Steven Landsburg
Steven E. Landsburg (born 1954) is an American professor of economics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. From 1989 to 1995, he taught at Colorado State University.
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[edit] Education
Professor Landsburg was an undergraduate at the University of Rochester, but never completed his undergraduate requirements due to his failure to take a physical education course. He was awarded a Masters degree after he enrolled in his own course when he became a professor at the school. Landsburg received a PhD in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1979.
He also spent time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.[1][2]
[edit] Writings and work
[edit] Popular writings
Landsburg currently writes a column on "everyday economics" for Slate magazine. The subjects of the columns are diverse and often draw on current affairs. Landsburg has discussed the national debt, the obesity crisis, payments to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in New Orleans and salary caps in the NFL. Alternatively, Landsburg discusses recent research in micro-economics and its implications. In this vein, he has discussed the value of mobile phones and driving, the (career) cost of motherhood, and whether or not daughters (as opposed to sons) cause divorce.
Landsburg has also addressed legal issues: in a Slate column from 2003, he proposed punishing jurors when a jury's decision is later "proven" to be wrong, such as when an acquitted defendant later admits to committing the crime. If a jury's judgement is later "proven" to be right, Landsburg suggested the jurors should be financially rewarded[3]
Landsburg has been particularly critical of mainstream environmentalism having devoted both Slate columns and book chapters (in The Armchair Economist) to attack environmentalist principles. As a self-described "hardcore libertarian", Landsburg emphasizes the importance of individual choice.[4] This position extends to health care, and his view that those who choose no insurance should not receive (potentially life saving) treatment.[5] This position was asserted partly as a response to an article published by Daily Kos .
Landsburg supports free trade and opposes protectionism, and his writings in the topic have appeared in various newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times[6] and the Washington Post. Landsburg's comparison of protectionism to racism in Forbes magazine[7] prompted a response from Pat Buchanan.[8] On April 8, 2005, Landsburg debated protectionism and free trade with John Gibson on the Fox News Channel's The Big Story.[9] Before the 2004 presidential election Landsburg stated that he planned to vote against John Kerry because of his belief that John Edwards, Kerry's running mate, was a "xenophobe" due to his opposition to free trade. He compared Edwards' views to David Duke's racism.[10]
He has also reviewed popular economics books Freakonomics[11] and The Undercover Economist[12] for the Wall Street Journal.
[edit] Academic writings
Landsburg's articles in academic journals have dealt with many fields, including algebraic K-theory, module patching, quantum game theory[citation needed], philosophy of science and moral philosophy.
Selected publications follow.
[edit] Mathematics
- K-theory and patching for categories of complexes, Duke Mathematics Journal, Vol. 62, No. 2, March 1991, pp. 359–384.
- Relative Cycles and Algebraic K-Theory, American Journal of Mathematics, Vol. 111, No. 4, August 1989, pp. 599–632.
[edit] Teaching
Professor Landsburg teaches intermediate and advanced microeconomics at the University of Rochester.[13] He was promoted from adjunct associate professor to professor during the 2005-2006 academic year and in 2007 he received the University's Professor of the Year in Social Sciences award.[14]
[edit] Personal
For several years, Landsburg served on the board of directors of Hutchinson Technology, a manufacturer of suspension assemblies for disk drives.
Landsburg lives in Rochester, NY. In his spare time he reads poetry and enjoys crossword puzzles. He has one daughter, named Cayley, who was featured in his book Fair Play.
He has eastern European Jewish heritage.[15]
[edit] Books
- Price Theory and Applications (1989)
- The Armchair Economist (1993)
- Macroeconomics (1996)
- Fair Play (1997)
- More Sex is Safer Sex, The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics (2007)
- The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics and Physics (2009)
- A Mathematical Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology (unreleased)
[edit] References
- ^ Andre Weil: 1906-1998
- ^ Andre Weil by Steven E
- ^ Should we punish juries that get it wrong?
- ^ The Volokh Conspiracy
- ^ Do the poor deserve life support? - By Steven E. Landsburg - Slate Magazine
- ^ What to Expect When You’re Free Trading - New York Times
- ^ Xenophobia and Politics - Forbes.com
- ^ Is Protectionism Racism?
- ^ FOXNews.com - Is Buying American Racist? - John Gibson | Judge Napolitano | John Gibson | Big Story Weekend
- ^ Slate votes. - - Slate Magazine
- ^ The Wall Street Journal Online - Leisure & Arts
- ^ The Wall Street Journal Online - Leisure & Arts
- ^ Class Description Lookup
- ^ Professor of the Year recipients honored - News
- ^ http://slate.msn.com/id/2084352/
[edit] External links
- About Professor Landsburg via University of Rochester
- Steven Landsburg's personal webpage
- The Big Questions Blog
- Landsburg's column at Slate
- Price Theory and Applications
- City News Interview of Landsburg: Part One, Part Two
- New York Times review of More Sex Is Safer Sex
