Lars P. Syll

A quantitative look at qualitative research

Life among the Econ .[embedded content] So when ‘modern’ mainstream economists use their models — standardly assuming rational expectations, Walrasian market clearing, unique equilibria, time invariance, linear separability and homogeneity of both inputs/outputs and technology, infinitely lived intertemporally optimizing representative agents with homothetic and identical preferences, etc. — and standardly ignoring complexity, diversity, uncertainty,...

.[embedded content] Though I speak with the tongues of angels, If I have not love… My words would resound with but a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophesy… And understand all mysteries… and all knowledge… And though I have all faith So that I could remove mountains, If I have not love… I am nothing.

The darkest day (personal) Thirty years ago today, the unthinkable happened. Shortly after giving birth to our second child, my beloved wife Kristina died from an intracranial aneurysm. People say that time heals all wounds. I wish that was true. But some wounds never heal. Even after thirty years, you must learn to live with the scars. But in dreams,I can hear your name.And in dreams,We will meet again. When the seas and mountains fallAnd we come to end...

Girig-Sverige — eller när kommer kraschen? Ekonomijournalistgruppen har en hel del tydliga devota och inställsamma inslag, där många, kanske de flesta, med tiden har valt att gå ”all in” och blivit PR-konsulter eller pressansvariga på något företag. Andreas Cervenka är ett lysande undantag och hans ”Girig-Sverige” är ekonomijournalistik när den är som bäst, kritisk, upplysande och underhållande … Sverige har numera enligt Cervenkas lista 541...

Minsky and Keynes show the way out of the crisis American economist Hyman Minsky described capitalism as a “two price” system. On one side are asset prices—both financial, like government or corporate bonds, and physical like residential or commercial property. On the other, there are consumer prices—goods and services that determine current output and consumer price inflation.   In the contemporary global economy, asset prices are much more sensitive to...

The truly scientific attitude I recall, with sadness, a comment made to me by the author of a well-known textbook. Upon being asked whether he accepted my analysis of demand theory as presented first in 1948, the reply was positive. He added that it would not be included in his advanced textbook because “it would upset too many things and be too disturbing, i.e., Dicta non movere.” So much for the acceptance of new scientific results and for a truly...

Adjusting for confounding (student stuff) .[embedded content] Simpson’s paradox is an interesting paradox in itself, but it also highlights a deficiency in the traditional econometric approach towards causality. Say you have 1000 observations on men and an equal amount of observations on women applying for admission to university studies, and that 70% of men are admitted, but only 30% of women. Running a logistic regression to find out the odds ratios (and...

Public debt and Keynes’ paradox of thrift For although the amount of his own saving is unlikely to have any significant influence on his own income, the reactions of the amount of his consumption on the incomes of others makes it impossible for all individuals simultaneously to save any given sums. Every such attempt to save more by reducing consumption will so affect incomes that the attempt necessarily defeats itself. It is, of course, just as impossible...

These photos of my grand-father Oskar Lissmark and Kurt Gödel made me realize that my new specs perhaps weren’t that new after all …