links for 2007-07-11

• The Effects of the Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Cuts On the Economy and Revenues - CBPP
• Former Bush Surgeon General Says He Was Muzzled - New York Times
• Results! - Market Failure Solved...Ezra Klein
• The Grand Obstructionist Party - Crooks and Liars
• In Economics Departments, a Growing Will to Debate Fundamental Assumptions - New York Times
• Can’t Sell Your Home? Maybe It’s Priced Too Low - New York Times

Comments

[ndd]

From the NY Times article:

Mr. Blinder said economists must look more closely at the real world instead of modeling it in the lab. “Economics is insufficiently scientific,” he said. “Mathematics may be useful, but mathematics is not scientific. It doesn’t generate refutable hypotheses.”

And that may be the short answer to the question, "Is [neoclassical mathematical] economics science?" Like euclidian geometry, if you plug in a set of numbers, neoclassical economics will always generate an answer. Whether it is an answer that approximates the real world or not, the mathematics alone is incapable of answering. There must be tests against the real world, and occam's razor applied. And as epicycles were to the earth-centered universe, and ether was was 19th century physics, so preferences are the thar'-be-dragons fudge factor zone to neoclassical economics.

[ndd]

Here's an interesting link concerning the benefits of green spaces:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/07/09/biodiversity-and-wellness/

New research in the journal Biology Letters took an interesting approach to studying psychological well-being in green spaces. Benefits of green spaces have long been established but new research in areas like landscaping, architecture and ecopsychology are extending ideas. This study suggests it’s not just access to green space but the species richness of those places that boosts feelings of wellness like reflection, unique identity and emotional attachment to the park.

Researchers in the mid-sized city of Sheffield, England inventoried species in green spaces then conducted interviews with people in them (n = 314) to rate their psychological states and also their perception of biodiversity. They found a positive correlation between the numbers of plant species, perceptions of them, and higher rankings of wellness. There was a small connection with the size of the park, though no strong ties with tree cover or the number of butterflies and birds.

It’s difficult to link direct causality. Questions of people who already feel a connection between certain places and their wellness biasing the samplings, or socio-economics linked to accessing nicer parks, were not addressed. But the correlations are strong.

....[I]mplications for urban planners and landscapers seem clear. Biodiversity benefits humans as well as other species.

Read the full article (subscription required): Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity, Fuller et al., 2007, Biology Letters.