The Economics of Piracy

Aaaargh-onomics a blog post in the New York Times by Edward L. Glaeser of Harvard, reviews Peter Leeson’s book “The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates.”

Mr. Leeson’s book represents a serious attempt to use the tools of economics to make sense of the institutions of piracy. The book is another example of economic imperialism, the use of economics to make sense of real world phenomena that are outside the standard realm of economic science. It addresses an important force that did, and does, impact world trade. But as the skull and crossbones on its spine suggests, the book is also just fun.

Benford, Zipf and Pareto

In this blog post Benford’s law, Zipf’s law, and the Pareto distribution Fields medalist Terence Tao discusses three remarkable real-world statistical patterns: Benford’s law, Zipf’s law, and the Pareto distribution.