning NY Times reporter: Experts Recommend Single Registry to Oversee Kidney Transplant Donations
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
New challenges in multi-hospital kidney exchange
Ashlagi, Itai and Alvin E. Roth, "New challenges in multi-hospital kidney exchange," American Economic Review papers and proceedings, May 2012, forthcoming.
Abstract: The growth of kidney exchange presents new challenges for the design of kidney exchange clearinghouses. The players now include directors of transplant centers, who see sets of patient-donor pairs, and can choose to reveal only difficult to match pairs to the clearinghouse, while withholding easy to match pairs to transplant locally. This reduces the number of transplants. We discuss how the incentives for hospitals to enroll all pairs in kidney exchange can be achieved, and how the concentration of hard to match pairs increases the importance of long, non-simultaneous nondirected donor chains
Abstract: The growth of kidney exchange presents new challenges for the design of kidney exchange clearinghouses. The players now include directors of transplant centers, who see sets of patient-donor pairs, and can choose to reveal only difficult to match pairs to the clearinghouse, while withholding easy to match pairs to transplant locally. This reduces the number of transplants. We discuss how the incentives for hospitals to enroll all pairs in kidney exchange can be achieved, and how the concentration of hard to match pairs increases the importance of long, non-simultaneous nondirected donor chains
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Kidney exchange in Britain
David Manlove, who wrote in 2010 about Britain's first 3-way kidney exchange, writes today about work with his former student Gregg O'Malley:
" I thought you might be interested to see a paper that my colleague Dr Gregg O’Malley and I have recently written on our experience of collaborating with NHS Blood and Transplant on their paired and altruistic kidney donation matching scheme. The paper is available in technical report form here: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/publications/paperdetails.cfm?id=9383, and is to appear at SEA 2012 (http://sea2012.labri.fr).
Best regards,
David"
" I thought you might be interested to see a paper that my colleague Dr Gregg O’Malley and I have recently written on our experience of collaborating with NHS Blood and Transplant on their paired and altruistic kidney donation matching scheme. The paper is available in technical report form here: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/publications/paperdetails.cfm?id=9383, and is to appear at SEA 2012 (http://sea2012.labri.fr).
As part of this research, Gregg has created two web
applications for producing optimal solutions to kidney exchange problems.
The first, at http://kidney.optimalmatching.com,
finds a solution that is optimal with respect to the precise criteria involved
in the UK scheme. The second, at http://toolkit.optimalmatching.com,
is capable of accepting alternative optimality criteria (and comparing and
contrasting simultaneously the effect of using different optimality criteria).
Although the web applications were built primarily
with the UK application in mind, we hope that they may be interesting and
useful for those involved in similar matching schemes elsewhere.
Best regards,
David"
Compensation for donors, organ trafficking, and the Declaration of Istanbul
The American Journal of Transplantation publishes an article suggesting that organ trafficking can only be effectively ended by ending the shortage of organs, which will involve careful trials of incentives for donors. It also publishes an editorial disagreeing with this proposal, and saying that enforcement of laws against trafficking depend on a ban on compensation to donors.
The
March 2012 issue of
American Journal
of Transplantation
American Journal
of Transplantation
F. Ambagtsheer and W. Weimar
This personal viewpoint expresses the opinion of the authors on how prohibition of organ trade can be improved. See editorial by Glazier and Delmonico on page 515.
This personal viewpoint expresses the opinion of the authors on how prohibition of organ trade can be improved. See editorial by Glazier and Delmonico on page 515.
A. K. Glazier and F. L. Delmonico
The authors provide a critical response to the viewpoint by Ambagtsheer and Weimar (page 571) regarding the Declaration of Istanbul and its stance toward transplant commercialism, organ trafficking and donation.
The authors provide a critical response to the viewpoint by Ambagtsheer and Weimar (page 571) regarding the Declaration of Istanbul and its stance toward transplant commercialism, organ trafficking and donation.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Uriel G. Rothblum, 1947-2012
 |
| Uri Rothblum in his office at the Technion in 2003 |
Update: there's a website at the Technion where friends can post comments in memoriam.
Joel Klein on school choice
Joel Klein, who was Chancellor of NYC schools when school choice was introduced in New York City high schools, writes in the Daily News: Harness the power of school choice: Competition works in education, too
Of course, details matter: see yesterday's post on an effort that didn't quite work out as planned, in San Francisco. Yesterday's post also has links to some school choice efforts that seem quite promising, however.
Of course, details matter: see yesterday's post on an effort that didn't quite work out as planned, in San Francisco. Yesterday's post also has links to some school choice efforts that seem quite promising, however.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
School choice in San Francisco, reports on first year
I've written before about school choice in San Francisco, and about how Muriel Niederle and Clayton Featherstone led the effort by a group of our colleagues to design a strategy-proof choice algorithm (explained here at a Board meeting in 2010), based on transfer cycles ("top trading cycles" to game theorists...). The school board adopted the plan, but then the staff of the school district decided to implement it themselves, without making the details public. Fast forward to 2012, when the first children have been assigned by the new plan.
Rachel Norton's blog has a post about it here: They're out! School Assignment Letter 2012, and an earlier one here, with a link to a March 5, 2012 SFUSD report on Student Assignment. As in the previous SFUSD reports, this does not describe the choice algorithm, it only describes the "tie breakers" that are used whenever the algorithm would otherwise try to assign more students to a school than it has room for.
This outraged Stan Goldberg (who reports about SF schools as "Senior Dad"), and he posted a video about the lack of transparency called Assignment System Fraud?
He must be an influential guy, because this prompted SFUSD to post some new information, including this "fact sheet" dated March 23, called How does the student assignment computer program work? It still doesn't come close to explaining the actual algorithm they use, but it does include a diagram of "transfer cycles."
Which raises a question. If they in fact implemented the plan we proposed and the Board adopted, you would think they would want to make this clear. The benefits of a strategy-proof assignment procedure can only be realized if parents know that they can safely list their true preferences.
On the other hand, if the algorithm isn't correctly implemented, or if some other assignment algorithm is implemented (whether or not it includes some use of transfer cycles) then it would most likely not be strategy-proof, that is, it might not be safe for parents to reveal their true preferences, and it might be in the interest of some to "game the system" in some way. That might account for a desire to keep the algorithm secret. (So might a desire to avoid revealing any inadvertent mistakes in implementation...)
I should say that SFUSD's brief description of their algorithm doesn't look to me like it describes one that is strategy-proof...:(On the contrary, it looks like it might be patched together from something like Boston's old immediate acceptance algorithm followed by some trading...but then again, it isn't a complete enough description to make me confident that it is a description of whatever they are in fact doing...)
Anyway, one point of this post is to say that, unlike the case of the systems in New York and Boston and the work that IIPSC is doing around the country, my colleagues and I don't know what algorithm SFUSD is using, even though we know what we proposed and the Board adopted. So...this post is a bit like the ads that sometimes appeared in the financial sections of newspapers when I was young, which, following a divorce, would announce that Mr John Doe was henceforth no longer responsible for any debts incurred by the former Mrs John Doe...
Rachel Norton's blog has a post about it here: They're out! School Assignment Letter 2012, and an earlier one here, with a link to a March 5, 2012 SFUSD report on Student Assignment. As in the previous SFUSD reports, this does not describe the choice algorithm, it only describes the "tie breakers" that are used whenever the algorithm would otherwise try to assign more students to a school than it has room for.
This outraged Stan Goldberg (who reports about SF schools as "Senior Dad"), and he posted a video about the lack of transparency called Assignment System Fraud?
He must be an influential guy, because this prompted SFUSD to post some new information, including this "fact sheet" dated March 23, called How does the student assignment computer program work? It still doesn't come close to explaining the actual algorithm they use, but it does include a diagram of "transfer cycles."
Which raises a question. If they in fact implemented the plan we proposed and the Board adopted, you would think they would want to make this clear. The benefits of a strategy-proof assignment procedure can only be realized if parents know that they can safely list their true preferences.
On the other hand, if the algorithm isn't correctly implemented, or if some other assignment algorithm is implemented (whether or not it includes some use of transfer cycles) then it would most likely not be strategy-proof, that is, it might not be safe for parents to reveal their true preferences, and it might be in the interest of some to "game the system" in some way. That might account for a desire to keep the algorithm secret. (So might a desire to avoid revealing any inadvertent mistakes in implementation...)
I should say that SFUSD's brief description of their algorithm doesn't look to me like it describes one that is strategy-proof...:(On the contrary, it looks like it might be patched together from something like Boston's old immediate acceptance algorithm followed by some trading...but then again, it isn't a complete enough description to make me confident that it is a description of whatever they are in fact doing...)
Anyway, one point of this post is to say that, unlike the case of the systems in New York and Boston and the work that IIPSC is doing around the country, my colleagues and I don't know what algorithm SFUSD is using, even though we know what we proposed and the Board adopted. So...this post is a bit like the ads that sometimes appeared in the financial sections of newspapers when I was young, which, following a divorce, would announce that Mr John Doe was henceforth no longer responsible for any debts incurred by the former Mrs John Doe...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Greyhound racing: a repugnant transaction with shifting coalitions
Lots of animal lovers find dog races a repugnant transaction, and it has faced ballot measures and bans.
As you would expect, firms that ran dog races opposed such bans. But that is changing, as dog races become less profitable. However, what keeps them in business is that laws were passed allowing dog racing venues to offer other kinds of gambling, and these are profitable. But, as the NY Times recently reported, to keep the licences for the other, profitable kinds of gambling, "even though the races are losing millions of dollars each year, the owners are required to keep the greyhounds running six days a week."
Read the full story (and weep) here: Greyhound Races Face Extinction at the Hands of Casinos They Fostered
As you would expect, firms that ran dog races opposed such bans. But that is changing, as dog races become less profitable. However, what keeps them in business is that laws were passed allowing dog racing venues to offer other kinds of gambling, and these are profitable. But, as the NY Times recently reported, to keep the licences for the other, profitable kinds of gambling, "even though the races are losing millions of dollars each year, the owners are required to keep the greyhounds running six days a week."
Read the full story (and weep) here: Greyhound Races Face Extinction at the Hands of Casinos They Fostered
Friday, March 23, 2012
Bid for a liquor store in Washington State, or for all of them
The State of Washington is auctioning off all 167 state owned liquor stores, in an auction running through March and April. It is what used to be called an "entirety auction," a simple kind of combinatorial or package bidding auction that allows both bids on individual stores, and bids on the package of all 167.
Here's the auction page of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, here's the online auction site itself, and here's an information page.
"Bids may be placed on one or multiple stores. There will also be an option for a bidder to make a single offer on the entire store network. This would secure the exclusive rights associated with all 167 state store locations. This simultaneous auction approach accomplishes multiple objectives. It lends itself to small entrepreneurs as well as larger entities that may have interest in this unique business opportunity. Additionally, it optimizes the opportunity to obtain maximum reasonable value for the assets being sold. Finally, the simultaneous approach allows for this to be completed within the tight timelines that were required by law."
Bid responsibly.
Here's the auction page of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, here's the online auction site itself, and here's an information page.
"Bids may be placed on one or multiple stores. There will also be an option for a bidder to make a single offer on the entire store network. This would secure the exclusive rights associated with all 167 state store locations. This simultaneous auction approach accomplishes multiple objectives. It lends itself to small entrepreneurs as well as larger entities that may have interest in this unique business opportunity. Additionally, it optimizes the opportunity to obtain maximum reasonable value for the assets being sold. Finally, the simultaneous approach allows for this to be completed within the tight timelines that were required by law."
Bid responsibly.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
School Choice as a national goal
Both the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal report on a report from the Council on Foreign Relations that emphasize the importance of school choice.
The NY Times: Panel Says Schools’ Failings Could Threaten Economy and National Security
"The panel made three main recommendations:
The NY Times: Panel Says Schools’ Failings Could Threaten Economy and National Security
"The panel made three main recommendations:
¶ Common Core standards should be adopted and expanded
to include science, technology and foreign languages.
¶ Students, especially those in poor schools, should
have more choices in where they go to school.
¶ Governors, working with the federal government,
should develop a national security readiness audit, to judge whether schools are
meeting targets."
********
The WSJ: School Reform's Establishment Turn: The Council on Foreign Relations endorses choice and competition.
"But the real story is how much progress the reform movement has made when pillars of the establishment are willing to endorse a choice movement that would have been too controversial even a few years ago."
************
From the vantage point of the work we're doing with school districts around the country at the Institute for Innovation in Public School Choice (IIPSC), I would have to say that the cutting edge is combining charter and regular district-administered schools in one system, as in Denver (and underway in Chicago)
********
The WSJ: School Reform's Establishment Turn: The Council on Foreign Relations endorses choice and competition.
"But the real story is how much progress the reform movement has made when pillars of the establishment are willing to endorse a choice movement that would have been too controversial even a few years ago."
************
From the vantage point of the work we're doing with school districts around the country at the Institute for Innovation in Public School Choice (IIPSC), I would have to say that the cutting edge is combining charter and regular district-administered schools in one system, as in Denver (and underway in Chicago)
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Dual career job search in Southern California
Some institutions are developing to reflect the increased number of two-career couples on the job market. Here's one source of articles, links to university career services with connections to couples, and some job announcements:
HERC: Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
"HERC member institutions understand that employment decisions often involve two careers.
Get help with your dual career search by registering for job alerts and linking your profile with your spouse/partner."
HT: Alan Benson
HERC: Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
"HERC member institutions understand that employment decisions often involve two careers.
Get help with your dual career search by registering for job alerts and linking your profile with your spouse/partner."
HT: Alan Benson
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Kidney exchange, satirical Onion video and an HBS case study
Recently my HBS colleagues taught a case study on kidney exchange called Kidney Matchmakers (featuring Mike Rees at the Alliance for Paired Donation).
They debated whether to also show this satirical video from The Onion (but good taste prevailed and they decided not to): Anonymous Philanthropist Donates 200 Human Kidneys To Hospital
They debated whether to also show this satirical video from The Onion (but good taste prevailed and they decided not to): Anonymous Philanthropist Donates 200 Human Kidneys To Hospital
Monday, March 19, 2012
Economics job market scramble opens March 21, 2012
Here's the announcement:
The 2012 Job Economics Job Market Scramble registration will open on March 21, 2012.
March 21-28: Registration Period.
March 30-April 10: Scramble Website will open for viewing by registered participants only.
April 11: Scramble Viewing will close.
See the Scramble Guide for more detailed information.
Verified registrants received an email on April 1st with instructions for viewing the prospective Employer and Candidate lists.
Occasionally prospective employers of new Ph.D. economists exhaust their candidates before hiring someone during the winter/spring "job market" period. Similarly, new economics Ph.D.s seeking a job sometimes find that all of the prospective employers with whom they have interviewed have hired someone else before they have secured an appointment.
To address these problems, the AEA has established a "Job Market Scramble" web site to facilitate communication between employers and job seekers in late spring. In March, employers that continue to have an open position previously listed in Job Openings for Economists (JOE) may post a short notice of its availability (with a link to the JOE listing). Similarly, new or recent economics Ph.D. job seekers still looking for a position may post a short announcement of their continued availability, with a link to their application materials (C.V., papers, references). The web site will open for viewing to those who have listed a position or availability soon after listings close. There is no charge for the "Job Market Scramble."
See the Scramble Guide for more detailed information.
Economics Job Market "Scramble" for new Ph.D.s
The 2012 Job Economics Job Market Scramble registration will open on March 21, 2012.
March 21-28: Registration Period.
March 30-April 10: Scramble Website will open for viewing by registered participants only.
April 11: Scramble Viewing will close.
See the Scramble Guide for more detailed information.
Verified registrants received an email on April 1st with instructions for viewing the prospective Employer and Candidate lists.
Brief Description:
Occasionally prospective employers of new Ph.D. economists exhaust their candidates before hiring someone during the winter/spring "job market" period. Similarly, new economics Ph.D.s seeking a job sometimes find that all of the prospective employers with whom they have interviewed have hired someone else before they have secured an appointment.
To address these problems, the AEA has established a "Job Market Scramble" web site to facilitate communication between employers and job seekers in late spring. In March, employers that continue to have an open position previously listed in Job Openings for Economists (JOE) may post a short notice of its availability (with a link to the JOE listing). Similarly, new or recent economics Ph.D. job seekers still looking for a position may post a short announcement of their continued availability, with a link to their application materials (C.V., papers, references). The web site will open for viewing to those who have listed a position or availability soon after listings close. There is no charge for the "Job Market Scramble."
See the Scramble Guide for more detailed information.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The market for hitmen
If two men who have just met discuss a contract killing in a bar, there's an excellent chance that at least one of them is employed in some branch of law enforcement. So you would think that a website offering to match buyers and sellers in this market wouldn't have a lot of customers, but it appears from some recent court cases that you are overestimating the sophistication of internet shoppers. Here's a recent story from the LA Times. Apparently the proprietor of the site wasn't content to act as a matchmaker, he tried to play both sides of the market by selling hits and then contacting the intended victims and offering to be bought off. But it appears that the demand side was real, and some of them are serving time too...
Website matches targets and hit man
"The case began with a website called HitmanForHire.net. The designer thought it was a joke, but the FBI and Irish police soon learned that Essam Ahmed Eid, a Las Vegas poker dealer, was in business."
************
In another twist, the domain name http://hitmanforhire.net/ has been acquired by someone who apparently hopes to make a movie about the case, and from the look of it thinks it might be a comedy:.
HT: Scott Cunningham, who keeps an economist's eye on the dark side
Website matches targets and hit man
"The case began with a website called HitmanForHire.net. The designer thought it was a joke, but the FBI and Irish police soon learned that Essam Ahmed Eid, a Las Vegas poker dealer, was in business."
************
In another twist, the domain name http://hitmanforhire.net/ has been acquired by someone who apparently hopes to make a movie about the case, and from the look of it thinks it might be a comedy:.
HT: Scott Cunningham, who keeps an economist's eye on the dark side
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
