Interesting blog bits

Some weekend reading:

1. Chris Dillow on Bonuses and productivity
   

   Big bonuses for bosses can have adverse effects upon productivity

2. Jérémie Cohen-Setton comments on The critique of modern macro
   

   Do modern macroeconomic tools developed in the stable macroeconomic environment still make sense?

3. Tim Worstall comments that Greek Debt Deal Looks Further Away Than Ever
   

   Various European finance ministers and the like are meeting in Riga today. And the Greek financial markets are up a bit on hopes that everyone will get closer to an agreement on how to deal with the Greek debt crisis. No one actually expects a deal to get done today but the hopes are that some baby steps toward one might be made.

4. Eric Crampton notes that All your health is belong to us
   

   If the one paying the piper calls the tune, be careful who you let pay for dinner. Britain's NHS is considering rationing healthcare by a measure of deservingness

5. Timothy Taylor on Americans, Led by Democrats, Get Friendlier With Free Trade
   

   A working hypothesis would be that countries with lower incomes and/or more exposure to foreign trade are more likely to see it in overall positive terms.

6. Tim Harford on Paying to Get Inside the Restaurant: Is it worth it to fork over cash for a table?
   

   The next time you’re fortunate enough to have dinner at a high-end restaurant, take a moment to enjoy not only the food and wine, but the frisson of a really good puzzle: Why do restaurants price things the way they do?

7. John Taylor on A Monetary Policy for the Future

   Should forward guidance be part of a monetary policy for the future? My answer is yes, but only if it is consistent with the rules-based strategy of the central bank, and then it is simply a way to be transparent. If forward guidance is used to make promises for the future that will not be appropriate in the future, then it is time-inconsistent and should not be part of monetary policy. For all these reasons monetary policy in the future should be centered on a rule or strategy for the policy instruments designed to achieve stated goals with consistent forward guidance but without cyclical macroprudential actions or quantitative easing.

8. Joshua Gans on The last two digits of a price can signal your desperation to sell
   

   Competitive options for buyers and sellers can define a limit beyond which they will not go, but there is still a range of prices that fall within those limits. Within that range, clearly sellers would like a higher price, while buyers would like a lower one, so each has an incentive to signal to the other their willingness to be a tough negotiator. Sometimes, however, you might want to send a signal that you might be willing to be less tough. Why?

9. Chris Dillow on The Knowledge Problem

   Was Hayek merely a Cold Warrior who is irrelevant today, or does he still have something to teach us? I ask because of two things that have happened to me this morning.

10. Jason Brennan on Philosophy Departments, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and the Seen and Unseen

    In the past few days, philosophy bloggers have been writing with concern about how more philosophy departments around the country are closing