What would you ask Paul Krugman in person?

[Ghent12]

I will likely have the opportunity to hear a lecture by Paul Krugman. Although I am a critic of him, I do believe in the philosophy that thoroughly reviewing an opposing viewpoint is better than living in an echo chamber. That said, and with any luck, I will have the opportunity to pose a question or two for Mr. Krugman. If I have the chance, I would be willing to ask a question or two that any of my fellow iTulipers would like to have answered.

Please keep in mind that I will be unlikely to choose an overtly confrontational question.


So what would you ask Paul Krugman, vicariously through me?

Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Paul Krugman to Deliver Lecture at OU Feb.22

jc/1-27-11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Public Affairs, (405) 325-1701
NORMAN – Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, a New York Times op-ed columnist who is known for speaking the truth as he sees it in the most compelling terms, will discuss the “Current Political and Economic Outlook” at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma Tuesday, Feb. 22. The dinner will be preceded by an informal discussion for students.

“Paul Krugman is not only a leading academic leader and economist, he is also one of the most influential opinion leaders in our country in the area of national economic and social policy,” said OU President David L. Boren.

Described as one of the world’s preeminent economists, Krugman – who also is a professor of economics at Princeton University – is widely known as a passionate and articulate speaker with a gift for analyzing global economic events. A gifted observer and contributor on policy and economics, he is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in the study of increasing returns and a founder of a groundbreaking new theory of international trade. He also is a leader in the field of economic geography – the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the world.

Krugman is the author or editor of more than 20 books, including The Great Unraveling, which was a New York Times bestseller. His International Economics: Theory and Policy, co-authored with Maurice Obstfeld, is a standard college textbook on international economics.

In response to the nation’s current financial crisis, Krugman recently released an updated edition of his 1999 book, The Return of Depression Economics. In this new book, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, Krugman asserts that the current worldwide economic crisis was brought about through several factors, including an increasingly out-of-control financial system, similar to those that caused the Great Depression of the 1930s. He has contributed more than 200 articles in professional journals and edited volumes, also writing on political and economic topics for the general public as well as on topics ranging from income distribution to international economics.

In addition to winning the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2008 for his groundbreaking work on new international trade and new economic geography, Krugman’s work in economics has earned him broad acclaim from the economic press, including Washington Monthly, which called him America’s most important columnist, and Editor and Publisher magazine, which named him columnist of the year. The Research Papers in Economics project ranked him as one of the top 15 most influential economists in the world as of March 2010, based on his academic contributions. He also is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including, in 1991, the John Bates Clark medal for the best American economist under 40, awarded by the American Economic Association.

Krugman earned his bachelor’s degree in 1974 from Yale University and his doctoral degree in 1977 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1982 to 1983, he spent a year working in the Reagan White House as a staff member of the Council of Economic Advisers before launching his career in academia, holding teaching positions at Yale University, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Stanford University before joining the Princeton University faculty in 2000.

Seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with limited overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call the OU Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.

http://www.ou.edu/content/publicaffa...ulKrugman.html

[touchring]

Re: What would you ask Paul Krugman in person?

Paul Krugman is a very smart man, the only problem is that he can't tell you the truth because it will make him look bad for wishing that the poor people in Africa starve.

The fact is, inflation doesn't hit country with wealthy people as much as a developing country. America can print a great deal of money and it will be the emerging markets that get hit instead.

In a global trading world, if your neighbor if more badly hit than you, you win, even if you are hit as well. If they get hit, go into political chaos, factories and businesses go bankrupt, America gets the jobs. This is a zero sum game.

Money printing is a more powerful weapon than than all the nukes in the world.

Food prices can triple from today's levels and Americans will still be doing ok, in fact, costlier food will help to solve the obesity problem. But Africans will be dying by the millions, and the CCP will be dealing with million man riots across cities.

[c1ue]

Re: What would you ask Paul Krugman in person?

I would ask Krugman this: Have you studied the net economic benefits and/or penalties for offshoring, broken down into both domestic and foreign impacts, and inclusive of secondary effects like loss of tax base?

I'd not expect an answer worth anything though. As touchring notes above, being a spokesmodel for the FIRE economy limits your ability to answer questions honestly.

[Ghent12]

Re: What would you ask Paul Krugman in person?

I went, but I didn't get to ask any questions. My seat was on the front row but way to the left and the students in chairs on stage with him blocked the view, so I was never called upon to ask a question.

He is much less partisan and dare I say even less of a collectivist when speaking publicly compared to his usual rants on his blog/opinion page at the NYT. He laid out the usual case for more spending, called the previous stimulus "not enough, but enough to ensure that there won't be any more," and said that his ideological opponents are wrongly afraid of invisible bond vigilantes and wrongly believe in the "confidence fairy," claiming no evidence that increased fiscal responsibility of government is met by increased confidence in the public at large.

Can't say that I agree with much of his positions, but he is a decent orator if a bit 'special' when it comes to presentation.

Also, no mention of a link between Egyptian riots with global warming, but plenty of mentioning of global warming-induced food shortages, proposing a carbon tax and/or cap 'n' trade to raise CO2 emission prices citing the success of SO2 controls in years past. Guess no one told him that CO2 is inherent in all hydrocarbon combustion--a completely unavoidable consequence.