Lars P. Syll

[embedded content] This live performance remains unequaled to this day. Jussi Björling — the greatest of them all.

.[embedded content] In April 1945 thousands of concentration camp survivors arrived at the harbour of the town where yours truly lives, Malmö, Sweden. When taking my daily walk with the dog, I often go by the Jewish cemetery in the northern part of Sankt Pauli kyrkogård. And it breaks my heart every time to see tombstone after tombstone with the names of all those who passed away within months after having reached the harbour of hope. (To my Swedish readers: Filmen finns nu...

Do complex numbers exist? (wonkish) .[embedded content]

Yours truly has invited five of his colleagues to share a Christmas lunch with him around the circular dinner table in his kitchen. Unfortunately, two of the colleagues are not on speaking terms with each other, so they cannot be seated together. In how many ways can we be seated around the table?

How to ensure that models serve society • Mind the assumptions — assess uncertainty and sensitivity. • Mind the hubris — complexity can be the enemy of relevance. • Mind the framing — match purpose and context. • Mind the consequences — quantification may backfire. • Mind the unknowns — acknowledge ignorance. Andrea Saltelli, John Kay, Deborah Mayo, Philip B. Stark, et al. Five principles I think modern times “the model is the message” economists...

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Economics beyond Krugman, Mankiw, and Rodrik Economics students today are complaining more and more about the way economics is taught. The lack of fundamental diversity — not just path-dependent elaborations of the mainstream canon — and narrowing of the curriculum, dissatisfy econ students all over the world. The frustrating lack of real-world relevance has led many of them to demand the discipline to start developing a more open and pluralistic...

Gloria Thurn und Toxisch .[embedded content]

An easy one this week: Yours truly wants to distribute 30 one-dollar coins among his kids Linnea, David, and Tora. In how many ways can this be done if he wants all of them to get at least one coin? 

Mathematical modeling in economics If scientific progress in economics lies in our ability to tell ‘better and better stories’ one would, of course, expect economics journals to be filled with articles supporting the stories with empirical evidence confirming the predictions. However, the journals still show a striking and embarrassing paucity of empirical studies that (try to) substantiate these predictive claims. Equally amazing is how little one has...