Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
“In defense of ‘micro wealth-transfers'”?
That is our revised title of Richard Cohen’s recent essay in the Washington Post. Here is the gist of Mr Cohen’s argument in defense of tipping: The waiter is my guy for the duration of the meal. He’s my agent. … Continue reading
Final Project (Fall Semester 2015)
Here is our final project for our students this semester.
Noise Complaint Map (NYC Edition)
Check out the level of noise complaints for the Upper East Side. Either that part of town has a lot of noise or a lot of noise complainers. Hat tip: Ana Swanson (via Trulia).
Civil Liability for Research Fraud?
We explore this novel legal question in our most recent work-in-progress titled “The Law & Economics of Research Fraud,” which is available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) here. Our paper sets the stage by reviewing three recent examples … Continue reading
A life in economics (Angus Deaton edition)
The “Nobel Prize” in economics–or the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2015–is perhaps the most prestigious award in all of the social sciences. Previous winners include our intellectual heroes Thomas Schelling, Ronald Coase, and … Continue reading
Bat flips and moral philosophy?
Revised on Oct. 19. When Toronto slugger Jose Bautista crushed a monster “homerun” off the hapless Texas Rangers’ reliever Sam Dyson, Mr Bautista arrogantly chucked his bat to the side before rounding the bases. (The T-shirt pictured below breaks down … Continue reading
The Law & Ethics of Napster
Before Sean Parker discovered Facebook, he had co-founded a company called Napster, a peer-to-peer file-sharing website that allowed users to share MP3 music files with each other (see image below, courtesy of the website “How Stuff Works“). At the time, Napster … Continue reading
An Aviation Thought Experiment (Public Choice Edition)
Hola! We have been invited to speak about a federal law known as “the Jones Act” during today’s “fiscal crisis” panel of the Encuentro Nacional de la Diaspora Puertorriquena. (The “Encuentro Nacional” will take place at El Centro Borinqueno, which … Continue reading
Why won’t Richard Epstein update his priors?
In our previous two posts (part 1 and part 2), we summarized Professor Richard Epstein’s critique of the great F. A. Hayek. It is now time to assess Epstein’s criticisms of Hayek–to critique the critique, so to speak. It pains … Continue reading

