Category Archives: Faculty

JAN KMENTA (1928 – 2016): THE LONG JOURNEY FROM HOME AND BACK

Jan Kmenta started and finished his life in Prague.

Still, his life was everything but provincial – shortly before his final days, in one interview he confessed: I spend one third of each year in Australia, one third in Michigan and one third in Prague. I am very lucky.

Continue reading JAN KMENTA (1928 – 2016): THE LONG JOURNEY FROM HOME AND BACK

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Stupid Voters or Stupid Economists?

Observers of the recent Greek referendum, the vote on Scottish independence or the U.S. presidential campaign know that voters often vote based on their emotions rather than on rational thinking. I suggest that this is in large part because professional economists are failing to serve the public well. And as economists, if we want rational outcomes, then we need to redouble our efforts to build economic literacy.

America’s national cynic, H. L. Mencken once said, “When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas…men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion.”

It’s easy to be cynical about democracy, but economists may have a different take on why voters largely vote with their emotions instead of their intellect.  It is not that voters can’t or don’t want to make sensible policy choices – rather, it is that they have little incentive to do so. Continue reading Stupid Voters or Stupid Economists?

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Energy economics: on bread, yetis and Utopia

Are you charged up by change? Do you thrive on uncertainty? Are you turned on by the quirky? Answer yes to all of the above and you might want to delve deeper into the field of energy economics. And with energy security fast becoming a priority on national agendas, there are increasing career opportunities for economists with specialized energy expertise. Continue reading Energy economics: on bread, yetis and Utopia

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CERGE-EI Founder Jan Švejnar wins the 2015 IZA Prize in Labor Economics

The IZA Prize in Labor Economics is widely considered to be the field’s most prestigious award. So we are delighted that the 2015 prize has been awarded to CERGE-EI Founder, Professor Jan Švejnar. He is the latest in a line of distinguished recipients that includes Professors Jacob Mincer, Orley Ashenfelter, David Card, Alan Krueger, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides. Continue reading CERGE-EI Founder Jan Švejnar wins the 2015 IZA Prize in Labor Economics

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