Earlier today, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics to Americans Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims "for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy." Sargent, a professor at NYU, and Sims, a professor at Princeton, had looked at how government policies impact the economy; a former Federal Reserve economist told the Wall Street Journal, "They've totally changed the way people do macroeconomics. There's a pre-Sargent/Sims and a post-Sargent/Sims. It's that significant." more ›

Fewer Korean-Americans are running delis these days, and those still left in the game are being squeezed out of business by lower-priced chain stores, online ordering, obscene rent, and tougher enforcement by city inspection agencies. But you already knew all this. Still, today's Times article about the Korean deli crisis is nothing to shrug off: Chong Sik Lee, president of The Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, says he as just half the members as he did a decade ago, when they numbered 600. He tells the Times, "In 10 years, there will be no more Korean mom-and-pop stores." more ›

There's no shortage of news reports about would-be pedophiles getting busted by undercover cops posing as minors on the Internet. So why do these men keep falling for it? Because they are sick puppies who just can't help themselves, we suppose. The latest alleged perv is an adjunct professor of economics at several city universities named Igor Sorkin. Prosecutors say [pdf] Sorkin, 31, sent sexually explicit messages and photos of his genitals to a vice officer posing as a 14-year-old girl online. He was arrested Tuesday when he tried to meet up with this fictional teen in Queens, and faces up to seven years in prison. But was the feedback Sorkin's received on Rate My Professors a red flag? more ›

The Bronx is the least healthy county in the state, according to a new study. By examining "health outcomes" including length of life and quality of life, as well as "health factors" like habits, environmental quality, social status, education, income, and access to care, researchers from the University of Wisconsin determined that the Bronx ranked at the bottom of the list, according to Bloomberg. NY1 reports that Bronx residents were found to have the state's highest rates of premature death and poor quality of life. Nassau County and Westchester County—which shares a border with the Bronx—reportedly topped the list. Last month, a study revealed that the Bronx has the nation's highest rate of hunger. more ›

In a real world example of supply and demand economics, the proliferation of Southeast Asian eateries on and around Williamsburg's main commercial street has hurt business, according to neighborhood restaurateurs. The pad thai business is ailing in a three block area centered around Bedford Avenue and North Sixth Streets, where four Thai and three Asian fusion restaurants compete, according to the Brooklyn Paper — which dubs the enclave "Brooklyn's Little Bangkok." more ›

Leave it to a Nobel prize-winning economist to rain on Wall Street's parade! Joseph Stiglitz, who teaches at Columbia now, told Reuters that the Treasury Department's plan—embraced by the markets yesterday—"is very badly flawed." Pointing out that taxpayers are being used by the government to guarantee the assets, while private investors are getting the upside, Stiglitz said, "Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer." Right now, stock futures are down. Stiglitz was cited by the 2001 Nobel Prize committee for his contributions about understanding asymmetric information in the markets. more ›

Paul Krugman, Princeton University professor and NY Times op-ed columnist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics today. The Nobel prize committee gave the award for Krugman's "analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity." In other terms, he's looked at how economics of scale affects free trade and globalization (and urbanization). He told the Times this morning, "It’s been an extremely weird day, but weird in a positive way." more ›