Libertarian blogs are everywhere disguised as "economics blogs"

A blog entry on econlib about the phenomenon of libertarian economist bloggers. I found myself in this paragraph, even if I am not all that libertarian anymore:

To understand the real story of GMU econ blogging, you have to know our biographies.  (Several are right here).  None of us discovered economics in a mainstream econ class, found it fascinating, then decided to try to ascend the academic hierarchy.  Instead, our inspiration came from libertarian books, libertarian friends, and libertarian intellectuals, plus our broader reading in philosophy, history, and the history of economic thought.  Once we fell in love with ideas, we asked, "How can I make a career out of this?"  We would have preferred to be instantly anointed as public intellectuals.  But the best realistic path, we learned, was "Become a professor of economics."  

I don't want to be a professor of economics, though. I want to do something a little more practical and hands on and involved. I want to cooperate. Sure you can cooperate on faculty of an ideological economics department at GMU by teaming up against Krugman in the blogosphere, but I don't consider that very helpful to the disadvantaged of this world. Too bad I'm such a hypocrite right now.

Alex Taborrok vs. Paul Krugman

Taborrok points out that, even if Keynesian fiscal policy works, it hasn't been given a chance because Keynesian politics has always failed. Even Krugman has lamented this. Taborrok goes on to suggest we look to alternative remedies to financial crisis, such as increased flexibility (I'm not sure what this entails), unemployment insurance (to boost aggregate demand? I thought he believed Hayek, not Keynes.. ), and more effective regulation (at least he admits he's skeptical).

Krugman replies to Taborrok, arguing that increased flexibility is NOT the answer, but maybe better monetary policy. He admits, though, that his political opponents wouldn't have the stomach for that either if they can't handle stimulus spending. So he recommits himself to the political struggle rather than the intellectual struggle for compromise.

Agriculture and Food in India

VIDEO

"India, despite its ambitions as an emerging economic giant, still struggles to feed its 1.1 billion people."

"Critics say Indian policy makers have failed to follow up on the country’s investments in agricultural technology of the 1960s and ’70s, as they focused on more glamorous, urban industries like information technology, financial services and construction."