Global Economics and Management

A Superb Video on Brexit

Alas, it is in French (but with English subtitles). The video lays out in vivid details the main issues facing the EU and the UK as they negotiate their way toward a Brexit agreement. The issues are so complex and the solutions so elusive that it makes me doubt that Brexit will ever happen. If so, the whole drama will only serve to show how irreversible globalization really is.

One theme I emphasize in my global trends class is that globalization is not so much a policy choice, as it is a technological development due to better transportation and communications technologies. As globalization progresses, interest groups array for and against globalization based on the costs and benefits that accrue to them. Groups favorable to globalization won't be easily swept away by those disgruntled with modernization, and the complex web of rules and agreements that form the backbone of globalization won't easily come undone - hence the stalemate that Brexit finds itself in. The video lays out these themes very effectively.

Workloads at Universities

This column by Professor Richard Vedder raises some excellent questions and makes some excellent points. I too have noticed, in my shorter (20-year) career, that academic effort levels expended by students and faculty alike have been on the decline. In the case of MBA students, the reduced academic effort level has been replaced with other activities like networking, job search, job fairs, clubs, etc. So my MBA students are indeed quite busy people. But it is not academic learning that occupies them most. Similar observations hold, in my view, for academics, but I might be ostracized if I give details, so I will stop here.

The Cultural Diversity of India

Is there cultural convergence or divergence in India? This article argues there is convergence. It is based, however, on evidence that is distinctly impressionistic and anecdotal. I would like to see a more systematic empirical investigation of this issue.

Brexit the Cat

Funny, and rather deserved!