Per Your Request

Is it time to call it quits? Or just taking a break?

2008-11-29T10:19:00.001-05:00

I think this blog has come to an end. Ill keep it up just in case I get back in the mood of blogging, but I just don't seem to have the time to blog anymore.

My Blog Type

2008-11-19T11:46:00.002-05:00

According to http://www.typealyzer.com/ this is my blog type. I really dont agree with the "..enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters." for those that know me, they will agree that I am very risk averse.

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and
problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generelly prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

The Mac is Back!

2008-11-04T11:16:00.002-05:00

No Im not referring to McCain. Im talking about ME!
Had to take a bit of a break.....Life plans changed.....Had to adjust to my new life.
Well go out and Vote....Barack the Vote! If he wins, Im going Streaking! Yeap right through the quad!

I'm Here

2008-06-25T12:08:00.003-04:00

Arrived on Monday night. Still in a bit of a haze, but trying to get back into the Omani swing of things. I do plan on updating later on, but for right now, Wow! 2.5 years have brought alot of change.

The Countdown Begins

2008-06-15T08:19:00.000-04:00

In exactly a week, I will be heading to the airport so that I can begin my 25 hour journey back to Oman. It’s been two and a half years since I was there last, and its about time I head back. This time around, I will be spending six weeks in Oman, by far the longest stay I have had since 2000. It’s exciting, and a bit nerve wrecking!
My Arabic has suffered in the past couple of years. I barely use it when I talk to my parents, and I am in desperate need of practice. I am sure it’s just like riding a bicycle, but honestly it’s a upsetting. The other day, I tried to have a conversation entirely in Arabic without use of any “Arabish”. Sadly it lasted for two sentences. I know, embarrassing! Luckily I get there on a Monday night and will have time to brush up before the weekend family gatherings.
I am not sure what to pack; I have a lot of gym/beach wear but not enough of daily wear. I am banking on wearing dishdashes, however I need to get them tailored (how long does that take anyways)! If you run into a guy wearing Gym clothes out in public venues, please stop by and say hi to me.
I am excited to see all the family and friends. I can’t wait!

Tagged!

2008-06-09T17:19:00.004-04:00

I was tagged a while back by undercoverdragon. I think its a neat tag so here it goes:

The task:
1Pick up the nearest book.
2 Open to page 123.
3 Locate the fifth sentence.
4 Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing...
5 Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged me. (everyone has been tagged already so nevermind......what about Degoat?)

"....God he missed her.
He was sixty-four years old. He had another ten years left, maybe fifteen; how was he going to live for so many year without her?"

This is from The Sound of Language by Amulya Malladi.
Undercoverdragon, sorry but your guess is wrong, its not a textbook. A week earlier and you would have been correct.

Choose Your Campaign Volunteers Wisely!

2008-05-19T15:51:00.001-04:00

Alternative Title: Shut Up!

Tomorrow, May 20th, is Kentucky’s primary election. Although I cant vote, my phone has not stopped ringing today. I have listened to volunteers from both campaigns, and when possible engaged them in a discussion (only Obama Volunteers). Throughout the day a couple of things have become evident. First, I should not answer the phone anymore since I need to get some studying done. The Second, and which is more pertinent to tomorrows decision, is that Obama volunteers know me better.

If campaign volunteers are a representation of the candidate then you should vote for Obama. Obama Volunteers (which I will refer to as Obamateers from now on) took the time to ask my name, were engaging, asked if I intend on voting tomorrow, and even though I couldn’t , they asked if I would be willing to volunteer to take people to the polls. A typical conversation, lasted 1-3 minutes, and ended with a good bye.

On the other hand, Clintonteers never said hi, never asked who they were talking to, and began talking as if I am obliged to listen to them. The introduced themselves and their campaign affiliation, and proceed to talk about why Hillary is great. Once they were done, they hung up! Your probably assuming that the message was prerecorded and mass transmitted, which is a great assumption because that’s what I thought initially too. However, after a couple of these phone calls I thought I would check, so I ran a test.

Me: Hello

Clintonteer: Hi this is X a volunteer with senator Clinton…..

Me: Hello

Clintonteer: Hello

Me: hey, whos this

Clintonteer: Hi this is X a volunteer with senator Clinton…..

Me: Aha

Clintonteer: Blah, blah…Hillary is ….Blah Blah…Hillary is…

Me: Aha

Clintonteer is now confused because I wont stop saying “aha”, but continues to talk over me to
get her message out. She continues and once finished hangs up without saying bye.

What I’m sure about is that If I could vote, I would surely NOT vote for Hillary. Her volunteers have indicated to me that she will talk over everybody while in office, she will say what she has to say and totally disregard what everyone else says (let alone thinks). I know her campaign is trying to get in touch with as many people as possible, but how effective are their efforts? Anybody ever hear the phrase “quality not quantity”?

I’m turning my phone off now, and going back to studying.

I Am So Stimulated

2008-05-13T13:43:00.004-04:00

Thank you for the $300 check! Im not sure if you know this but Im not going to help out the economy by increasing my consumption. I dont plan to spend a dime, nickle or even a penny of this new found wealth. The plan is to save it, that means no new consumption on my part. I feel bad that my actions will limit the multiplier effect, but at the same time I need to increase the money in my emergency fund. However, when saving my money I will reduce the liquidity crunch by increasing the funds available to borrowers in the form of loans.

Field Exams

2008-05-09T09:28:00.001-04:00

Another semester has ended, but the studying hasn’t. I took a couple of days off, then began studying for my field exam in Industrial Organization, which is scheduled for June 2nd and 4th. I have 25 days to get things done, 2 semesters of materials, and ohhh about 100 or so articles to read and know. Needless to say it is going to be busy. Certainly I don’t want a repeat of last year’s issues, the goal is to take this exam just once.
I have decided to skip teaching this summer and instead I will make it back to the “mothaland”. Its been 6 or 7 years since I have been in Oman during the summer time. I guess I will have a chance to work on getting my tan back! Seriously though, it will be good to see everyone and get to spend some quality time with family.
That’s about it for right now, I don’t see myself updating this thing during this upcoming month. If I come across some great IO paper that I want to discuss, I might share it with you guys.

To all the Mothers out there, happy mothers day.

Finals Week

2008-04-28T06:13:00.003-04:00

As you may have realized, its been hectic here. I Had to wrap up a couple of papers, and now Im getting ready to start finals week.
I get done on Oaks Day (the day before the Kentucky Derby), or in another words this Firday.

Missing Another Thunder

2008-04-12T14:24:00.006-04:00

Today is Thunder Over Louisville (wiki- Here), the beginning of the Kentucky Derby celebration. As an Undergrad, and back in my high school days, I never missed a "Thunder" weekend. However, the past two years I have planned on attending only to change my plans in the last minute.

"Thunder I promise, next year you will not be stood up. I hope you understand...no, no, really its not you, its me! I just have too much to do, and if I come downtown to see you, I wont be able to give you the attention you deserve. I really do miss you, I might try to get a glimpse of you on TV. However, my 17 inch tv wont do your beauty any justice. I would have watched you on the big screen, but you might recall the storm that went through on Thursday night, well I think it caused an electric surge and my TV no longer works. I have to go back to studying now, but trust me, I plan on being there next year. Take care tonight....Love you too."

Im such a Nerd!

The Law of Unintended Consequences

2008-03-25T19:48:00.005-04:00

The law of unintended consequences states that given an actions there are outcomes that were initially unintended (either positive or negative). Two situations which have recently come up is the Daylight Saving Time policy change, and the use of CFL bulbs to reduce Global Warming.
The DST policy consequence I did not expect, however I have argued that I refuse to use CFL bulbs on the basis that they SAVE the world. Nonetheless, I do use them because I believe they save me money and time since I don't have to change them as often. Regardless of my intention, Now I have to worry about my mercury overdose. Below is some information about DST, and CFL bulbs.

The great thing is that if you break a CFL bulb (which I have done) the EPA provides you with an easy 11 step clean up process (Which I did not do). Link

It's official: Daylight Saving Time is a bust. Designed (and recently extended)
as a measure to save energy in a period of inflated electricity prices, an in-depth University of California study has now shown that DST doesn't save anyone any money at all. In fact, it's costing consumers extra, to the tune of $3.19 in extra utility bills per year.
The study was made possible because of the peculiarities of the state of Indiana, which was only partially on DST until 2006. When the whole state finally went DST (to sync with the national business day), some comparisons vs. the prior method were made apparent. The study calculated that the shift costs Indiana residents an
extra $8.6 million in electricity bills in total. Why? Shouldn't they be, well, saving daylight -- and burning fewer light bulbs? They are, said the study. But while lighting bills were reduced, air-conditioning units had to run more often, because people were home on hot afternoons when they'd otherwise be still at the office. Heaters had to be run on cool mornings, too, when people got up and it was still dark outside.
Professor Matthew Kitchen, who pioneered the study, noted, "I've never had a paper with such a clear and unambiguous finding as this."

From here, I couldn't find the actual study.

The Environmental Protection Agency and some large business, including Wal-Mart, are aggressively promoting the sale of compact fluorescent light bulbs as a way to save energy and fight global warming. They want Americans to buy many millions of them over the coming years.
But the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a neurotoxin, and the companies and federal government haven't comeup with effective ways to get Americans to recycle them.

Link to article here

It is Really Dismal!

2008-03-22T08:05:00.004-04:00

First of all I believe that every undergrad has to have at least the intro classes to Micro and Macroeconomics. That way I would feel comfortable that policy makers, businessmen(women), and regular "folk" have some sort of an idea of whats happening around them. However there comes a point when you might know too much, and economics does turn dismal!
Price controls, bailouts, and the current state of the economy are all worriesome.

Coffee shop talk-Macroeconomics Edition

2008-03-18T18:44:00.003-04:00

My students are currently learning about the Quantity Theory of Money. Basically they are learning that inflation occurs when the Money supply grows faster than the growth in GDP. To help them understand some of the bad policies which are usually implemented during hyperinflation and specifically in the case of Zimbabwe, I have handed out some articles like this one. President Mugabe calls for wage increases and price controls, creating more inflation, and shortages!
Friedman said it best “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomena”. Sometimes choosing the difficult route in the short run and controlling the money supply can do wonders for Long run Stability.
On this side of the pond, the Federal Reserve reminds us that it is the lender of last resort. Saving Bear and Stearns from insolvency and restoring some confidence in the banking sector. Regardless of what Moral Hazard issues this may have created, the current economic state could not have survived anymore bad news and the Feds had to take action. Today, the Federal Reserve floods the market with dollars by cutting the fed funds rate 75 basis points. While most of us are focusing on this liquidity crisis, some of us noticed that the inflation figure last month was 4% higher than this time last year. Sometime around October, we will get to figuring out how to control inflation but for the mean time banks need dollars.

Snow Pics

2008-03-10T13:40:00.008-04:00

Snow pics, and a picture of Pups trying to find his bathroom!

Server busy

2008-03-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

Im trying to upload pictures of the snow but I keep on getting a busy server msg. Ill try again later on.

"Spring Break"

2008-03-08T05:13:00.004-05:00

On Thursday I wrapped up my midterms and began my "Spring Break". I pictured a week of warm days and outdoor workouts. Up till Thursday Night the weather had been in the 50-70 range so I had no reason to think my week off would be any different. After my Midterm on Thursday I drove to Louisville, and on Friday Morning at around 7 it began to snow. Its Saturday morning and it has not stopped snowing yet and there is about 8-10 inches on the ground. The good thing is that I love winter, the bad part is that Louisville, and Lexington for that matter, do not know how do deal with that much snow. So I wont be driving around. I will take a walk later on and take some pictures of the "good stuff"and probably post it here.

Things I plan on doing while being snowed in.....
Watch the University of Louisville/ Georgetown Game at 12pm. The winner of the game wins the Big East regular season Title.
Watch a movie (any movie it doesnt really matter). Thank god for OnDemand!
Cook Dinner
The goal is to stay away from Economics till Monday Morning, I need the break!

Recently I have been listening to Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool". I have really enjoyed the substance behind his lyrics. Songs like ....actually this might be the first album in a long time that I can say its good from start to finish! Wow.
Also in the area of music, John Mayer's latest album Continuum is currently on my playlist. Also highly recommended.

Finally, another thing keeping me busy these days is the clip below. I just cant get enough of it. I hope you enjoy it. Ear Impaxion..lol. His "Varm it" clip is also a classic.

Thoughts

2008-02-29T15:45:00.003-05:00

I miss having a life, talking to people (other than Econs), and being able to say I have friends!

2 hr delay at UK

2008-02-14T07:28:00.004-05:00

This is yesterdays view from the north entrance of Gatton College of Business and Economics (University of Kentucky). It snowed on Tuesday, a snow-ice slush mix, which was fine. However overnight, the slush froze, and it snowed more. Walking to school was funny! Think Bambi first trying to walk.
UK did a great job clearing off the sidewalks on campus, however getting to campus was the issue. I had to walk up N. Limestone, and for one block it was a sheet of ice. I almost turned back and called it a day.
The weather forecast is for some more snow this weekend.

Wage Increases in Oman

2008-02-11T21:01:00.000-05:00

According to Gulf Base the recent wage increases will create inflationary pressure . Economic theory suggests, that increases in wages which are not associated with productivity increases will create an increase in the pricelevel. Marios Maratheftis summarized it well by saying "Inflation is created when too much money chases too few goods, and raising salaries will exacerbate that problem in Oman,".

However, I think this last wage increase was constructed mostly to curb the increasing income inequality. Inflation is a concern, especially since Nov 07 figures suggest 7.6% increase in prices. However, critical to long term stability is the gap between the top earners and the lowest earners. This new wage increase is regressive in nature, and will work well in reviving the middle class.

The inflation issues in Oman are due to the value of imports. The peg to the dollar has increased the cost of european/Asian imports as the dollar continues to depreciate. Since depegging is a not a good move, it may be necessary to revalue the Rial against the dollar. A revaluation would have reduced the price of goods in Oman, and consequently increased the real wage.

Undercover Dragon has a good post on this topic.

Yes We Can-Song

2008-02-07T11:14:00.001-05:00

The media has contributed the increase in political interest to the writers strike. The other day as I was listening to NPR, a guest on the show discussed the affect of the strike on his family's entertainment selections. He observed that his family has gravitated towards the political debates and presidential campaigns as a substitute for family TV shows on strike.
I, on the other hand, believe that the American public has become aware of what their choices mean. Other than the Iraq war, I think President Bush’s legacy will be that he got people to care about politics and VOTE.

A Way Out!

2008-01-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

Cant pay your mortgage, Burn Your House! Click the link for the article

Obama '08

2008-01-27T09:02:00.000-05:00

param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-iVAPH_EcmQ&rel=1">

Im excited about Feb 5th.
I hope the debates on January 31st are not as "catty" as the last one.
I hope Hillary Clinton realizes that having Bill Clinton increasingly vocal is beginning to overshadow her campaign. The novelty of his speeches has diminished, and now seems desperate. PLUS, he seems to be getting tired of the campaigning!

On the republican side Im hoping Romney pulls it off. Im Getting Tired of McCain Calling me his friend! Lets count how many times he says it on January 30th.

I belong

2008-01-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

In an economics PhD Program that is! Although I had devoted my entire Christmas break to studying, on the day of the exam I was uncertain and left the prelim feeling unsettled. The results of the exam would not be available for another two weeks, which meant that for two weeks I thought of back up plans. If I don’t pass then Im going to do….., or…..!
Yeah, no good ideas really! All I remember is wanting to be an Econ PhD when I grew up, and I don’t think I managed to come up with a sensible alternate plan.

Luckily, I passed and I don’t have to deviate from my path. This June I have to take a field exam and hopefully it will be a one time shot.

Oh The weather Outside is Frightful

2007-12-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

....Not really, but I have been listening to Christmas songs on the radio! Its actually in the 50's here today, far from winter weather.
Im not sure if I am the only one to notice, but it seems like establishments have tried to produce the "holiday feel" alittle early this year. Usually Tree's and lights go up right after thanksgiving but this year I noticed some places with holiday decoration right after Halloween....hummm!
I'm not complaining I actually love the commercialization of Christmas; in fact I do my part to celebrate. What I celebrate is seeing families spend time together, increased consumption of food, and most importantly the utilization of debt. Seriously though, Im serious about enjoying seeing people appreciate their families. I like picturing people bundled up walking in through the front door to a room filled with loved ones. Snow flakes fall off their jackets as they put them up. Brandy and eggnog fragrant the air! Green and red lights wrapped around a tree, with an endless clutter of gifts under it. Christmass!
Who said Americans dont have culture?!

This Christmas break, I will be studying for my retake of the macro prelim. I had intended on traveling to Oman and spending quality time with my parents. However, I get to study for three weeks to take an exam that I can not fail again. Im still not sure how I managed to do that the first time….but that’s not important Im going to let it go! On a positive note, this semester is over on the 14th. Ill take that weekend off as a break- maybe the Kite Runner will actually premier this time.

Im telling you all this because Im not sure if Ill ever get the chance to update again this year. I apologize to Suburban for slacking off!
I wish you a Merry Christmas, , Hanukkah, Kwanza, eid embarak and a happy New Year

Pack Up your Bags Kids, Our Lease Expired.

2007-09-29T18:21:00.000-04:00

As most of you in Oman have heard, or might have even cheered about, Rent increases have been capped at 15% per two years. I first heard about it from Muscati’s post, and recently did a blog search to see what people think this cap is actually going to do. Most seem to be under the impression that property rent will not increase by more than 7.5% per year.

I will agree, under the assumption that supply of housing increases drastically within the next year and property owners cant/ don’t want to increase rents.

Let’s really think about this! So you decide to rent a property, the owner say here lets sign a lease for one year. Your excited, you found a great flat and you know that you signed a lease for a year and when next year rolls around your rent wont go up by more than 7.5%. A year of bliss passes, and you’re looking forward to sign a new lease at a maximum of 7.5% higher rents. What are the chances of that happening?

Well it depends. Assuming no changes in supply of housing and the current increases in demand, the landowner is not going to sign a new lease. The owner is going to inform you that he is not renting the property to you this year and you need to pack up your bags and leave.
He signs a new lease with a new tenant at 200% increase in rent. You on the other hand, get to move to a new flat where the cap no longer applies!
Obviously under my assumption, the rent increase has to be high enough to compensate for the cost of finding a new tenant, but in today’s market that’s not much.
Also, I expect an increase in shorter duration leases (6 months depending on how restrictive this cap is).
My advice to you, sign as long of a contract as possible. Pray that new developments are completed before your lease is up. Finally, don’t buy too much furniture and keep your bags packed so that moving isn’t too much of a hassle.

Something to Make You Happy

2007-09-06T20:17:00.001-04:00

Ahh, its Fall! Actually, its just the Fall semester, the weather still maintains its summer sizzle. As some of you are aware, I despise hot weather, cant stand it, and will happily trade it for winter. Yes, bitching about the weather will be an annual tradition so get used to it.

In regards to issues that I can actually control, Im three weeks into the semester. Im taking 3 classes, and teaching one. Its been quite exciting…busy, but exciting! Im teaching the same class I taught over the summer, its interesting to see how much my methods have changed. The details I provide, and examples I discuss seem to be of a better caliber. Now Im not looking forward to receiving my teaching evaluations, Im expecting the worse.
Classes on the other hand are a new experience all together. Im learning to read articles and analyze them, to actually understand the topic before it’s discussed. It took me 12 years to learn how to study from a text book, now Im trying to master reading articles TODAY!
Class list is as follows:
Eco 704- General Equilibrium
Eco 741- Industrial Organization
Eco 751- Public Economics.

Ill try to update more regularly, however just so you understand I wake up at 530am, and sleep at 10 (but have been staying up to 11 past couple of nights). In between those hours my goal is to complete 100% of my reading, but fail to complete more than 50% most of the time. However, the great thing about it is that Im loving it, so it isn’t so painful.
Remember as kids how days dragged on. The school year seemed endless, better yet the weekend seemed like it will never come. Man those days sucked, Im actually enjoying watching myself age. Its like watching a time lapse movie, lets see how many inches my hairline recedes today. By the way, why do ears get bigger with age? Do they still grow, or is it gravity? Either way, Im not looking forward to that.

Ok, Im off, I think I have told you everything I can think off that’s not economics.

My Housing Mistake.

2007-09-02T10:12:00.000-04:00

Its always easy to go through life believing that one is always right, but when you take a stand and post it online your easily reminded of your mistakes. The hard part now, is how to admit that I was wrong? In my post on Feb 22nd 2006, I overtly denied the claims of a housing bubble. I quote my claim “…but I fear that a housing bubble is merely a marketing scheme.”

17 months later, I concede that my argument is flawed. On average, home prices have declined around the country (US). Now, I ask myself, how could I have been so wrong? I have re-read my post, and see the simplicity in my assumptions. My stand is that the only variable to examine is the increase in mortgage rates. I do mention the high level of speculation in the market, but I neglect to mention its impact on what has happened.

Speculation in the housing market by home owners, and lenders’ relaxed guidelines are factors that created today’s market. Speculators are at fault for believing that home prices will continue to appreciate at unwarranted rates and therefore their attraction to Adjustable Rate Mortgages ( ARM). Lenders on the other hand, for aggressively selling ARM products and qualifying clients at the introductory rate and not the fully indexed rate.

In efforts to correct their mistakes, lenders have drastically increased the requirements. In fact, the market has transitioned to an A paper market. This means many homeowners (speculators) that realize they have made a mistake might not be able to refinance their property and “fix “their interest rates. Thus their payments continue to rise, and they continue to fall behind and foreclose. This will continue and further depress the market. Here we are at the housing bubble bust.

The question now is how do we remedy the situation? First, reducing the rates I don’t think is the solution. The issue is that people with missed mortgage payments, blemished credit, and irregular employment are not approved for fixed loans. I do not support a bail out, or directly regulating lender guidelines, and therefore I find myself unable to provide an insightful suggestion of what might work.

Chicago Trip

2007-08-15T11:21:00.001-04:00

This is the view from my hotel room. The first bridge crossing the chicago river is Michigan Ave. In the center of the picture is a construction of a glass building . It will be the Trump Towers Chicago, and upon its completion will be the 2nd tallest building in Chicago...that is before the Spire are complete. The Spires plan on competing with Burj Dubai for the claim of highest building, however as of yet the construction of the Spire has not broken ground . This is the view Wrigley Building from Upper Wacker drive.
The "Bean" at Millennium park.
The North east view from the Observatory at the Sears Towers. A word of advice, if you ever visit the Sears towers, I highly recommend the Audio tour. I have visited it twice, the first without the Audio tour, and this time with the audio tower and it was a more informative visit.
A picture of the chicago river facing west from the Mill street Bridge. The Cylinder- or Corn- looking building on the left, is one of a pair that stand next to each other. The are known as the "city within a city" or Marina City officially.

As expected I had a blast, and got to relax, as much as one can in a busy city. I enjoyed playing tourist. By the way, if you stay anywhere around Michigan Ave and chicago river crossing, you should be able to walk to most tourist attractions. The Sears tower is the furthest, but its still a great walk with several resturants to stop at. However, since I drove to Chicago, parking my car at the hotel cost $41 a night. A flight from Louisville to chicago on Southwest cost $49 each way, and lasts an hour compared to the 5 hr drive. Something to consider for the future!

I Deserve a Vacation

2007-08-04T19:47:00.000-04:00

Chicago here I come! I'm taking a 5 day vacation and therefore I will stay away from email, Internet, or anything that may resemble work.
Last time I visited Chicago it was October 2004 and fall had set in early that year. The Windy City lived up to its name, but since I enjoy cold weather I had a great time. This time around its suppose to be in the low to mid 90's (around 32 Celsius, this might sound like a cold front to the Omani readers), and I cant stand the heat.
The best part of Chicago is how the river curves within the city and how the buildings hug it's concrete banks. For anyone looking to visit, I highly recommend the Chicago River and its architectural landmarks Tour. I recommend a day visit for those looking for architectural details, and due to the lights, a night tour for those seeking a big city feel.

Chicago is by far my favorite "big city" and I cant wait till we hit the road. Ill try to upload some pictures of my trip.

Teach This!

2007-08-01T21:41:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow my teaching experience comes to an end. It has been a great learning experince, both in terms of lecturing and refreshing the principle concepts of economics. On Tuesday I had a review session, and to be honest my students where nervous. The stress level in that room threw me off my teaching game. Their faces looked so confused, but most disappointing they seemed too scared to ask questions. I thought I had created an open dialogue environment, but it didn’t seem that way on Tuesday.
All this has made me question the job I did. Their quiz and test scores indicate that they are getting it. The final is comprehensive and more big-picture type of questions. Let’s see how well they do.
In regards to my performance, I receive my teaching evaluations at the end of August.

Yes, People Lie

2007-07-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

Trusting, and giving people the benefit of the doubt is the default human practice. We usually expect people to say, and do what they mean. During my time in the mortgage industry I was introduced to the wide array of lies applicants put on their applications.
In economics, surveys are questioned because of the measurement errors introduced by the difference in what is said on the survey and what is actually true. Some work done in this field has shown that people adjust their response to fit the average.
Mortgage applicants inflated their income regularly, but there are also those who deflate their earnings. Square footage usually was overstated, as well as credit history. Part of the job is to find out how much information is actually accurate.
Here is an example of credit survey gone wrong. Do you have average credit debit?

Cnn/YouTube Politics

2007-07-24T08:40:00.000-04:00

If you are interested in politics, I hope that you had a chance to watch the Democratic Youtube debates last night. It was a good show by all candidates, some more impressive than others, but none did badly. I look forward to the Sept 17th Republican debate; I think it will prove to have a bigger impact to that party.

What I appreciated most, was the fact that it was entertaining. The questioners took the time to ask serious questions but also made sure that it was creative Most likely to get CNN producers attention) . This merger of politics and entertainment will hopefully capture young adults and involve them in politics.

The only problem I have is the candidates’ use of the term “ordinary people”. When asked about the new format, most said that they appreciated to hear from “ordinary people”. I’m not really a “PC” type of person and Im not sure why the term gets under my skin, but can we try and say “the public”?

Finally, now I can see why Youtube was sold for $1.65Billion. I initially thought it was overpriced, but I can see it becoming a part of the political process in this country.

Links to interesting Youtube Political questions/videos
Does Al Gore attention hurt your feelings?
Is Barack black enough, and Hilary a satisfactory woman?
Everyones Favorite video OBAMA Girl's video. This created many spinoffs including Obama Girl vs Giuliani Girl.

Oman Community Blog

2007-07-19T10:21:00.000-04:00

I have just uploaded my new post at Oman Community Blog. Take a look here.

British Want to Cut the Fat

2007-07-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

According to this MSNBC article, the British are proposing a Fat Tax. To deter consumers away from unhealthy foods a tax would be imposed in hopes to direct them to a healthier lifestyle. As a student I can tell you that unhealthy food or "fatty food" is priced much lower than any other alternative, with the exception of Home cooking of course. The article mentions my main concern, which is that a tax on cheap food will mainly burden the poor. Why introduce a tax? Aren't higher insurance premiums and health risks a good incentive to stay away?
This tax is similar to the Cigarette tax, however lets remember that cigarettes have a negative externality. The effects of smoking go beyond the individual consuming it, while being fat really only effects that person individually. Let people make their own choices!

2007-07-10T22:09:00.000-04:00

Does Racism Still exist?
According to this article yes it does in the Mortgage industry. The article details a report by National Community Reinvestment Coalition which argues that Blacks where at least twice as likely to receive “expensive” loans (subprime loans). The report further examines the likely hood of a wealthy African American receiving an expensive loan versus a white male.

Although this is an interesting question, it does not prove an existing bias. It is important to realize that approval of a loan is determined using three criteria, Income, Collateral, and finally Credit. Income is used to justify the loan amount and ability to repay,. Collateral determines the maximum loan amount and that in the event of a Foreclosure the bank can receive it’s money. Credit determines the worthiness of the borrower, whether the borrower has in the past been consistent in paying their loans.

Therefore, income might help get a loan approved but the most important variable in determining rate is credit worthiness. An individual can have a high income but if they don’t pay their obligations on a timely and consistent manner then they are a risk. Consequently if an individual has a higher risk due to a lower credit score than their interest rate will be higher.

Without the data available, I would assume that these individual had worse credit score when compared to their counterparts. A more practical method to verifying the existence of a race bias is to examine the rates between individuals with the same credit score but different races. If a bias exists, then we must ask, why African Americans are more likely to have lower credit scores?

These are questions I have had since my days in the mortgage industry, and in fact plan on researching it. There are other variables that I think will have more interesting results in regards to race, loans and state regulations. One day!

P.s Anyone know why I cant put a title in? I cant click into the type box

Suicide Bombing is Due to the Lack of Sex

2007-07-06T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hey, those are not my words, below is the excerpt. The whole article can be found here.

"Most suicide bombers are Muslim
Suicide missions are not always religiously motivated, but according to Oxford University sociologist Diego Gambetta, editor of Making Sense of Suicide Missions, when religion is involved, the attackers are always Muslim. Why? The surprising answer is that Muslim suicide bombing has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran (except for two lines). It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.
What distinguishes Islam from other major religions is that it tolerates polygyny. By allowing some men to monopolize all women and altogether excluding many men from reproductive opportunities, polygyny creates shortages of available women. If 50 percent of men have two wives each, then the other 50 percent don't get any wives at all.
So polygyny increases competitive pressure on men, especially young men of low status. It therefore increases the likelihood that young men resort to violent means to gain access to mates. By doing so, they have little to lose and much to gain compared with men who already have wives. Across all societies, polygyny makes men violent, increasing crimes such as murder and rape, even after controlling for such obvious factors as economic development, economic inequality, population density, the level of democracy, and political factors in the region.
However, polygyny itself is not a sufficient cause of suicide bombing. Societies in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are much more polygynous than the Muslim nations in the Middle East and North Africa. And they do have very high levels of violence. Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from a long history of continuous civil wars—but not suicide bombings.
The other key ingredient is the promise of 72 virgins waiting in heaven for any martyr in Islam. The prospect of exclusive access to virgins may not be so appealing to anyone who has even one mate on earth, which strict monogamy virtually guarantees. However, the prospect is quite appealing to anyone who faces the bleak reality on earth of being a complete reproductive loser.
It is the combination of polygyny and the promise of a large harem of virgins in heaven that motivates many young Muslim men to commit suicide bombings. Consistent with this explanation, all studies of suicide bombers indicate that they are significantly younger than not only the Muslim population in general but other (nonsuicidal) members of their own extreme political organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. And nearly all suicide bombers are single."

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

2007-07-02T22:42:00.001-04:00

I read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man this week. It was initially brought to my attention by Illogicist. The book is eye opening, and provides an interesting view of world politics after WWII. The book is written in a novel style, and mixes Politics and Economics (less of the latter) without losing its easy reading appeal.
I recommend the book for anyone interested in world history, politics, and economics. I especially recommend the book to those involved in International business, Consulting, or development (specifically electricity).

Additionally, I have included titles and links to all books read this year. I once was told that I shouldnt be open about the books I read (non-fiction), because it allows people to know your thoughts. Obviously I didnt agree with that, mainly because my reading is usually balanced. I try to get information from all views. Obviously this does not hold for fiction books since I have become focused on novels with cultural struggles. Moreover, at this point in my life, I dont have a problem with people knowing my thoughts. If anyone figures them out, please do share because I have no clue.

Its a Gamble

2007-06-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

Im referring to my Apple Stock (aapl). With the release of the I-Phone, I find myself in a having to decide whether to keep my Stock or cash them in. Reviews of the I-Phone have been great (here, here, and here), and I believe it will be a great product. My concern however, is that it is priced at around $499-$599 depending on the type you get. Additionally, it will only be provided for ATT (cingular) customers. Thus, its customers are limited, first in regards to price, then in regards to service providers. ATT is using this as a step to increase its market share, by attracting customers from other providers. However, if you have ever had a contract with any of the service providers (sprint, Nextel, verizon..etc) you know how hard and expensive it is to terminate a contract. My point is, I think in the short run Apple’s numbers wont be as great as expectations would predict. In the Long-run (9-12 months), the numbers would reach expectations. Obviously, Im not an analyst, all I am is an Apple stock owner. At this point, do I sell and buy back in two- three months, or do I keep it for the long run?

Results!

2007-06-22T09:40:00.000-04:00

I have failed in the past, in fact many times before. However, my previous failures have always been accompanied by a lack of effort. Thus, when I failed in the past I knew were I went wrong and I knew how to fix it. This time it’s different!

I received my prelim results on Wednesday. The letter was left in my mailbox at the department. To be honest, when opening it I had no doubt that I passed and opening the letter was a mere formality. I was excited to see that I passed the Micro, to be specific; the committee had acknowledged my efforts and understanding of micro theory. Yet, the letter’s progression deviated from such uplifting comments, and ended with the news that I had not passed the macro exam at the PhD level.

I did not sleep that first night, surely it was a mistake. I left the macro exam more confident in my answers than with the micro. Unfortunately it was not a mistake! Yesterday I was allowed to look over my exam again and realized the mistake I made. If you recall I have been pegged with making stupid mistakes, and it was no different in this case.

If you want to know the details, it was a question about the Ramsey model. I had to discuss and graphically show an increase in the willingness to save. It is honestly a very simple and straight forward question, yet I managed to change the question and answer it as if it asked to show an increase in the willingness to consume (the opposite).

I am waiting on a response from the committee to highlight their overall concerns in regards to my exam. I will have to take the Macro prelim again in January. This obviously, means that my plans to travel to Oman will have to be postponed yet again. In the mean time Im trying to get over the fact that I failed. It has shocked me, and I continue to dream about taking the test. I wake up in the middle of the night and continue to think about the test. Needless to say I haven’t slept much. However, that will have to end. Today is a new day; I will accept my mistakes and move on.

I am a believer of “everything happens for a reason”. I also believe that if there is a hardship, it is best to face it head on. Sulking and replaying what I could have done differently deserves its ONE day, now its time to grow and correct those mistakes.

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently”- Moshe Arens
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”"-Charles R. Swindoll

Im Still Alive

2007-06-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

I haven’t updated in a while, and its been killing me. It is no wonder that I can not keep an audience, I understand the boredom they must experience. Nonetheless, heres an update!
We are still waiting for our comprehensive exam results. Im hoping this week will provide some relief. Its surprising how volatile my confidence level has been. At times I have no doubt I passed the exams, and others I’m certain that I failed. Im ready to know at this point regardless of the outcome; just tell me so I can get off of this imbalance.
As my avid readers (sarcasm) would recall, Im teaching this summer. It is by far the most rewarding experience I have had this year. I won’t get into the details, but I believe Im doing a good job, we will have to wait and see what the students think.
I got my hands on a Thousand Splendid Suns. If you read the Kite Runner and liked it, you will love this one. I read it in 3 days, while preparing for classes!

How Can You Help

2007-06-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

Sleepless, Amjad, and Tia have joined efforts and created Gonu relief Blog. I appreciate sleepless' invite to join the group, but I would hate to hinder their efforts by spreading romours or misguided info from so far away. Please check out the blog by clicking on the link in this post, or the banner on the right hand side will redirect you as well. Feel free to download the banner and add it to your blog. Every bit counts!

Need for Volunteers

2007-06-09T10:04:00.000-04:00

More than money, Oman needs the helping hands. I am overwhelmed with guilt that I am not there.

Aftermath of Gonu

2007-06-07T08:35:00.000-04:00

I cant really speak of any Aftermath, I am too far away to be a credible source of information. For updates and pictures, check out Sleepless in Muscat, and Amjad. Both of whom have been my source of information and a blessing during the time phones where down.
I can say that my family is safe and all are accounted for. As I understand, the death official death toll at the moment is 12. The main Damage has been to infrastructure, roads are unsafe to drive on, because they can slip out from under you at anytime. The Darsait Bridge is missing a part. For picture of it check out Arabian Princess flicker account.
It is understandable that people want to go out and figure out what exactly happened. However at this time, I think you will just prove to be a distraction to more important rescue efforts by the emergency crews. People are going out to see what the aftermath is, and end up needing assistance. Don’t be a distraction, emergency efforts should be devoted to those that have been in need for a while.

Hurricane Gonu

2007-06-05T21:25:00.000-04:00

Video http://youtube.com/watch?v=NbfeCnr7k8o

Not much here, just thinking about family, friends and the rest of Oman. I don’t think everyone knows what to expect given that this rarely happens. I fear its more than everyone expects.

Again for local blogger update checkout Sleepless in Muscat.

I See the Light

2007-06-04T20:10:00.000-04:00

A shimmer of light, just enough so once again I believe there is an end and in hope that I have successfully completed the first year. In 48 hours it would be official and for three months, assignments and exams will be a fading memory. More specifically, taking exams and submitting assignments because as you may recall I am teaching this summer and therefore will give out exams and collect assignments. It is an experience I look forward to, yet at times I do find myself nervous till I reassure myself. I’m currently working on my syllabus and never have I appreciated a syllabus as much as I do today! I never realized how much work goes into the wording and the planning. I hope my students cherish it, laminate it and hang it up for everyone to see.

I have yet to work on my first lecture, but it is on the task list and with time it too will be completed. This morning, I sat on my Microeconomics Prelim. Four hours passed without me realizing. It was challenging and demanding as I had expected. The master level questions, which PhD students must also answer, prove to be difficult and required big picture answers. The PhD questions where more detailed but very “doable”. My main concern is that for some reason my algebra failed me, or better yet I failed algebra. One question, which should simplify and provide a very straight forward result, took up an hour or more of my time. Needless to say, it never simplified on my paper, and therefore answering the next part of the question was more difficult then it needed be.

I don’t like to forecast results, I will however promise to share them once available. On Wednesday, I take the Macroeconomic part of the exam. God willing it goes well!

Good luck to those reading from Oman. Be safe and take cover from Gonu, Category 4 last time I checked. Check Sleepless In Muscat’s Blog for any updates “from the ground”. Or Yahoo.

Books

2007-05-31T09:51:00.000-04:00

I am currently in the middle of the The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Recommended on Dani Rodrik's blog.

I have noticed the books that interest me usually have to do with the personal struggles of balancing the influence of eastern and western cultures. The past three books have fell into that catagory. If you read my last "Books" post, you know that I cant wait to get my hands on Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns .

If you have suggestions for books, please do share they are always welcomed. My Amazon wishlist needs to be refilled.

Made my first change

2007-05-30T02:12:00.000-04:00

After spending 4 years at the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA), I finally decided it was time to make a change. I chose to stay in the regulatory field, hence my options were limited. Luckily my first option worked out and I'm now at the Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER) which was established not too long ago, working as a Regulatory Advisor to the Executive Director. I must say the sectoral change is surely a step in the right direction, but only time will tell how big of a step it will turn out to be. The whole regulatory subject is new to Oman so in my change I'm looking to capitalise and solidify my academic background on the issue.

Although both agencies see themselves as "Regulators", it didn't take me too long to realise the vast differences between the approach undertaken by each one. The AER is more of an independent entity in every way possible. We report directly to the Council of Ministers and exercise complete financial and legal autonomy. This independence is key to any regulatory agency and adds to the certainty in unbiased decision making which ultimately benefits the sector. Prospective investors are flooding the electricity market and are looking for opportunities to secure a stake in large projects.

I'm yet to settle in but I'll do my best to keep everyone posted on the progress of the sector. In the mean time for more information you can visit our website at http://www.aer-oman.org/

What caught my eye today.

2007-05-26T14:23:00.000-04:00

Heres something interesting from Money.
If I had more time I would look up the actual study, but prelims are closing in.

The Collapse of the Khaleeji Dinar.

2007-05-22T10:25:00.000-04:00

Before it even began circulating, the KD has collapsed! Initial signs were the Withdraw of Oman from the currency union and now the revaluation of the Kuwait Dinar. Obviously there is still hope that the currency will become reality, but we have to ask do the benefits outweigh the costs?

A benefit of a common currency is that it reduces the transaction costs for travelers and traders within the union. Traveler from Oman to UAE will no longer need to exchange their money when entering or exiting, and the same applies for traders. Thus, eliminating loss due to the bid-ask margin and time.

On the same note, the exchange rate risk will be eliminated. However, with all countries (Exception Kuwait as of 5/21/2007) pegged to the dollar, this has not been an issue. Therefore, the benefits of the currency union will be higher if the trade between the union countries accounts for most of their trade. This is not the case since all countries are oil exporting and their trade is mostly with Europe, China and the US. Eliminating transaction costs within the union will have marginal affects.

On the subject of diversification, and in the case of Macroeconomics, all countries share a similar business cycle. Exogenous shocks (whether positive or negative) will affect all countries, however the response will differ 1. This implies that monetary policy in response to shocks will vary. Yet, with the currency union all countries must follow the same monetary policy.

Finally, this situation is a strategic game. Where each country will have to consider two options, the benefit of the Union or its own national interest. It has been proven that national interest is more important than the interest of the union. Oman indicated that it is more important to have the ability to control its own destiny at this point. Kuwait, on the other hand, gave up on the US dollar due to its depreciation and therefore the inflation (buying higher costs good from Euro) and pegged its currency to a basket.

Its obvious where I stand on this topic, but if there is any doubt, I don’t like the idea of a common GCC currency. I do have to note that this analysis is strictly in terms of the economics, there may be political reasons for constructing currency unions. Those reason are beyond my scope, but if your interested, google them.

Next Three weeks

2007-05-14T20:58:00.000-04:00

As you may have gathered from my absence, the semester has ended. Although my results were not as I would have wished, Im still here!
The next three weeks will be occupied with reviewing all Macro and Micro theory from the past year. I thought it would be an easy task, but looking over the material its surprising how much we have covered. This week (week1) will be mostly review, old test homework assignments, and class notes. Next week (week2) will involve answering the old prelim exams, and finally the last week (week3) will be filling in any gaps.
So that’s it, nothing else really new. Well there is the feeling of homesickness which has crept in this week more often than usual. Unfortunately, its another seven months till I visit Oman again.

Has Society Failed You?

2007-04-27T01:56:00.000-04:00

My walks to school are taking longer. The route is unchanged, but my pace has drastically diminished. I find myself daydreaming more, wondering what the people around me are thinking. I find myself looking over my shoulder more often in attempt to avoid the bicyclists. Frequently I question if the person asking me for a dollar really needs the money for a meal, or are they a dollar away from a beer. I get upset; I don’t think I should be thinking that way, what if they haven’t eaten for days and I have denied them the opportunity to nourish their body. I say “no” and quickly glance away trying to avoid seeing their disappointment. Nevertheless, I convince myself that I smelled alcohol on their breath and since its 830am its quite obvious what they needed the money for!

Ill never know, but I’m comfortable, I have saved my money. I pick up my pace, acknowledging that my commute has taken longer than it should. Yet I wonder, how did that person end up in such a situation? Did the alcohol cause it, or is the alcohol a product of the situation? Did this person have a career at one point in their life? I remember watching a special on TV once about a guy that left his family and job to be homeless because he couldn’t handle the responsibilities of life anymore. I doubt that happened to this guy, he seems more lost and angry. I think he’s still staring me down, now I feel his pain.

How did society fail him? Was he just a small part of life that no one realized he fell through the cracks? His family must have not cared, that has to be it. I would assume somebody else would have picked up the slack.

It seems that the world has gotten too big, and our dreams even bigger. It’s a struggle to sustain your own path, let alone try to redirect someone else to their's. It’s an individual struggle; only the strong survive. Now it’s clear, we are no longer a community and that’s why some of us have failed. It is us who have failed society.

If I ever cross his path again, and if I remember how I feel right now, I will ask him what went wrong. However, deep down I know by the time I walk back home I would have forgotten about all these thoughts. I will have new dreams and new struggles to care about, and if someone asks me for a dollar I will revert to my rehearsed “no” and quickly glance away.

Guess What?

2007-04-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

So just take a shot, who do you think is teaching their first class this summer?

I’m excited about the opportunity, and have thought about it some but honestly there are many hurdles to cross before classes start, mainly passing the prelims!

So given that I will be teaching, I’m debating if I should take on an “intro research project”. I know I have a lot of preparation for the teaching, but I think I can swing a research project at the same time. Especially since the project is pretty much to wet my appetite, and will not be graded. On the other hand, this is the last summer where I will actually have a choice of what to do. It might serve me well to enjoy it!

You know what, this is all long-term planning at this moment and I need to focus on my short term problems. I better head back to studying for my finals, or I won’t be teaching anybody anytime soon.

Dead Week Spring 07

2007-04-23T07:50:00.000-04:00

Another semester is approaching its end, and we are at another Dead Week. At the University of Kentucky, the student government has decided that it is unfair for teachers to give tests on the last week of classes. Therefore they voted (not sure exactly when, but its been a while) that no test can be given during this week. This however, also eliminates any chance of giving finals this week. Note- this is not the conventional definition of Dead Week

I am not used to this, at the University of Louisville, where I did my undergrad, junior and senior classes usually had their final during the last week of classes. Granted at this point of my education (career) I welcome the fact that I have more study time.

This week will be spent wisely on reviewing for finals. The week of the 30th, I will first take the macro exam, then Metrics, and finally Micro. Organization is the key, since this studying will help me for me prelims which I will take in June.

Books

2007-04-18T21:41:00.000-04:00

The Kite runner is by far the best book I have ever read. It is an easy read, and the author has a way of capturing the reader. At times I would debate if I could get by with less sleep just to get through the next several pages. As soon as I sensed I had arrived at a page that I could stop at for the night, a new twist was introduced and I would continue on.

I look forward to Khaled Hosseini’s next novel A Thousand Splendid Suns which comes out May 22nd.

Due to the math/Econ that continues to occupy my thoughts well into the night, I have decided I should read a personal book for at least half an hour before bed. It has helped, I no longer dream about problem sets.

I’m currently in the beginning of The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther.

A Moment of Silence

2007-04-18T06:32:00.000-04:00

Today my heart goes out to all those whom have lost friends or family member in the massacre at Virginia Tech. Losing a life is always difficult, but for so many lives to be taken away in such a careless way is inexplicable.

I don’t understand why it happened, or yet how it happened. I’m not referring to the details, but rather how a person can live within the campus community and at the same time cause it so much pain. What I know it is at times like this that communities should adhere to hope and family. Families will be redefined during these times, redefined to extend beyond their normal boundaries. They will share a common experience, a common ach, and a common void.

I hope we learn something from this experience.

Its a New Week......Next Week

2007-04-11T07:22:00.000-04:00

Guilt has taken over my emotions; it’s all I feel. My days are too short, and nights feel even shorter. I cant seem to do anything efficiently, I work all day but seem to only complete the bare minimum requirements. I probably shouldn’t be writing this, but I feel guilty that I haven’t had a chance to put my thoughts up. By posting this I will eliminate one source of guilt.

I feel guilty that my assignments are sloppy, and lack the details I am so accustomed to. I am reading articles assigned weeks prior, and cant seem to catch up. With the semester wrapping up so quickly, I will have a hectic ending. I hadn’t planned it this way, the possibility didn’t even exist. I have always taken pride in my efficiency, but I guess every person is humbled at some point.

Unfortunately the only time to really catch up is on the weekends. Then, this weekend it is. I will no longer feel overwhelmed, or that I don’t understand because I will catch up. It’s my only chance of doing well.

“…Put a player in a hostile environment and he Shall Adapt”- Bill Bellamy in How to Be a Player-1997.

Teaching Workshop, and my mental space

2007-04-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

On Sat, I attended the annual Teaching Workshop at the University of Kentucky. Overall a great experience. The presentation started off with Professor emeritus Lee Hanson and followed by a superb presentation by Dirk Mateer.
Although my Economic teaching experience is limited at this time, I still found the information helpful. Most of what I did learn can not be implemented initially and must be gradually introduced as I hone my teaching skills. I look forward to attending the workshop through out my time at UK and recommend it to others in the field.

On another note, I’m in desperate need of excitement, a rush, a break away from my daily routine. This is not a reflection of my academic excitement but rather beyond. The daily monotony is getting to me; I think I’m due for a weekend away from any books. This “refresher” needs to be done soon since finals are only 30 days away. The problem is, I don’t know what to do!

Back on Track

2007-03-28T20:33:00.000-04:00

Spring break has come and gone! Although I did manage to get some needed rest, and catch up on personal reading, the break passed by so quickly. Time has been flying by so fast that I didn’t realize it’s been 2 weeks since I last updated!

Since getting back to school I have been swamped by assignments and TA work. It somewhat feels like we are making up for the break. Sorry,That’s enough with the complaining!

I did meet with the Graduate Student advisor, and received the Ok for my fall schedule. As stated previously, I will go for the Public, IO and General Equilibrium classes. We also discussed some ideas for my summer, ill update when they are final. For now, I know that Im taking the prelims in the first week of June and that’s more than enough to think about.

Additionally, we have had grad student lunches; each week we spend an hour with a faculty member. They have shared with us what they cover in their field classes, some of their current research, as well as what dissertations they have chaired in the past and what to expect from them as a chair. It has been helpful, and has given me some ideas to think about.
That’s about it on my side, sounds kind of boring but that’s grad school I guess. Till next time.

Spring Break

2007-03-14T08:14:00.000-04:00

Given that its Spring Break, I have had more time on my hand to do as I wish. Before spring break started I finished reading The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. I liked it so much that I thought I should order his first book Dreams of My Father. While waiting for my amazon order to arrive, I kept myself occupied with Don’t They Know its Friday? Cross-Cultural Considerations For Business and Life in the Gulf . A good read for any “westerner” looking to do business in the gulf. Additionally, I did read A Jail Tale by Maulid M. Haj, An Autobiography of An Omani in 1960’s Tanzania (link to another of his books). It’s a short story about an X-minister’s struggles post revolution. I will be honest and say, I wasn’t very impressed, but still a good read.
I received Dreams of My Father, yesterday and Im a third of the way through. Its very different than Audacity of Hope , yet both are great.

Its a Landlords Market

2007-03-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

For all those individuals who at one time purchased a barren land with a dream of one day making it a profitable venture, congratulations it’s your time to cash in.

I have heard from several individuals in Oman that rent has become too expensive. It is a concern that the average resident may not be able to afford housing, and must find a substitute to renting. Yet, I find it difficult to comprehend why some are upset with the landlord’s pricing scheme. Muscati, highlights a recent article in the Week.

I must first preface, that I don’t agree with increasing prices on properties that are under an effective lease. However, if a tenant is on “month to month” or is now entering the market, they must face the market prices.

The issue here is not that someone is over charging the tenant, but that the true market price is increase drastically. This is due to several reasons, mainly that the residents are demanding these properties. The landlord, as a businessman, is supposed to get the highest price for their product/service. If these prices are so outrageous that no one will want to consume them, then vacancies will ensue and prices will decline as to attract the tenants back. However, if prices still continue to rise or even remain stagnant, then someone must find this price acceptable.

At the same time, we also have to realize that if these landlords had too many vacancies and were not able to rent their properties, we would not be complaining. In fact we might go as far as questioning why a person would continue to be in an unprofitable business. I don’t think anyone would have requested that we force people to rent these properties to help the landlords out?! These landlords took a risk and are now being paid for it, so what it might seem a little excessive. Cash it in!

I do believe that there is an inflation issue here; prices are increasing drastically (so I hear). However, we can not pick and choose what inflation is good and which is bad. I don’t think anyone complained when they received a 15% increase in their income for doing the same job! The only way to reduce inflationary pressure is to slow the growth of the money supply.

However with that, you slow the growth of the entire economy down. Central banks have a difficult job to do; I wish them the best of luck with the current situation.

I do know that the worst thing that can be done is to cap prices. Unless we are willing to live with shortages and long lines!

Standings

2007-03-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

So this is where I currently stand.
Econometrics- 75%, mid range B. I know, I didn't expect it to be that bad either. What upset me the most is my mistakes were silly, yet costly. I just need to pay more attention to the details.

Macroeconomics-95%. I'm quite happy with that, Ill count my blessings and move on to Microeconomics.

In the next couple of weeks, I need to determine what my fields will be. At this point it looks like Public for my primary and Labor for the second field. At this time, my interest are mainly in those two areas and some in IO, and that's where the struggle is right now. Its a strategic decision that will at least impact the next 4 years, and most likely after as well.
Good thing is I will be able to take the first two classes of the public and IO sequence next fall. Due to the rotation, Labor is not offered till next year (F2008).
I have all spring break to think about it!

Half Way through

2007-03-04T18:39:00.000-05:00

The Macro exam was fair. It covered the material we studied, and we were given ample time to answer the questions. I went in expecting a “curve ball”, but left ecstatic that I found the exam straight forward. Granted I say this before receiving my results, for all I know there might have been a curve ball that I didn’t even notice. I should receive the results this week.
The econometrics exams, was also over the material we studied, but its curve ball was the time constraint. It’s the type of test that checks how well you know the material. It’s a 50 min class, and the test has 16-18 parts. Therefore once you start your pencil cant stop and if it does then you run out of time. That was my issue; I spent too much time trying to figure out what question one was asking. I eventually skipped it, rushed through what I knew, and then returned to question 1. Basically, I ran out of time without answering one part of Q1.
The Micro Exam is this week, we will see how that goes.

Your Going To Be Missed

2007-02-27T13:57:00.000-05:00

Life has its harsh ways of brining things into perspective just when you least expect it. Today I said goodbye to a friend who was more like a sister. She was one of the closest people out there to me and we shared secrets only the two of us knew about. Ibtisam, to most of us Ibti, died this morning from complications due to pneumonia that were exaggerated by her having sickle cells. What hurts even more was the fact that she passed away from home in Denmark where she was attending a training program. My last contact with her was just over a week ago where I was asking her when shes coming back cos I postponed a barbeque just so she would make it, and she responded “Im not feeling too good and cant wait to come back cos I miss all of you guys”, that was the last I heard from her.

Im gonna miss the times we spent together, whether it was for the occasional coffee to share advice on different issues, or camping trips where you defied the restrictions of your illness. You convinced me and mom to adopt the orphans from Iraq and we’ll do our best to continue with our contribution. I just pray to God that you are in a better place and may God bless your soul. Your going to be missed Ibti and I promise you that Ali your brother always has someone that’s got his back. Love you

A Lazy Post

2007-02-26T20:48:00.000-05:00

I started typing a couple of posts, but really don’t feel like finishing them. The opportunity cost of spending time on this blog is quite high right now. Ill keep it short and to the point....

Congrats to Adam, while he still awaits several other responses, he has secured a spot at Yale. Best luck with the others and with the funding.

Alex’s post on consumerism is interesting. I tried to add my comment, but Wordpress didn’t allow me at the time. As a believer in the free market system, I stand by the idea that consumer is “king” ….when the market is free. I know that itself is a big assumption.

Finally, Wed is my macro exam. At this point, Im not confident about my preparation and hope that I can clear all issues tomorrow. Im having a hard time with the economic intuition and translating the math, and continue to second guess myself.

By the way, I seem to have lost my co-blogger! If your reading this, how about a post one of these days?

Weekend plans

2007-02-16T07:06:00.000-05:00

As you may recall from my post on the 11th I had a paper due this week. It is submitted by now, but surprisingly it took forever. I am happy with my final product but realized that I need to focus on my technical writing. The regression takes 1 second, but writing up the results takes all day.
For those interested (Alex), my test looks into which locations in Lexington KY do homeowners prefer. The assumption are simplified, that the higher the demand, the higher the price. (Obviously this doesn’t take into account crime, and public spending, which some would argue would have an impact on demand) Holding for structural variables (ie bathrooms, bedrooms sq feet..etc) what are the effects of these location variables. The location variables in my test where, distance to malls, Downtown, entertainment district, and park district. I find that although people prefer to be closer to these locations rather than further, the mall area is the only statistically significant measure of location.
That’s a summary if I have ever read one. Whew! Well, this weekend is catching up time. I need to review for midterms and make sure Im somewhat ready to take a test. Although our tests are a couple of weeks away, next week will be devoted to grading. 201 and 202 exams are on Tuesday, with each class having 400+ students, the TA’s will be busy all week and if we don’t plan well, we wont have enough time to study for our own exam.
Have a great weekend

Regression Anthem.

2007-02-12T07:57:00.000-05:00

Via Mark Thoma

Where is the Motivation?

2007-02-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

It’s Sunday Morning, I have watched the news, cleaned the apt, and have done everything to avoid my studies. My concern is that today should be my most productive day this semester. I have three problem sets, in addition to my first paper due this week. The problem sets, I’m not so worried about, however the paper has me stressed.

I have not completed a paper since 2003! In the past 3 years, I have written reports, half assed blog entries, and a couple of letters here and there. The hardest thing about writing for me is the introduction and motivation sections. My findings and reporting are pretty much done, however I can’t say the same for the rest.

As you may have assumed already, this blog entry is another effort to avoid what I must complete today. I guess I should end this and just dive into my work assignments or they will never get done.

Is She for Real?

2007-02-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately this was the last thing I watch last night before going to bed. What’s really bad is that I know better, I cant imagine what views the average American had after watching the interview.
I wonder how her book is doing. How many individuals has she influenced into believing that EVERY Muslim hates them? I do understand that her experiences in Lebanon might have been dramatic, and a part of her will never get over what she saw, but she paints with a wide brush.

Extremism is still ignorance on either side of the spectrum.

A Special Day!

2007-01-31T20:19:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up and my joints hurt, in fact, Im also having a hard time hearing. Old age, is no joke!

On this day 26 years ago, the world celebrated my arrival. I changed so many people’s lives, but my impact was mainly experienced by my parents. Their lives have never been the same. Ladies and Gents, that’s how I measure my impact on this world.

If I were to go today, I can say “I did make a change”. For one, my mother is more religious today, thats only because I showed her hell. Additionally, I made all my friends better off as they worked really hard to be just like me. Some gave up, and some are still trying, but they all know now how hard it is to be perfect.

I would love to share all my experiences, and share the insight I have gained in the past 26 years, but unfortunately its 8pm and almost my bed time. I need to take my calcium, fiber (trust me you don’t want to miss that) and get in my PJ’s.

By the way Justin Timberlake, if your reading this, happy birthday. Here you can have sexy back, Im done!

Remember This!

2007-01-30T07:16:00.000-05:00

Obviously it would depend on your age, but I so wanted to be Captain Majid. I remember rushing home from school, during ramadhan, so that I wouldnt miss the show. The funny part, is that a whole show can be dedicated to one goal.
I wish they would remake it using today's technology, I would watch!

Speaking about Soccer/football. Good luck to Oman as they take on the Host UAE in the Gulf Cup 18 final. Given that I am in the US, I havent had the opportunity to watch the games, but I have watched every goal by our guys. I am proud.

What a Goal!

2007-01-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

Oman's Growth Illustration

2007-01-24T19:09:00.000-05:00

Graphic here
If you take a look at the above link, you will see that life expectancy has continously grown in oman. However, GNP per capita takes a couple of hits. First in 1976, we experince a decline and eventually return to 1976 level in 1982. Then in 1985 again, and return to previous level in 1989 for a short period then GNP/capita decreases again. Since then we have increased on the most part. The point being , we have doubled our GNP from 7k to 14k in the 30 yrs shown.
What about the decline periods? My assumption is that from 1976-82, people began to return to oman seeing that the political and economic fronts were now stable. Its not that GNP decreased, but the population grew faster.
I am having a hard time explaining the 85-89 period. I thought gas prices initially! Yes Gas prices declined in 85, but they were low past 89. Using the gas prices argument, then one wouldnt be able to explain the growth after 89.
Share your thoughts.

Update: In contrast look at Kuwait's GDP, and South Africa's Life Expectancy.

Busy, busy, busy.....

2007-01-17T19:26:00.000-05:00

The second week of school has been a wake up call. I’m swamped beyond belief! As stated previously my class schedule only has 3 classes; however the time dedicated to these classes is much more than I expected.

First, It turns out I need to relearn how to study. Up till now, I have been successful by focusing on lectures and using the books as supplemental material. Sadly this is no longer the optimal method. Lectures have become a supplement and the main objective is to dissect the book, and more importantly the articles on the reading lists.

Additionally, I was informed this week that I will fill in as a TA for 5 different Professors. Therefore, I have grading, classes to attend, as well as holding office hours. I am excited by this opportunity, but the fact remains that I will have no time to deviate from my task.

I am excited about my new responsibilities. I have stated in the past that my productivity per task increases with more on my hand (increasing marginal product, if I may). Yes, I will hate it at times, but in the long run I’m going to be a better person because of it. Pressure breaks some people; however it brings out the best in me. At least that’s what I think, I might be biased!

I apologize if this blog has become self centered, unfortunately that’s all I know these days. I don’t watch the news as much as I should, my connection to the world consist of barely checking the headlines on my Google account, and some random blog views.

A little break today

2007-01-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

This is great blocking or really bad aim, you be the judge.

Another Page to Turn

2007-01-09T17:25:00.000-05:00

Already 9 days into a New Year and I have yet to work on my goals for the 2007. Some might think that resolutions are a waste of time, but I believe that you need a map to know where you are heading. It’s easy to get distracted, and to forget what you actually want to accomplish in the long run. Short term problems need to be resolved quickly, and in the process of trying to get the quick fixes, you veer away from that very important Personal or Professional goals. So today I will sit down and jot down my goals for the year, so that when I’m knee deep in problem sets and exams Ill know why I’m torturing myself.

On that note, School starts tomorrow. I have spent the past 25 days doing nothing! In fact I might have done too much of nothing, and might have set myself up for a transitional shock.
This semester I am taking the following classes
Econ 701- Neoclassical Micro
Econ 702- Advanced Macro
Econ 703- Introduction to Econometrics

I also plan on narrowing down my areas of interest, as well as beginning to establish my advisory committee.
Happy 2007!

A New Face to Sports In Oman

2006-12-23T06:12:00.000-05:00

After the disappointing show at the Asian Games in Doha, Oman is in the process of revamping its entire perspective on sports in the country. Equipped with a proactive yet knowledgeable Minister of Sports, plans are being put into place to create a Center for Sports Excellence in Oman. The Center is still in the planning phase with a Think Tank (TT) assembled by the Minister comprising of individuals from a variety of disciplines from academic to ex-sportsman. The TT is responsible for designing a blueprint for the creation of a Center for talented sportsman and molding the "crème de la crème" to become not only international champions but ambassadors for sports.

As a member of the TT, I will keep you updated on the progress of this Center without divulging into the minute details at this point in time.

Final Grades

2006-12-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

Prob stat -B
Math Econ B
Micro- A
Macro A

One semester down, 8 or so to go!

Are we rational when Drunk?

2006-12-17T10:15:00.000-05:00

So there's this new Bar in Germany "Broker's Bier Borse" that prices beer based on Demand throughout the night. Great idea for an economics experiment! Ive read one post that explains the chances for profit maximization in the market.
I would assume that demand becomes more inelastic throughout the night. I would also assume a headach if your chasing the lowest priced commodity, or the beer at a bargin. Otherwise, its a chance for economist to be the cool people at the bar.

Taking a Break

2006-12-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

So my first semester at UK has come to an end, and grades should be out by mid next week. Hopefully by then I will be able to have a clear indication of my overall fit in the program. Although I don’t expect any bad news, there is room for disappointment from Prob stat and Math Econ, we will just have to wait and see.

Since Thursday I have laid around doing nothing! I think today I will think of a project that I can keep myself busy with .Im not the type to just want to sit at home and watch movies all add, my ADD is too sever for such quite time. I have not been clinically diagnosed with ADD, but I’m convinced I have the extreme case. I don’t want any pills though; I like all these weird incomplete ideas running through my head at all times. Life would be boring if I were structured and focused.

I was supposed to go to Oman this winter, but unfortunately paper work hang ups are keeping me from family and friends. I do miss them, but it will just make my next visit sweeter.

Ill keep you updated on the grades, and what project(s) I might start. For now, I need a cup a coffee and some Sprotscenter. Ohh yeah, UofL lost against UK yesterday. DANGIT, this ADD thing is worse than I expected.

HA? nuff said!

2006-12-12T06:57:00.000-05:00

Yes that was me during the prob exam, like WTF? I’m quite sure that 4 days of continuous studying was enough, but that test was no Joke. Macro had a couple of advanced questions, but straight forward overall.

24 Hr to go.

2006-12-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gents, its crunch time! In 24 hrs and 20 Minutes I will be sitting through the Pob and Stats final. Later on that day, I will sit through the Macro final and hopefully will have a post to share.
So far, most of my time has been focused towards the prob exam. As I shared earlier this semester it’s the class that concerns me the most. I feel somewhat comfortable thus far, and hope to dot the i’s and cross the t’s today.
Macro is coming together fairly well but I need to review the last two exams before 1pm tomorrow.
I will have to dedicate Tuesday to Micro and Wednesday to Math Econ. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to get to those two classes during the weekend.

The Reason I Want to be an Econ Professor.

2006-12-06T09:46:00.000-05:00

“Now that I have simplified it, I can use it for nasty and complex things” –Prob Prof.

My mind is in the gutter, I know!

8 more days!

The Countdown Begins

2006-12-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

In eleven days I will have completed my first semester at UK. I do anticipate moments of stress, headaches, and tears (of course not mine!) between now and then. However, at 5pm on the 14th it will all be worth it.
This upcoming week is our last week of classes, and assignments. On Monday the 11th, I have two comprehensive finals, the first in Prob and Stats, and the other in Macro theory. On the 14th we finish we the micro theory, then Math Econ.
As of right now, I have A’s in Micro and Macro, a B in Prob and a low B in Math (I got a 79 on my last test).
I look forward to the break, but I will hold back on sharing my plans till they are finalized.

On a side note, Russell Peters is hilarious. I’m going to support the guy and actually by his DVD. If you haven’t heard him before, check him out.

Innovation Needed

2006-12-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

Sleepless in Muscat has posted twice this week about the state of the Omani Economy, Here and Here.I realize that its always easier to point out what is wrong, but the whats more important is how can it be fixed.

According to Sleepless in Muscat, Unemployment in Oman is high, Private Companies don’t “give back” enough, and finally new growth is decreasing the amount of greenery in Oman.
First and foremost, I have to say that as Omani’s we must realize that gov’t doesn’t and shouldn’t do everything for us. When things don’t work out, the first thing people say is that the gov’t should fix this, or the gov’t should help me out. I believe that the gov’t has established the base of a solid economy, and now it’s up to the citizens to take advantage of what is provided. A lot has been given to us, and yet we continue to extend our hands asking for even more assistance.

That psychology is the reason Oman’s unemployment is high. Everyone hopes and dreams for a job in the gov’t, and that means that either the gov’t keeps starting new projects to keep people busy, or hires people to sit in offices and take up valuable resources that can be devoted to infrastructure.

Oman has established a credit market, and govt assistance for young Omani’s who choose to pursue entrepreneurship. The problem is, “it’s risky” and people rather wait for a safe secure office job. I do understand that the world has risk averse individuals, and do understand that creating your own dream is not everybody’s cup of tea. Therefore, if you know you’re the type of person that is not willing to take the risk, make sure you specialize and excel in a field that can be utilized. Then and only then is your job justified. One can not drop out of school, and still demand a job be provided. People should, and eventually will be compensated for the contribution.

The above paragraph also explains the rising Income inequality; the people that take risks or specialize in a field that can be utilized are making more money. On the other hand, people that wait for things to happen are not doing so well.

So this brings us to the next argument, Private Companies don’t give back enough. Let me ask this, is a company required too? I don’t think they are in the business of philanthropy. Some individuals took the risk that everyone else is scared of, succeeded, created new jobs in the economy and while doing so made some money to pay them for the risk they took. If they decide to give back then be it, but they should not be mandated to do so. They have already given back by creating jobs, as well as the product or service they provide.

Finally, Greenery in Oman! I think we all agree that the landscape of Oman is mountainous/ desert like, dry and any form of “greenery” is man made. Most of the time,, if not all the time, gov’t forks over all the expenses to provide such greenery to the citizens and visitors of the country. However, we also want growth to help out with our unemployment situation; unfortunately since we are dealing with limited land we must use the green spaces.

The point being is we have utilized the natural resources given to us. We have reached the point where tradeoffs must take place for us to grow. You want green spaces? Give up some jobs and growth. You want the govt to give jobs? Then you should be able to productive. Want companies to starting given back? Start your own company that gives back. Point being, we need be more inventive and take advantage of the available resources. In regards to the ecosystems, it turns out that we have to trade some of it away for growth.

Oman 36th National Day

2006-11-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

I wish I was there. I havent been in Oman during the National day festivities since '93. Im proud of what we have accomplished in such little time.

AEA rolls out a student website

2006-11-17T17:09:00.000-05:00

I havent really looked at it yet, but Im sure I will spend sometime doing so this weekend.
Heres the link.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/students/

Choke, the Official Drink of UofL.

2006-11-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

Thursday’s game was a great showing for Rutgers. Their defense was solid and honestly deserved to win after holding UofL to ZERO points in the second half. Brohm barely had time to breath let alone throw the ball. If you watched the game, you would know that the last 20 seconds where stressful for both Card fans and Rutgers as well.
Score is tied 25-25, Rutgers is kicking a field goal to win it. The kicker misses and theres hope for the cards...wait, there is a flag, offside on UofL. Kicks it again, and they win the game stealing UofL season.
Of course, as the great fan I am, I get pissed and erupt in a cussing storm. My girlfriend who decided to watch a football game with me for the first time, is confused on why Im so upset. Poor girl, she tries to calm me down and says "Well babes, everything happens for a reason." WHAT! You can’t say that in sports, it doesn’t apply. In sports you either do it or not, there isnt a divine plan, or a predetermined outcome! Obviously I get pissed even more, and try to explain that you can’t use that in sports. She doesn’t understand and wants clarification on why. Ill admit I couldn’t explain it, if you can please share.
So we agreed that watching sports is an individual exercise!
Sports aside, the semester is progressing well. Had my second round of Theory exams last week, I got a 96 on the macro and will get the micro results tomorrow. I also have my second Math exam tomorrow night; I’m not looking forward to it!

"How 'bout em Cards?!"

2006-11-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

(5)Lou. 44 (3) WV 34
Ohh sweet revenge!
I took the day off and came up to Louisville yesterday to watch the game. Given my current income, I couldn’t really afford the ticket at $100+, so I watched the game at a bar. Hi fives all around, strangers hugging and obnoxious drunk frat boys! You gotta love it.
After the game ended, the official greeting for the night became
"How 'bout em cards ha?!!"
then you respond
"Yeah, how 'bout em cards"
and now your best friends for ever, or at least till the night is over and everyone sobers up.

Louisville, take on Rutgers (15) next Thursday.

An Unofficial LSE graduate

2006-10-29T00:59:00.000-04:00

Finally, I received an informal notification from my Supervisor congratulating me on passing the MSc in Utilities Regulation from LSE. I must admit although he was rather vague with the overall grades since they are pending approval from the Examination Board, I feel like a huge load off my chest. Graduation is set for the 13th of December and I'm looking forward to catching up with my friends.

On another note, my business venture is slowly picking up speed and I'm yet to receive a formal approval from the Municipality and Ministry of Commerce. Once that comes through I will need to apply for visa's for my employees which is another long procedure. I sometimes think that procedures are put into place just to test your motivation and its sort of like a survival of the fittest test. Oh well, I'll keep updating you guys on the progress.

Academic Update

2006-10-19T17:32:00.000-04:00

An update is due, and I have held off till I received all my exam results. This past month has been somewhat stressful. Each week we had one exam, and assignments were due on a weekly basis. This weekend I only have a math assignment to complete. This hopefully will give me a chance to catch-up on the readings.

As I previously mentioned I received an A on the Micro Theory exam. In Macro, I was able to secure a “solid” A. The other two classes were not as pretty. The math exam was pretty straight forward, however I admit I rushed through it and made stupid mistakes that I could have avoided if I paced myself. The result on that test is 80%, but I’m not sure how that compares with the class because the teacher doesn’t share that information! I know that I fall in the middle of the spread between 3 of my colleagues. I’m not comfortable with my performance and hope to change it next time around.

Finally, Probability and statistics, and as I mentioned it is my hardest class since I have the least background in it. Preparing for it was hell because I never felt like I knew the topic and most importantly still couldn’t get the intuition behind it. Going into the test, I expected the worst. Luckily once I had the test in my hand, things came to me. I actually began to understand it through the test. Walking out the test, I was at ease because I knew I didn’t fail. When we got our results, I was happy to know that I was above average with an 80%, but still in B range.

Hopefully I can do better on the next round. Problem is Prob’s next test is the final, and the other tests are clustered on the first week of November. Also, the material has taken a big leap in complexity.

Tagged

2006-10-12T19:36:00.000-04:00

Alright, I promised I would never do this but what the hell. I was tagged by 3anooda to upload my desktop background.
I took the picture on the way back from Oman, as the plane flew over Papa Johns Stadium in Louisville KY. For you horse racing fans, you can see Churchill Downs up top. Thats where the Kentucky Derby is held on the first sat of May every year.

I disagree

2006-10-09T07:26:00.000-04:00

Prof. Mankiw recent post argues for a pigou tax on gasoline, citing that tax rates on gasoline in the US are much lower than that of other countries. LINK
While I understand the Pigou Club argument, I’m not sure if I would argue for it using international tax rates as a justification.
The objective of the Pigou Club is to reduce dependence on International Oil as a matter of National Security (and environment as a by product). By imposing a high tax rate on gas, the U.S would reduce the demand of Oil. True, and Im sure this will happen, however what would we substitute Driving for?
The U.S differs drastically than European countries when comparing public transportation. (The closest comparison on the list provided by the wall street journal article is Canada.) First, the US size far exceeds that of any of the countries provided. Second, Public Transportation in the US is limited and inefficient. Finally, one important aspect that must be considered is that, the US survives on the ease of worker Mobility. That is, how easy is it to move from one city to another due to employment reasons. With higher oil taxes and lack of public transportation it is more costly to sustain worker mobility.
When comparing to Canada it’s important to realize that 90% of Canadian Population lives within 200 miles of the US border. Therefore, Transportation cost of goods and services are much lower than the in the US.
The counter Argument could be something like, “we can use the tax proceeds to provide better public transportation”. This would depend on how big of a tax we implement, and how quick the public service is provided.Point being, the countries listed by the wall street journal either have a better public transportation system, or lower transportation cost. Therefore an increase in Gasoline prices has less of an affect on the population when they can easily substitute their method of transportation.

Micro Result

2006-10-03T18:28:00.000-04:00

Received the results for the Micro Exam today. After adjusting for the curve, I got an A (a B on a regular scale). Im content with the grade, just upset about the stupid mistake I made. That one question hurt a lot.

My competitive side wants a solid A next time, or Ill settle for setting the curve. By the way a 55 was a C-.

Tomorrow, it's Macro.

Nothing New

2006-10-02T21:52:00.000-04:00

Nothing really new to report, but here is what's on my mind.

Macro test is coming up on Wednesday and I think Im ready for it.
U of Louisville didnt play this weekend, they play Middle Tennessee this sat.
Why all the school shootings?
Thanks to Dismal Scientist, Im interested in getting a mathematical Software, Just not sure if Latex, Maple, or Mircosoft's version is the best option. Please dont hesitate to share your thoughts.
I guess Im not the only one interested in reading Bob Woodward's State of Denial
Womenomics! Another reason for women to contend that "we are nothing" without them.

One Down Three to Go

2006-09-26T20:35:00.000-04:00

I walked into a full classroom that was eerily silent. Twenty or so students trying to refresh their memory on what they studied the night before, trying to cram any new piece of information five minutes before the start time. My strategy, if I may call it so, is to close the books at 11pm the night before a test. It’s a belief I have had since my undergrad days, if I don’t know it by the night before then I wont know it by test time. I find that it’s easier to confuse myself so close to test time. My technique has worked through two degrees and two very different Education institutions and I wasn’t going to change my pre-test “rituals” today.
I received my copy of the test, skimmed through it and it seemed straight forward. Question 1- Using Engels Theorem ....So I start to answer it, but my math doesn’t look right! Nevertheless I continue because 15 minutes have passed and I still have 3 more detailed and complicated questions to answer. I completed the 4th question with about a minute to spare, obviously not enough time to go and check all my work, but I had to return to question one. I quickly realized that I left off the budget shares in the very first line of Engels Aggregation, do I erase my work? Or do I write it on another piece of paper? I submitted it with flawed calculations, with a note stating the correct theorem-Shooting for patial credit.
Other than Question 1 and my lack of time management, I’m comfortable with the remainder of the test. Thinking about it now, there are things that I made more complicated than they should be. With the possibility of a trick question that I might not have picked up on, I feel “aight”.

Month of Exams

2006-09-25T17:01:00.000-04:00

For the past 4 days I have been immersed in Micro theory. Tomorrow is our first exam, and I have fluctuated between being confident and nervous because I “don’t know it all”. I guess a little nervousness is always good, it keeps you on your toes and wanting to study more.
As I write this, I’m feeling comfortable but do realize that I need another 4 hrs of practicing problems to get the timing down. Hopefully, everything goes well!
For the next 4 weeks, I will have one test a week in addition to the problem sets and assigned reading. It turns out that organization and planning are the hardest aspect to cope with. I hope that I can adjust my study habits to allow for at least half a day off a week. Being a big advocate of “work hard, play hard”, I don’t think it’s healthy for anyone to go a week without a break. It’s easy to lose perspective of your goals if you don’t have time to sit back and reflect on what you have already accomplished.
The tests begin with Micro, followed by Macro, Math Econ and finally Probability and Statistics. My biggest hurdle this semester will be Probability and Stats, I just can’t build the intuition behind it. But I will, don’t count me out yet!

Finally, on a religious note, Ramadan Kareem.

MBA cheats

2006-09-22T12:47:00.000-04:00

Maybe getting in to an MBA program is too easy these days? Or is it that the cost of insuring zero cheating far exceeds the benifit? Click here for the MSN article.

BCA, Rosling

2006-09-21T22:47:00.000-04:00

An Article at Espn.com highlights some of the improvements in minority hiring of coaches at Division I schools (click here for the article). Im sure many of you have read, heard, and have your own arguments for and against minority representation ratio requirements (affirmative action), and I'm not going to tackle that argument here. My question is how far do we take it? Is everything suppose to have an equal representation of the overall local/national ethnic representation? Please share your thought.
Yes, stereotypes still exist, and Racism still Exists (Read :Dinesh D'Souza), but asking for more regulation (in this case its negative publicity) doesn't help the cause. That's my two cents on this topic.

Another link to visit today, via Dr. Mankiw's blog, is a talk by Hans Rosling on Health and Wealth. If you have 15 minutes to spare take a look, quite interesting presentation. If anyone knows, what software is that?

Fall and Productivity

2006-09-20T17:52:00.000-04:00

Dark gloomy mornings, cool breezes and sweaters…..fall at last! My favorite time of year, it’s the end of summer with its long days, easy going summer attitudes, and Humidity. Summer hasn’t been fun since summer vacations ended; back in the undergrad days.
Today I woke up to the perfect fall day, overcast morning, temperatures in the low 40’s and most importantly the strong urge to be productive. For some odd reason, my productivity is negatively correlated with the temperature. I guess the cooler it gets outside the less chances of doing anything else but work! However I think it’s more complicated then that.
In the Northern hemisphere (and southern for this matter) we are programmed from a young age that summer is time to relax and kick back. For at least 12 years of our lives, most of us have at least 2 months off for summer vacation. By the time you get to college its part of your life, and it’s the hardest thing to even think about having to take a course in the summer. Nevertheless, you realize you have to take summer classes if you want to graduate within 4 years. After pulling yourself together and scheduling that ONE class (or two if you were really determined), you realize that’s its not so bad after all because it’s a lighter load then the regular version.
Now that we have grown up, we are expected to work through the summer. Well Ill get to it once I reprogram the past 15-16 years of my life! So excuse me if I seem a little relaxed and unproductive when the temperature hits 85F, it’s not my fault I was brought up that way.
*Author is an advocate of year-round schooling, summer jobs, or anything that teaches our kids that more than 3 weeks vacation during the summer will NOT be sustainable in adulthood.