The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, designed to 'defend' marriage from those States that have legalized same sex marriage, is under renewed attacks in the courts. (The Obama administration has indicated that it does not believe the Act is constitutional, so it will not defend it's key provisions, but this doesn't mean that it will die an easy death...)
Mass. leads fight on right to marry
"Massachusetts will once again take center stage in the national debate over same-sex marriage as the state becomes the first to go before a United States appeals court to challenge a federal law that defines marriage as a union only of a man and a woman.
"The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston on Wednesday will hear two cases that challenge the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act: The first is a lawsuit brought by 17 local plaintiffs who say it deprives them of the federal benefits that other married couples receive.
"The second, brought by the state, alleges the Marriage Act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against gay couples when the state’s highest court has already declared their marriages constitutionally protected."
************
Noncitizens Sue Over U.S. Gay Marriage Ban
"Five legally married same-sex couples filed a lawsuit on Monday to challenge the 1996 law that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, arguing that its impact is particularly harsh on couples that include an American citizen and a foreigner.
"The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, was brought by Immigration Equality, a gay rights legal organization that focuses on immigration issues. Same-sex marriage advocates said it was likely to become the most prominent suit seeking to overturn the law, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, based on its effect on gay or lesbian immigrants who want to gain legal residence through marriage to American citizens.
"Under immigration law, a citizen can apply for a foreign spouse to obtain legal permanent residency, with a document known as a green card. Since unlike many other visas, there are no limits on the number of green cards available to spouses of citizens, those applications are among the fastest and most straightforward procedures in the immigration system.
"Under the marriage act, which is called DOMA, federal authorities do not recognize same-sex marriages, even from states that allow them. In recent years, as same-sex marriage became legal in several states, gay and lesbian couples have come forward to say they were facing a painful choice: either deportation for the immigrant or exile to life in a foreign country for the American.
...
"In February 2011, the Obama administration announced that it regarded the central provision of the marriage act as unconstitutionally discriminatory, and said officials would no longer defend it in the courts.
"On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston will hear arguments in the first marriage act case to advance to the appeals level. That case contends that the act is unconstitutional because it denies federal benefits to same-sex couples married in Massachusetts, the first state to make same-sex marriage legal."
"Justice Department officials have said that they will not defend the core provision of the marriage act in that hearing, but will dispute other claims in the case. A conservative legal group appointed by the House of Representatives will argue in favor of the act."
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Market design lecture today
If you're on the Harvard campus this afternoon, perhaps because you are an alum of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and are here for Alumni Day, you could hear me talk about market design at 1:15:
| 1:15-2:45 p.m. |
Symposia I
|
Harvard admissions
Some statistics: Harvard Accepts Record Low of 5.9 Percent to the Class of 2016
"In total, including the 772 students admitted in December in the early action acceptance round, a total of 2,032 initial offers, more than 100 fewer than last year, were extended to applicants. The admit rate for those considered under regular decision, including the 2,838 early action candidates who were deferred to the original round, was 3.8 percent.
...
"Fitzsimmons said in a press release that the return of early action admissions, discontinued at Harvard in 2006 and revived for the Class of 2016, made it more difficult for the admissions office to predict the number of students who will ultimately matriculate. Thus, officers were conservative in the number of students they accepted.
...
"Harvard placed an unspecified number of students on the waitlist, and these students will receive notice of their status later in the spring. Fitzsimmons said that the office expects to admit more waitlisted students than usual this time around, since it was cautious in its initial offers."
"In total, including the 772 students admitted in December in the early action acceptance round, a total of 2,032 initial offers, more than 100 fewer than last year, were extended to applicants. The admit rate for those considered under regular decision, including the 2,838 early action candidates who were deferred to the original round, was 3.8 percent.
...
"Fitzsimmons said in a press release that the return of early action admissions, discontinued at Harvard in 2006 and revived for the Class of 2016, made it more difficult for the admissions office to predict the number of students who will ultimately matriculate. Thus, officers were conservative in the number of students they accepted.
...
"Harvard placed an unspecified number of students on the waitlist, and these students will receive notice of their status later in the spring. Fitzsimmons said that the office expects to admit more waitlisted students than usual this time around, since it was cautious in its initial offers."
Friday, April 13, 2012
Starting a new university
Inside Higher Ed has an article on the Minerva Project, named after the Roman goddess of wisdom, about an attempt to start a new, elite, for-profit university: An Elite University ... From Scratch?
Some of the ideas sound interesting:
"Minerva plans to define elite differently, he said. Its students -- roughly 200 in the first year, planned for 2014, and it hopes many more in later years -- will be selected through a rigorous two-step process based on academic credentials (grades, test scores, essays, etc.) at a first, statistical level and then -- for those who move on -- an interview process focused on testing an applicant's drive, analytical skills and goals.
Some of the ideas sound interesting:
"Minerva plans to define elite differently, he said. Its students -- roughly 200 in the first year, planned for 2014, and it hopes many more in later years -- will be selected through a rigorous two-step process based on academic credentials (grades, test scores, essays, etc.) at a first, statistical level and then -- for those who move on -- an interview process focused on testing an applicant's drive, analytical skills and goals.
"Factors that may help a student get admitted to Princeton or Williams -- athletic skill, alumni connections, money -- won't play any role at Minerva, Nelson said. And because the process won't factor in geography, either, he said he expected that the vast majority of its students will come from outside the United States. "We won't discriminate based on state or country of origin, and the idea that the majority of the smartest English-speaking kids live in the U.S. is absurd," he said. "We're going to have the most racially diverse student body of any elite institution."
"But the real test of its eliteness will come in its curriculum, which Nelson compared to "1950s University of Chicago." It aims to hire top professors to create their own online lectures and course materials, and students will also dig into that material in 25-student interactive seminars led by instructors (Ph.D.s who favor teaching over research, for instance, not grad students). While the formal curriculum will be delivered online, students who choose to will live in dorms in major cities around the world, where they will gain from the same kind of peer encounters that enhance the education at liberal arts and other residential colleges."
"But the real test of its eliteness will come in its curriculum, which Nelson compared to "1950s University of Chicago." It aims to hire top professors to create their own online lectures and course materials, and students will also dig into that material in 25-student interactive seminars led by instructors (Ph.D.s who favor teaching over research, for instance, not grad students). While the formal curriculum will be delivered online, students who choose to will live in dorms in major cities around the world, where they will gain from the same kind of peer encounters that enhance the education at liberal arts and other residential colleges."
*******************
That being said, it's a big task to found a new university, let alone an "elite" one. As I wrote in an earlier post, Rankings of universities: vintages and coordination of expectations, regarding the rankings of American universities:
"the first place goes to the oldest American university, founded in 1636, and spots 2 and 3 go to universities established in 1746 (as the College of New Jersey), and 1701. Two universities that opened more than a century later, in 1861, and 1891 , are tied for 4th place. The two universities tied for 6th are of different vintages, 1891 and 1755, as are the three tied for 8th place, 1754, 1838, and 1892. The top dozen ranks are filled out by universities open for business since 1769, 1855, and 1856.
At number 17, Rice University, opened in 1912, seems to be the highest ranked university on the list to have begun in the 20th century."
That being said, it's a big task to found a new university, let alone an "elite" one. As I wrote in an earlier post, Rankings of universities: vintages and coordination of expectations, regarding the rankings of American universities:
"the first place goes to the oldest American university, founded in 1636, and spots 2 and 3 go to universities established in 1746 (as the College of New Jersey), and 1701. Two universities that opened more than a century later, in 1861, and 1891 , are tied for 4th place. The two universities tied for 6th are of different vintages, 1891 and 1755, as are the three tied for 8th place, 1754, 1838, and 1892. The top dozen ranks are filled out by universities open for business since 1769, 1855, and 1856.
At number 17, Rice University, opened in 1912, seems to be the highest ranked university on the list to have begun in the 20th century."
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Trafficking in Spain's legal prostitution market
A story of crime and human trafficking in Spain's legal market for prostitution, that is scary on many levels: In Spain, Women Enslaved by a Boom in Brothel Tourism
"La Jonquera used to be a quiet border town where truckers rested and the French came looking for a deal on hand-painted pottery and leather goods. But these days, prostitution is big business here, as it is elsewhere in Spain, where it is essentially legal.
"While the rest of Spain’s economy may be struggling, experts say that prostitution — almost all of it involving the ruthless trafficking of foreign women — is booming, exploding into public view in small towns and big cities. The police recently rescued a 19-year-old Romanian woman from traffickers who had tattooed on her wrist a bar code and the amount she still owed them: more than $2,500.
...
"Thirty years ago, virtually all the prostitutes in Spain were Spanish. Now, almost none are. Advocates and police officials say that most of the women are controlled by illegal networks — they are modern-day slaves.
...
"Deputy Inspector Xavier Cortés Camacho, the head of the regional antitrafficking unit in Barcelona, said the Nigerian groups moved women through northern Africa to Spain, and then controlled them by threatening to rape or kill their family members back home.
...
"Some of the women are sold into the business by their families, Mr. Cortés said. The police came across one case in which Colombian traffickers were paying one family $650 a month for their daughter. She managed to escape, he said. But when she contacted her family, they told her to go back or they would send her sister as a replacement."
"La Jonquera used to be a quiet border town where truckers rested and the French came looking for a deal on hand-painted pottery and leather goods. But these days, prostitution is big business here, as it is elsewhere in Spain, where it is essentially legal.
"While the rest of Spain’s economy may be struggling, experts say that prostitution — almost all of it involving the ruthless trafficking of foreign women — is booming, exploding into public view in small towns and big cities. The police recently rescued a 19-year-old Romanian woman from traffickers who had tattooed on her wrist a bar code and the amount she still owed them: more than $2,500.
...
"Thirty years ago, virtually all the prostitutes in Spain were Spanish. Now, almost none are. Advocates and police officials say that most of the women are controlled by illegal networks — they are modern-day slaves.
...
"Deputy Inspector Xavier Cortés Camacho, the head of the regional antitrafficking unit in Barcelona, said the Nigerian groups moved women through northern Africa to Spain, and then controlled them by threatening to rape or kill their family members back home.
...
"Some of the women are sold into the business by their families, Mr. Cortés said. The police came across one case in which Colombian traffickers were paying one family $650 a month for their daughter. She managed to escape, he said. But when she contacted her family, they told her to go back or they would send her sister as a replacement."
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A black market kidney sales dystopia in China
This is the kind of black market that keeps my surgeon colleague Frank Delmonico travelling around the world in an effort to firm up laws (and enforcement of laws) against kidney sales: Five Charged After Chinese Teen Sells Kidney to Buy iPhone
"Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury in the case of a Chinese teenager who sold a kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad, the government-run Xinhua News Agency said on Friday.According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant. He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.
"The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney.
"China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said. Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated."
*********
See related recent posts:
Michael Sandel thinks more transactions should be repugnant
Organ transplants and prisoners in China, revisited
"Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury in the case of a Chinese teenager who sold a kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad, the government-run Xinhua News Agency said on Friday.According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant. He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.
"The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney.
"China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said. Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated."
*********
See related recent posts:
Michael Sandel thinks more transactions should be repugnant
Organ transplants and prisoners in China, revisited
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Organ transplants and prisoners in China, revisited
Once again, China Moves to Stop Transplants of Organs After Executions
"China said on Friday that within three to five years it planned to end the practice of transplanting organs from executed prisoners, a step that would address what for decades has been one of the country’s most criticized human rights issues.
...
"Mr. Huang did not acknowledge any ethical issues involved in taking organs from prisoners. Instead, he raised a medical issue, saying that the rates of fungal and bacterial infection in organs taken from executed inmates were often high, which he said explained why the long-term survival rates of organ transplant recipients in China were consistently below those of other countries.
"Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher in Hong Kong for Human Rights Watch, welcomed the policy announcement, which the rights group has campaigned for since 1994. But he noted that Mr. Huang, who turns 66 this year, is about to retire, along with most of the country’s top political leadership.
"That means the next generation of political leaders and Health Ministry officials will have to deal with the problem of how to obtain enough organ donations voluntarily to offset the country’s heavy dependence on prisoners.
“It’s not clear to me the government is going to have the political will to fulfill this promise,” Mr. Bequelin said."
*********
Here's an earlier post touching on this issue:
Tuesday, December 15, 2009, Kidney transplantation in China
"China said on Friday that within three to five years it planned to end the practice of transplanting organs from executed prisoners, a step that would address what for decades has been one of the country’s most criticized human rights issues.
...
"Mr. Huang did not acknowledge any ethical issues involved in taking organs from prisoners. Instead, he raised a medical issue, saying that the rates of fungal and bacterial infection in organs taken from executed inmates were often high, which he said explained why the long-term survival rates of organ transplant recipients in China were consistently below those of other countries.
"Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher in Hong Kong for Human Rights Watch, welcomed the policy announcement, which the rights group has campaigned for since 1994. But he noted that Mr. Huang, who turns 66 this year, is about to retire, along with most of the country’s top political leadership.
"That means the next generation of political leaders and Health Ministry officials will have to deal with the problem of how to obtain enough organ donations voluntarily to offset the country’s heavy dependence on prisoners.
“It’s not clear to me the government is going to have the political will to fulfill this promise,” Mr. Bequelin said."
*********
Here's an earlier post touching on this issue:
Tuesday, December 15, 2009, Kidney transplantation in China
Monday, April 9, 2012
Kidney donation, illegal immigration, finances
This story has it all, illness, compassion, bureaucracy, money, an illegal immigrant down on his luck and legal ones who have thrived... From Brother to Brother, a Kidney, and a Life
"Angel, the father of two American-born children, is an illegal immigrant. And a maze of conflicting health care and immigration policies meant that while the government would pay for a lifetime of dialysis, costing $75,000 yearly, it would not pay for a $100,000 transplant that would make dialysis unnecessary.*
...
"Angel’s quest for a transplant was chronicled in a Dec. 21 article in The New York Times about a paradox in health care rules. In New York, Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor, covers the cost of dialysis, considering it an emergency measure, regardless of whether the patient is a legal resident of the United States. But while a transplant is far cheaper in the long run, that procedure is covered by Medicare, which does not extend to illegal immigrants.Mount Sinai, one of the world’s leading transplant centers, had originally set the price for the operation at $200,000 in advance, to cover any possible postoperative complications; it lowered that to $150,000, given the youth and health of the brothers, but barred further reductions as a slippery slope to unaffordable demands for uncompensated care.
...
"Mount Sinai, one of the world’s leading transplant centers, had originally set the price for the operation at $200,000 in advance, to cover any possible postoperative complications; it lowered that to $150,000, given the youth and health of the brothers, but barred further reductions as a slippery slope to unaffordable demands for uncompensated care. ... "
“It has nothing to do with legal or illegal,” said Dr. Kim-Schluger, whose mother escaped North Korea as a child and brought the family to the United States via South Korea, British Guyana and Jamaica. She went to Catholic school in New York, married a descendant of Eastern European Jewish immigrants and converted to Judaism. She said Angel was on her mind as she prepared Passover Seder.
“Yes, there are hundreds and hundreds of people like this,” she said. “But this is the one who knocked on our door.”
********
*see previous post: We pay for dialysis but not for transplants...
"Angel, the father of two American-born children, is an illegal immigrant. And a maze of conflicting health care and immigration policies meant that while the government would pay for a lifetime of dialysis, costing $75,000 yearly, it would not pay for a $100,000 transplant that would make dialysis unnecessary.*
...
"Angel’s quest for a transplant was chronicled in a Dec. 21 article in The New York Times about a paradox in health care rules. In New York, Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor, covers the cost of dialysis, considering it an emergency measure, regardless of whether the patient is a legal resident of the United States. But while a transplant is far cheaper in the long run, that procedure is covered by Medicare, which does not extend to illegal immigrants.Mount Sinai, one of the world’s leading transplant centers, had originally set the price for the operation at $200,000 in advance, to cover any possible postoperative complications; it lowered that to $150,000, given the youth and health of the brothers, but barred further reductions as a slippery slope to unaffordable demands for uncompensated care.
...
"Mount Sinai, one of the world’s leading transplant centers, had originally set the price for the operation at $200,000 in advance, to cover any possible postoperative complications; it lowered that to $150,000, given the youth and health of the brothers, but barred further reductions as a slippery slope to unaffordable demands for uncompensated care. ... "
“It has nothing to do with legal or illegal,” said Dr. Kim-Schluger, whose mother escaped North Korea as a child and brought the family to the United States via South Korea, British Guyana and Jamaica. She went to Catholic school in New York, married a descendant of Eastern European Jewish immigrants and converted to Judaism. She said Angel was on her mind as she prepared Passover Seder.
“Yes, there are hundreds and hundreds of people like this,” she said. “But this is the one who knocked on our door.”
********
*see previous post: We pay for dialysis but not for transplants...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Which came first, the dyed Easter chick or the dyed Easter egg
Here's a repugnant transaction I had never heard of, complete with laws passed and repealed...
Nobody Minds Dyeing the Egg, but the Chicken Is Another Story
"Cute as they are, they are not made of marshmallow.
"If only they were, nobody would have a problem with newborn chicks that are dyed in brilliant colors — neon, Fruity Pebbles, pastel, Crayola box — to serve as festive Easter gifts. The dye is either injected in the incubating egg or sprayed on the hatchling, and while poultry farmers say it is harmless, many people object, saying it turns live birds into holiday playthings that are quickly discarded.
"About half the states and a scattering of municipalities have laws against the practice, but in Florida last month, the Legislature passed a bill to overturn a 45-year-old ban on dyeing animals.
...
"The outcry from animal rights groups has been swift.
“Humane societies are overflowing with these animals after Easter every year,” said Don Anthony of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. “This law has protected thousands of animals from neglect and abuse, and it shouldn’t be lifted on the whim of one dog groomer who wants to dye poodles purple.”
"Dyed Easter chicks have been a seasonal staple in parts of the country for generations, though the practice has gone largely underground as society’s tastes have changed.
...
"Easter is on Sunday, and while dyed chicks may show up for sale in various places, they will still be illegal in Florida, since the change would not take effect until July 1. "
HT: Ran Shorrer
Nobody Minds Dyeing the Egg, but the Chicken Is Another Story
"Cute as they are, they are not made of marshmallow.
"If only they were, nobody would have a problem with newborn chicks that are dyed in brilliant colors — neon, Fruity Pebbles, pastel, Crayola box — to serve as festive Easter gifts. The dye is either injected in the incubating egg or sprayed on the hatchling, and while poultry farmers say it is harmless, many people object, saying it turns live birds into holiday playthings that are quickly discarded.
"About half the states and a scattering of municipalities have laws against the practice, but in Florida last month, the Legislature passed a bill to overturn a 45-year-old ban on dyeing animals.
...
"The outcry from animal rights groups has been swift.
“Humane societies are overflowing with these animals after Easter every year,” said Don Anthony of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. “This law has protected thousands of animals from neglect and abuse, and it shouldn’t be lifted on the whim of one dog groomer who wants to dye poodles purple.”
"Dyed Easter chicks have been a seasonal staple in parts of the country for generations, though the practice has gone largely underground as society’s tastes have changed.
...
"Easter is on Sunday, and while dyed chicks may show up for sale in various places, they will still be illegal in Florida, since the change would not take effect until July 1. "
HT: Ran Shorrer
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Michael Sandel thinks more transactions should be repugnant
The Atlantic publishes an essay adapted from his book What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets: What Isn’t for Sale?
He is glad that kidneys can't be bought and sold, and regrets many of the things that can be, because he worries that allowing too broad a scope to markets may undermine the moral fabric of society.
He doesn't mention (but I am reminded of) sumptuary laws that used to enforce the moral fabric by preventing people from wearing clothes above their social station.
********
Update: here's a review published in the April 20 WSJ:
In Economists We Trust: We are a society built on market-based solutions—but should everything have a price?
"Mr. Sandel is also pointing out another seemingly small but quite profound change in society. As recently as a generation ago, economists viewed their job as understanding prices, depressions, unemployment and inflation. It was dismal, but at least it was science. Somewhere along the way they expanded their portfolio to include the whole of human behavior.
...
"Proponents of market morality claim that it imposes no belief system, but that's just a smoke screen. Choosing to place utility maximization at the core of your belief system is no different from choosing any other guiding ideological precept. Every problem has an incentive-based solution; every tension can be resolved by seeking the maximally efficient outcome.
"This is a depressingly reductive view of the human experience. Men will die for God or country, kinship or land. No one ever picked up a rifle and got shot for optimal social utility. Economists cannot account for this basic fact of humanity. Yet they have assumed a role in society that for the past 4,000 years has been held by philosophers and theologians. They have made our lives freer and more efficient. And we are the poorer for it.
He is glad that kidneys can't be bought and sold, and regrets many of the things that can be, because he worries that allowing too broad a scope to markets may undermine the moral fabric of society.
He doesn't mention (but I am reminded of) sumptuary laws that used to enforce the moral fabric by preventing people from wearing clothes above their social station.
********
Update: here's a review published in the April 20 WSJ:
In Economists We Trust: We are a society built on market-based solutions—but should everything have a price?
"Mr. Sandel is also pointing out another seemingly small but quite profound change in society. As recently as a generation ago, economists viewed their job as understanding prices, depressions, unemployment and inflation. It was dismal, but at least it was science. Somewhere along the way they expanded their portfolio to include the whole of human behavior.
...
"Proponents of market morality claim that it imposes no belief system, but that's just a smoke screen. Choosing to place utility maximization at the core of your belief system is no different from choosing any other guiding ideological precept. Every problem has an incentive-based solution; every tension can be resolved by seeking the maximally efficient outcome.
"This is a depressingly reductive view of the human experience. Men will die for God or country, kinship or land. No one ever picked up a rifle and got shot for optimal social utility. Economists cannot account for this basic fact of humanity. Yet they have assumed a role in society that for the past 4,000 years has been held by philosophers and theologians. They have made our lives freer and more efficient. And we are the poorer for it.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Unraveling of law internships in Israel
Haaretz reports:
Law students to apply for internships only from third year: Israel Bar Association's council approved the rules governing job offers for internships, though they still require the justice minister's approval.
"Law students will only be accepted for their internships during the third and next to last year of their studies from now on, the Israel Bar Association's council decided yesterday.
...
"In recent years, law students have started arranging a place for doing their articles as soon as they start their studies, said attorney Orrin Persky, the head of the Bar Association's committee on internships. He explained that this pressure emanated from both the students and the law firms and has created a market failure for finding such posts.
In addition, there are a large number of complaints about students canceling their internship positions, which they had agreed to a year or two earlier.
The new rules would require firms and all other bodies providing internships, such as the State Attorney's Office, to start interviewing no earlier than March 15 of the student's third year for the internship that will start in the following calendar year."
HT: Ran Shorrer
Law students to apply for internships only from third year: Israel Bar Association's council approved the rules governing job offers for internships, though they still require the justice minister's approval.
"Law students will only be accepted for their internships during the third and next to last year of their studies from now on, the Israel Bar Association's council decided yesterday.
...
"In recent years, law students have started arranging a place for doing their articles as soon as they start their studies, said attorney Orrin Persky, the head of the Bar Association's committee on internships. He explained that this pressure emanated from both the students and the law firms and has created a market failure for finding such posts.
In addition, there are a large number of complaints about students canceling their internship positions, which they had agreed to a year or two earlier.
The new rules would require firms and all other bodies providing internships, such as the State Attorney's Office, to start interviewing no earlier than March 15 of the student's third year for the internship that will start in the following calendar year."
HT: Ran Shorrer
Thursday, April 5, 2012
2-Tier Tuition at a community college?
The NY Times reports on what some are finding a repugnant transaction, and others see as the only way to avoid further cuts: 2-Year College, Squeezed, Sets 2-Tier Tuition
"SANTA MONICA, Calif. — For years now, administrators at the community college here have been inundated with woeful tales from students unable to register for the courses they need. Classes they want for essential job training or to fulfill requirements to transfer to four-year universities fill up within hours. ...
"Now, though, Santa Monica College is about to try something novel. This summer it will offer some courses for a higher price, so that students who are eager to get into a particular class can do so if they pay more. ...
"Since 2009, enrollment in California community colleges has fallen by 300,000 students, to 2.6 million, and many believe the difficulty of registering for classes is the most important deterrent.
"For generations, community colleges have been seen as a social equalizer, providing a relatively inexpensive education for poor students, immigrants and others without the skills, grades or money to attend a four-year institution.
"So the two-tiered tuition structure being proposed here is raising eyebrows, and fundamental questions, about the role and obligations of community colleges. Will the policy essentially block some of the people it is designed to benefit? Many students believe the new policy — if the state does not block its implementation, which it could yet do — will unfairly exclude the poorest students and create a kind of upper and lower class of students.
"A financial squeeze since the recession led first to a reduction of federal and then state financing for colleges and universities. Since 2008, California’s community college system has lost $809 million in state aid, including $564 million in the most recent budget, even as more students than ever before try to enroll.
"Currently, each community college class costs $36 per credit hour. Under Santa Monica’s plan, the more expensive courses would cost $180 per credit hour — just enough to cover the college’s costs, Dr. Tsang said.
"While the college is still ironing out the details, it expects to offer about 200 courses at the higher tuition price, in addition to hundreds of regularly priced courses. College officials say that nearly every class is filled to capacity and that they are asking departments to choose which courses have the highest demand so they can offer more of those — typically basic courses in English, writing, math and science.
...
"Janet Harclerode, an English instructor and president of the college’s Academic Senate, said that many professors viewed the new plan as having a “real ick factor,” but that few saw any real alternative. Many instructors have already accepted extra students in their classrooms, even allowing a few to sit on the floor when seats were scarce.
“We hope that this is just a stopgap measure, before taxpayers step up and the state really starts to reinvest in the colleges,” she said."
**********
In the wake of the initial announcement, Chancellor Asks Community College to Hold Off on Tuition Plan
"The chancellor of the California community college system has requested that Santa Monica College hold off on its plan to offer popular courses with higher tuition this summer, saying that the legality of the program is still in question.
"The request came a day after a student protest at the college ended with a campus police officer spraying dozens of people with pepper spray, several of whom suffered minor injuries. Many students and faculty members have criticized the plan saying it violates the long tradition of community colleges as havens for those without the means to afford four-year colleges.
"The chancellor, Jack Scott, had already made it clear that he was wary of the community college’s plan to charge more for some popular classes and said it could violate state education codes. He has asked the state’s attorney general for an opinion, which he expects to receive in the next week."
***********
Update, April 19: Chancellor’s Office Says Santa Monica College’s 2-Tier Pricing Plan Is Illegal
"SANTA MONICA, Calif. — For years now, administrators at the community college here have been inundated with woeful tales from students unable to register for the courses they need. Classes they want for essential job training or to fulfill requirements to transfer to four-year universities fill up within hours. ...
"Now, though, Santa Monica College is about to try something novel. This summer it will offer some courses for a higher price, so that students who are eager to get into a particular class can do so if they pay more. ...
"Since 2009, enrollment in California community colleges has fallen by 300,000 students, to 2.6 million, and many believe the difficulty of registering for classes is the most important deterrent.
"For generations, community colleges have been seen as a social equalizer, providing a relatively inexpensive education for poor students, immigrants and others without the skills, grades or money to attend a four-year institution.
"So the two-tiered tuition structure being proposed here is raising eyebrows, and fundamental questions, about the role and obligations of community colleges. Will the policy essentially block some of the people it is designed to benefit? Many students believe the new policy — if the state does not block its implementation, which it could yet do — will unfairly exclude the poorest students and create a kind of upper and lower class of students.
"A financial squeeze since the recession led first to a reduction of federal and then state financing for colleges and universities. Since 2008, California’s community college system has lost $809 million in state aid, including $564 million in the most recent budget, even as more students than ever before try to enroll.
"Currently, each community college class costs $36 per credit hour. Under Santa Monica’s plan, the more expensive courses would cost $180 per credit hour — just enough to cover the college’s costs, Dr. Tsang said.
"While the college is still ironing out the details, it expects to offer about 200 courses at the higher tuition price, in addition to hundreds of regularly priced courses. College officials say that nearly every class is filled to capacity and that they are asking departments to choose which courses have the highest demand so they can offer more of those — typically basic courses in English, writing, math and science.
...
"Janet Harclerode, an English instructor and president of the college’s Academic Senate, said that many professors viewed the new plan as having a “real ick factor,” but that few saw any real alternative. Many instructors have already accepted extra students in their classrooms, even allowing a few to sit on the floor when seats were scarce.
“We hope that this is just a stopgap measure, before taxpayers step up and the state really starts to reinvest in the colleges,” she said."
**********
In the wake of the initial announcement, Chancellor Asks Community College to Hold Off on Tuition Plan
"The chancellor of the California community college system has requested that Santa Monica College hold off on its plan to offer popular courses with higher tuition this summer, saying that the legality of the program is still in question.
"The request came a day after a student protest at the college ended with a campus police officer spraying dozens of people with pepper spray, several of whom suffered minor injuries. Many students and faculty members have criticized the plan saying it violates the long tradition of community colleges as havens for those without the means to afford four-year colleges.
"The chancellor, Jack Scott, had already made it clear that he was wary of the community college’s plan to charge more for some popular classes and said it could violate state education codes. He has asked the state’s attorney general for an opinion, which he expects to receive in the next week."
***********
Update, April 19: Chancellor’s Office Says Santa Monica College’s 2-Tier Pricing Plan Is Illegal
Contraception as a repugnant transaction (the return of...)
Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has done a lot to put contraception back in the public spotlight. It isn't so long ago that contraception was a prototypical repugnant transaction: something that lots of people wanted to do, but others didn't want them to. The Connecticut law was struck down in the famous Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).Here's an article remembering how contraception became legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts: Catholics and Contraception: Boston, 1965
"Two states had very strong anti-contraception laws on the books in 1965. The Supreme Court was considering the constitutionality of Connecticut’s all-out ban on the use of contraception. In Massachusetts, a state legislative panel was holding an open hearing on a proposal submitted by State Representative Dukakis, a politically ambitious lawyer who had been in office for three years, to remove an 86-year-old bar to the distribution of birth control devices and information.
"It was not the first time in Massachusetts a repeal of the ban had been considered. In 1948, Cushing, then an archbishop, led a public charge against Referendum No. 4, a statewide ballot measure designed to relax the ban on contraception. From the pulpit and on the radio, the Catholic campaign argued that birth control was “still against God’s law.” Cushing defined contraception at the time as “anti-social and anti-patriotic, as well as absolutely immoral.” The campaign was a bitter one. In the end, 57 percent of voters rejected the referendum.
"Cushing had won, but victory came at a cost. “Deployment of the Church’s political muscle,” the historian Leslie Tentler argues, offended non-Catholics in and out of the commonwealth. Four years later, the toll hit home as Cushing confided to a friend, “I hate to think of going through another battle.”
"Even then, Dukakis recalls, “the memory of the ’48 battle was fresh in our minds.” That seems to have been also true for Cushing (now a cardinal). He clearly had a change of heart on the appropriateness of laws like the state’s birth control restrictions, which sought to impose moral behavior at odds with individual conscience. More generally, he had adopted a conciliatory tone. Two days before a fellow Massachusetts Catholic won the first primary of the 1960 presidential campaign, Cushing argued that a Christian must engage in “friendly discussion with those whose views of life and its meaning are different than his own.” The times had changed, and so had he.
...
"When a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe birth control to “any married person” was introduced in the next legislative session — a bill otherwise similar to the one House members had rejected 119–97 the year before — Cushing endorsed it publicly by praising its “safeguards” while reaffirming his position that Catholics did “not seek to impose by law their moral view on other members of society.” This time the bill passed, 136–80. The Senate followed suit, and Volpe signed the amendment to the state’s General Laws on “Crimes against Chastity, Morality, Decency, and Good Order
...
"The solution was not perfect (the Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that limiting contraception to married couples was unconstitutional)..."
"Two states had very strong anti-contraception laws on the books in 1965. The Supreme Court was considering the constitutionality of Connecticut’s all-out ban on the use of contraception. In Massachusetts, a state legislative panel was holding an open hearing on a proposal submitted by State Representative Dukakis, a politically ambitious lawyer who had been in office for three years, to remove an 86-year-old bar to the distribution of birth control devices and information.
"It was not the first time in Massachusetts a repeal of the ban had been considered. In 1948, Cushing, then an archbishop, led a public charge against Referendum No. 4, a statewide ballot measure designed to relax the ban on contraception. From the pulpit and on the radio, the Catholic campaign argued that birth control was “still against God’s law.” Cushing defined contraception at the time as “anti-social and anti-patriotic, as well as absolutely immoral.” The campaign was a bitter one. In the end, 57 percent of voters rejected the referendum.
"Cushing had won, but victory came at a cost. “Deployment of the Church’s political muscle,” the historian Leslie Tentler argues, offended non-Catholics in and out of the commonwealth. Four years later, the toll hit home as Cushing confided to a friend, “I hate to think of going through another battle.”
"Even then, Dukakis recalls, “the memory of the ’48 battle was fresh in our minds.” That seems to have been also true for Cushing (now a cardinal). He clearly had a change of heart on the appropriateness of laws like the state’s birth control restrictions, which sought to impose moral behavior at odds with individual conscience. More generally, he had adopted a conciliatory tone. Two days before a fellow Massachusetts Catholic won the first primary of the 1960 presidential campaign, Cushing argued that a Christian must engage in “friendly discussion with those whose views of life and its meaning are different than his own.” The times had changed, and so had he.
...
"When a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe birth control to “any married person” was introduced in the next legislative session — a bill otherwise similar to the one House members had rejected 119–97 the year before — Cushing endorsed it publicly by praising its “safeguards” while reaffirming his position that Catholics did “not seek to impose by law their moral view on other members of society.” This time the bill passed, 136–80. The Senate followed suit, and Volpe signed the amendment to the state’s General Laws on “Crimes against Chastity, Morality, Decency, and Good Order
...
"The solution was not perfect (the Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that limiting contraception to married couples was unconstitutional)..."
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Prostitution, in Canada and France
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."
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."
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
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Arguments in the press against deceased organ donation
Dick Teresi, the author of a new book called The Undead, has been in the recent press. His argument is related to how we determine if a patient is dead enough to be a deceased organ donor,while still having organs that are alive enough to be donated.
In the WSJ: What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card: Giving away your organs sounds noble, but have doctors blurred the line between life and death?
And in McCleans: Dick Teresi: On the debate over when life really ends, and the possibility cadavers can feel pain
***********
Even if you think this author is alarmist, if we want to make transplantation more available, we have to understand and address the barriers--informational, psychological, esthetic--to becoming a donor. That being said, the comments I've heard on this subject from people at organ procurement organizations suggests that Teresi is indeed alarmist, and that people declared brain dead are adequately tested to make sure they are very dead indeed.
Here are my previous posts on deceased donation.
Update: today's WSJ published a letter in reply, which I reproduce in full below (Thanks for the pointer to Zeeshan Butt at Northwestern):
Dick Teresi's "What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card" (Review, March 10) grossly misinforms the public about both the medical determination of brain death and the organ donation process in the U.S.
First, there has never been a documented case of patient recovery after a properly performed determination of death by neurological criteria. Ever.
Second, the diagnosis of brain death requires extensive neurological examination, irrespective of a patient's organ donor status or the family's support for donation. Electroencephalography is generally no longer used because it's outmoded, not because physicians have something to hide. When donation is an option, the organ recovery agency must verify that all clinical testing has been done and all legal documentation is in the patient's chart.
Organ donation saves lives. Eighteen Americans will die today waiting for a life-saving organ. We hope that Mr. Teresi's misinformed comments do not add to that number.
Tia Powell, M.D.
Director, Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics
Bronx, N.Y
James Zisfein, M.D.
Chief, Division of Neurology
Lincoln Medical Center
Bronx, N.Y.
Helen Irving
President and CEO
New York Organ Donor Network
In the WSJ: What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card: Giving away your organs sounds noble, but have doctors blurred the line between life and death?
And in McCleans: Dick Teresi: On the debate over when life really ends, and the possibility cadavers can feel pain
***********
Even if you think this author is alarmist, if we want to make transplantation more available, we have to understand and address the barriers--informational, psychological, esthetic--to becoming a donor. That being said, the comments I've heard on this subject from people at organ procurement organizations suggests that Teresi is indeed alarmist, and that people declared brain dead are adequately tested to make sure they are very dead indeed.
Here are my previous posts on deceased donation.
Update: today's WSJ published a letter in reply, which I reproduce in full below (Thanks for the pointer to Zeeshan Butt at Northwestern):
Dick Teresi's "What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card" (Review, March 10) grossly misinforms the public about both the medical determination of brain death and the organ donation process in the U.S.
First, there has never been a documented case of patient recovery after a properly performed determination of death by neurological criteria. Ever.
Second, the diagnosis of brain death requires extensive neurological examination, irrespective of a patient's organ donor status or the family's support for donation. Electroencephalography is generally no longer used because it's outmoded, not because physicians have something to hide. When donation is an option, the organ recovery agency must verify that all clinical testing has been done and all legal documentation is in the patient's chart.
Organ donation saves lives. Eighteen Americans will die today waiting for a life-saving organ. We hope that Mr. Teresi's misinformed comments do not add to that number.
Tia Powell, M.D.
Director, Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics
Bronx, N.Y
James Zisfein, M.D.
Chief, Division of Neurology
Lincoln Medical Center
Bronx, N.Y.
Helen Irving
President and CEO
New York Organ Donor Network
Friday, March 16, 2012
SF parking meters
SFPark.org in the NY Times: A Meter So Expensive, It Creates Parking Spots.
Previous posts on congestion pricing and parking generally.
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