Economic Research Wants to Be Free
The marginal cost of accessing an academic journal article is pretty much zero. The research has been written, the type has been set, and the salaries have already been paid. So the socially optimal price is: free.
The marginal cost of accessing an academic journal article is pretty much zero. The research has been written, the type has been set, and the salaries have already been paid. So the socially optimal price is: free.
Even Nobel Laureate economists suffer from lack of name recognition.
The first time I met Peter Diamond, nearly 20 years ago, I was a prospective student visiting MIT. He was wearing sandals without socks as he taught a graduate class. I remember thinking that was odd. As I sit here in my office, I am wearing sandals without socks. Perhaps Peter Diamond influenced me in ways I never imagined.
I was delighted to see that Peter Diamond shared the Nobel Prize today with two other economists (Mortensen and Pissarides, who I don’t know personally but are very highly respected).
By the time you read this, the Nobel Prize in economics will likely have been awarded, though as I write this, the winners have yet to be announced. A few random thoughts: 1) I guarantee you that the economist(s) who win it will be much better sports than Doris Lessing, who seemed put off that the award had disturbed her . . .