Economics in Action

Photo by Gaetan Lee on Flickr

Each choice that you make as an individual is decided by a society of billions: namely, the billions of neurons that populate your brain. Economics, being the science of choice, has until recently treated the human being as a black box rather than looking inside. That has changed with the advent of neuroeconomics, a branch of science which examines what those cells are doing when people are making choices.

Neuroeconomists have studied blood-flow to find where the brain measures uncertainty; measured hormones in subjects’ saliva and their effect on impulsive decisions; and worn conductive caps to measure brain activity while they make a purchase.

The questions thrown up by neuroeconomics include whether we are really rational, or destined to be biased, and whether it will be possible in the future to read off someone’s preferences with a powerful brain scan. In an article for Slate and a recent programme on BBC Radio 4, Tim Harford discusses the potential power of this emerging discipline.

Tim Harford writes both the ‘Undercover Economist‘ and ‘Dear Economist‘ for the Financial Times.

Matthew Reisz reports in the Times Higher Education about the rebirth of economics, ‘today the “dismal” science of economics is sexy’. Tim Harford and Stephen Levitt are held somewhat responsible for the distinct change in attitude, with simple economics being used to explain anything from ‘rational crime’ to ‘the teenage oral sex craze’.

The publication of The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics compiles contributions from not only 1500 economists but also other fields, a Swedish zoologist for example, supporting the end of ‘dismal’ economics.

Read more: Matthew Reisz (2008) Figure It Out Times Higher Education

In the latest of out podcasts supporting the Royal Economic Society Conference 2008, Romesh Vaitilingam talks to Karl Taylor about how socially active parents choose to be and the effect that can have on their kids.

Parents who are active in various kinds of clubs “from sports to charities, from political parties to religious groups“ may raise the test scores of their children. That is the central finding of new research by Professor Sarah Brown and Dr Karl Taylor presented at the Royal Economic Society’s 2008 annual conference.

The report uses data from the National Child Development Study, which has tracked the lives of a representative sample of the British public born in a single week in 1958. It finds that the test scores of children in reading, mathematics and vocabulary tests are positively related to their parents’ level of social participation.

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We’re pleased to be able to bring to you an online video called “A Double Take on Presentation Skills”, made by a lecturer and her students at Oxford Brookes University. It shows how (and how not) to develop team work and presentation ability in an economics course. Students can pick up some tips, not just about speaking to an audience but also about studying in a university; how you have to know what you’re talking about, but on the other hand you’re encouraged to interpret the ideas your own way, rather than just repeat what’s in the books.

Kudos to Judith Piggott and her students for their bravery in showing how cringe-inducing it is when things can go wrong.

The following is quoted from Andy Ross’ keynote speech at the recent Developments in Economics Education conference in Cambridge. Ross is the Deputy Director of the UK’s Government Economic Service, the largest employer of economists in the country.

“Most of the things that economists do don’t even look like economics: adoption policy; money laundering (detecting!)… The range of topics is truly astonishing. From Becker’s early re-widening of mainstream economics, We now analyse

• Auctions
• Sex and race discrimination
• Sport
• What you can and can’t get on the NHS and why
• Competition and quality of education
• Value of time and even life
• Happiness itself (more…)

In the latest of a series of interviews from the Royal Economic Society Conference 2007, Romesh Vaitilingam talks to James Walker about the pay of UK academics.

Academics are underpaid and overworked compared with other graduate professions and this is likely to have consequences for the quality of UK degrees. That is the conclusion of new research by James Walker and colleagues, presented to the Royal Economic Society’s 2007 annual conference at the University of Warwick. (more…)