Allow More Competition
Commenting on competition in Singapore's telecoms industry, at the height of the Microsoft-Netscape antitrust fiasco.
Standstill in U.S. Economy
Doomsday brief about the way the American economy was headed just before the major Nasdaq slump in 2000.
Economic Sense Must Prevail
In response to a bevy of anti-market policies imposed by Malaysia in 1999. Some premature conclusions.
Chromosomes & the Slutsky Equation
Primarily inspired by a piece on scientific method as applied to biology by Stephen Jay Gould, twisted to apply to economics. | Published
Safeguard Singapore's Advantage
A short piece on how the local Employment Act should be revised to cater to foreign talent in a New Economy.
Close, But No Cigar
On bilateral trade pacts and how they might - or might not - actually contribute to promoting multilateral free trade, at least according to academic opinion.
Today or Tomorrow?
A rebuttal to (what I felt was) a myopic article on the plight of HIV patients in Singapore.
Embrace Diversity
An off-the-cuff response to a forum letter that alleged how Singaporeans are 'sponges for everything Western'.
A Sustainable Solution for AIDS Patients
Based partly on the above commentary on AIDS, this rephrases several arguments and proposes a sustainable solution to the AIDS problem.
How The Mighty Hath Fallen
A follow-up to the above article on why the U.S. dollar has slid (and why it should continue to decline), after it began to do so sometime in mid-August 2001.
Piled High & Deep
A chatty piece on choosing to do a PhD, designed for mass consumption. Some bias toward a social science track, as expected.
Zombies & Grannies
Marshall van Alstyne and his coauthors make a strong case for attention bonds as a Coasean-based solution to the spam problem. Unfortunately, zombies and trojan horses may make it infeasible. | Published
Reinstating the Rational Voter
Equating an uninformed or misinformed voter with being irrational is unjustified, and does not invalidate a rational voter model. | Published
|
Jury Out on Capital Controls
Afterthoughts that raise questions on the viability of the capital controls imposed by Malaysia, based on signaling concerns.
Revisiting Europe
Written one year after the advent of the euro, in the midst of the big debate over UK and Dutch particpation in the EMU.
Cornerstone in Democracy
After the institution of Speakers' Corner in Singapore, I suggested that it was a small but important step forward.
Rewriting the Book on Education
Written just after MIT announced its decision to make, freely available, course materials for most of its subjects. | Published
Why the Alps Tower the Rockies
Based on a wager made with a friend over why I felt that the Euro would break parity with the dollar before June 2002.
Uncomfortable Bedfellows
Political-economic commentary on how the fall of the Estrada and the rise of Koizumi were due to, in part, economic management issues.
Quit Throwing a Tantrum
Response to the U.S. decision not to pay its dues because it was voted out of U.N. panels.
Mercantilism: Alive & Well
Why, unfortunately, the case for protectionism remains alive and well, even in the 21st century, among academics.
Public Education to Change AIDS Mindset
A response to a response to my response. More AIDS stuff, and it also reiterates the importance of public education and not health subsidies.
Terrorism & Wealth of Nations
As the tragic events of September 11th linger in our minds, it is easy to pin it on Islam or American foreign policy. I prefer economic explanations.
To Re or not to Re
With increasingly vocal calls for Chinese yuan revaluation in the summer of 2003, I felt that I had to weight in on the debate.
Blaming IMF Masks Complexities
While fashionable to blame the IMF for problems developing countries face, this article argues that clear thinking is needed to directly address the complex problems inherent in development.
|