Bring Your Questions for Google Economist Hal Varian

I was already a big fan of Hal Varian‘s columns on everyday economics in the Times when I had the good fortune to meet him at Google headquarters, when Levitt and I were out there a couple of years ago. He was even more impressive in person. Now you have a chance to ask him whatever you’d like.

As Google’s chief economist, Varian brings to the table his trademark assertion that “technology changes — economic laws do not.” A Googler since 2002, he has been involved in many aspects of the company’s growth, including auction design, finance, corporate strategy, and public policy. He has also spent a lot of time in the classroom, serving as a professor and former dean at his alma mater, the University of California-Berkeley, as well as teaching at M.I.T., Stanford, Oxford, and Michigan.

His textbooks, Intermediate Microeconomics and Microeconomic Analysis, are staples in both undergraduate and graduate classrooms. He’s also the co-author of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy.

In his spare time, he serves as a fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Econometric Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and spent three years as co-editor of the American Economic Review.

So post your questions for Varian below, and he’ll respond (as others have) in short course. Thanks to Hal for participating, and to you for asking.

[Note: The answers to these questions can be found here.]