The Political Economy Of Hurricane Katrina And Community Rebound

I am excited to inform you that The Political Economy Of Hurricane Katrina And Community Rebound (November 2010, 272 pp, $ 99) featuring the chapter that I co-authored with Dan Rothschild (The Mercatus Center) came out finally. Go ahead and buy it online!
The book is edited by Emily Chamlee-Wright, Elbert H. Neese Professor of Economics, Beloit College and Affiliated Senior Scholar, The Mercatus Center, George Mason University, US and Virgil Henry Storr, Senior Research Fellow and Director, Graduate Student Programs, Mercatus Center, George Mason University and the Don C. Lavoie Fellow, Program in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Department of Economics, George Mason University, US. Contributors include E. Agemy, J. Bleckley, E. Chamlee-Wright, D. D’Amico, J. Hall, S. Horwitz, A. Kashdan, L. Krasnozhon, P. Leeson, A. Martin, E. Norcross, D. Rothschild, P. Runst, E. Schaeffer, D. Skarbek, A. Skriba, R. Sobel, V. Storr

Here is an abstract: In 2005 Hurricane Katrina posed an unprecedented set of challenges to formal and informal systems of disaster response and recovery. Informed by the Virginia School of Political Economy, the contributors to this study critically examine the public policy environment that led to both successes and failures in the post-Katrina disaster response and long-term recovery. Building from this perspective, this book lends critical insight into the nature of the social coordination problems disasters present, the potential for public policy to play a positive role, and the inherent limitations policymakers face in overcoming the myriad challenges that are a product of catastrophic disaster.

Ukraine's First Lady Quotes Mises, Hayek, and Professor Peter J. Boettke!

I would not believe it if I did not read it myself. In the July issue of Ukraine's leading newspaper Pravda,
former first lady, Kateryna Yushchenko, quotes Mises, Hayek and ... my dissertation advisor, Professor Peter J. Boettke. Mrs. Yushchenko wrote her op-ed about free market debate in Ukraine. She makes excellent points.
Here is a link to the original and here is a link to the Google translation. Since the Google translation is not perfect, I just want to clarify it. Mrs. Yushchenko quotes Dr. Boettke drawing analogy of the heavily regulated market economy with the Olympic swimmer in shackles. She quotes Professor Boettke saying that "if you put shackles on legs and hands of the Olympic swimmer, wrap heavy chain around him, and drop him in the swimming pool, he will drown. But you still can't say that he can't swim." Neither you can say about the heavily regulated market economy that free market does not work. Really great op-ed!

The Political Economy of Natural Disaster: from Iceland’s volcanic eruption to USA’s Hurricane Katrina

The recent failure of a centralized government-controlled response to a natural disaster led to a shutdown of the European airspace and thousands of stranded travelers across the world. If you followed the news, you know that a volcanic eruption in Iceland generated clouds of volcanic ash and blocked the airspace between Europe and other regions. You should also notice that the volcanic-transportation crisis also revealed a failure of a centralized European transportation system to deal with any kind of natural disaster effectively. The whole concept of Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based agency that coordinates the European air traffic, has been undermined when European countries started lifting their air travel bans one by one. Thus, Iceland's volcanic eruption reminded us once again the folly of the centralized government control over business activity and its efficiency in responding to the natural disaster. That's why I want to recommend you reading a new book, The Political Economy of Hurricane Katrina and Community Rebound, published by Edward Elgar that focuses on the political economy of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina by critically examining the public policy environment that led to both successes and failures in the post-Katrina disaster response and long-term recovery. Building from a perspective of the Virginia School of Political Economy, this book lends critical insight into the nature of the social coordination problems disasters present, the potential for public policy to play a positive role, and the inherent limitations policy makers face in overcoming the myriad challenges that are a product of catastrophic disaster.

Contributors include a number of distinguished established economists as well as outstanding young economists: E.M. Agemy, J. Bleckley, Emily Chamlee-Wright, Daniel D'Amico, Joshua Hall, Steve Horwitz, Andrew Kashdan, Leo Krasnozhon (humbly yours), Peter T. Leeson, Adam Martin, E. Norcross, Daniel Rothschild, Petrick Runst, Emily Schaeffer, David Skarbek, Anthony Skriba, Russ Sobel, and Virgil Henry Storr.

Can We Explain the Bloody Protests in Kyrgyzstan?

Bakhtiyar Igamberdiev, Assistant Professor from Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul State University, will present his research at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR). Professor Igamberdiev, ICAR Visiting Scholar, is working on his dissertation thesis about the contemporary political economy of Kyrgyzstan. He will speak about current political events in Kyrgyzstan. A topic of his guest lecture, Five Years Since the Tulip Revolution: Economic and Social Policy, Bringing a Bloodier Revolt, is extremely important and timely in a light of the current events in Kyrgyzstan. Professor Igamberdiev will explain the causes of the bloody protests in the former Soviet state. He will show how public policy implemented after the Tulip Revolution lead to a significant deterioration of the socio-economic conditions and public unrest. Professor Igamberdiev will address the most important question: Is there a constructive escape from recent conflict?

I would like to express my deep condolences to the people of Kyrgyzstan. I wish that a conflict will be mitigated very soon without a loss of human lives on both sides of the conflict.

 

From UkraineWatch

My GMU Fellow-Blogger is Under Hacker Attack

As a follow-up on my previous post about InZero invention, here is example of how it's really easy to breach anybody's computer security via the PDF attachment.

in reference to: North Korean Economy Watch » Blog Archive » Someone is not playing nice…. (view on Google Sidewiki)

Finally… a Ph.D.

I am thrilled to inform you all that I have defended my dissertation successfully. My defense ended just a few hours ago. My deepest appreciation to my dissertation committee - Dr. Peter J. Boettke (Chair), Dr. Peter T. Leeson, and Dr. Frederic E. Sautet for their guidance and support in my graduate studies.

This August, I am heading to Texas. I'm joining the Economics Department at the University of Texas in Arlington. I am thrilled about this opportunity and will sadly miss George Mason University which had been my home for the past four years.

    

GMU Economics Student's Journal Becomes Hollywood Movie

In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC, came across the name of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran with 17 years of military service, requested that he be assigned for military escort duty to accompany Chance’s remains to his family in Dubois, Wyoming. Strobl, who is now a PhD student in Mason’s economics program, recently had his journal turned into a movie called “Taking Chance.”

in reference to: Economics Student Strobl's Journal Becomes Hollywood Movie (view on Google Sidewiki)

The 2009 Nobel Prize-winning Economist, Dr. Elinor Ostrom, visits GMU

Yesterday the Mercatus Center at George Mason University hosted an unforgettable evening with Dr. Elinor Ostrom, the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. More than 300 people came to see her and hear about a new book Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development: The Bloomington School written by George Mason University's Professor Peter Boettke and the Mercatus Center's Senior Research Fellow Paul Aligica. I've already blogged about this book. Once again, I strongly recommend you reading this book. And don't forget to read Governing The Commons. Both books provide invaluable insights in the modern understanding of institutional analysis and economic development. These books have so many ideas that can be easily applied to the transitional experience of post-socialist countries. Btw, here is a video from the event.

And on a final note, I just want to show off a page from my copy of Governing The Commons signed by Dr. Ostrom.

From Drop Box

Gift Ideas for Winter Holidays!

Ukrainians say that a good book is the best gift ever. You can gift it to someone or you can always gift it to yourself and later gift it to someone else. J Then a good question will be: "Is there anything to read about Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe?" I can recommend a couple of books for both intellectually stimulating and leisure reading.

Let's start with intellectually stimulating books:

1. Awesome book about History of Ukraine by Orest Subtelny.
   
2. State-Building by Verena Fritz
   
3. Russia's Capitalist Revolution by Anders Aslund
   
4. The Strategy of Campaigning by Skinner, Kudelia, de Mesquita and Condolezza Rice
   
5. How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy by Anders Aslund
   
6. Calculation and Coordination by Peter Boettke
   
7. Media, Democracy, and Freedom by Marta Dyczok
   

Now leisure reading:

1. Always #1 is Everything is Illuminated. Or you can watch a movie. Since I mentioned movies, you should really watch Eastern Promises. This movie is the best foreign depiction of the Russian underworld.
   
2. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. It's very funny.
   

I also recommend reading these books from George Mason University's faculty. These books are not about Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but these books are really good for everyone who interested in understanding economics.

1. Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development by Peter Boettke and Paul Aligica

2. The Invisible Hook by Peter Leeson

3. Media, Development and Institutional Change by Peter Leeson and Chris Coyne

 

If you want to recommend other books, please feel free.

Happy New Year!

Do You Want to Know More about Nobel Prize-winning Economist – Professor Elinor Ostrom?

Your answer must be "Yes, I do". Then you should read this book Challenging Institutional Analysis and Development: The Bloomington School written by George Mason University's Professor Peter Boettke and the Mercatus Center's Senior Research Fellow Paul Aligica.

This book explores the Bloomington School of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) represented by a couple of outstanding scholars – Vincent and Elinor Ostrom. The name of the Bloomington School comes from its geographical location because both Vincent and Elinor Ostrom are associated with the Indiana University at Bloomington. Professor Boettke and Professor Aligica write that the truly distinctive and unique nature of the Bloomington School has been misunderstood because of its association with a mainstream rational-choice research. The Bloomington School has its own style of scientific inquiry that mixes both fundamental economic and political studies with applied research. For instance, Professor Elinor Ostrom's seminal book Governing the Commons shows how a thorough field work can help a scientist in answering the most fundamental economic issues such as coordination, cooperation, and rationality. An innovative approach to a scientific inquiry made the Bloomington School become one of the most dynamic and world-known centers of the New Institutional Theory movement. The Bloomington School of IAD offers not only innovative but also groundbreaking concepts and theory within its broader philosophy of scientific inquiry. That's why Peter Boettke and Paul Aligica focus on the scientific dimensions of the IAD research system. Their book presents a systematic analysis of the Bloomington School by explaining its basic assumptions, its main themes, and its main methodology.

I recommend this book not only to students and social science scholars but also to the international development community. It's a must-read book!