School in the News | June 10, 2011
Media reports from around the world
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES | POLITICAL SCIENCE
Japan revolving leadership door may keep turning
Alert Net - Trust.org | June 09, 2011
Another year, another prime minister. MIT's Richard Samuels is quoted in an article about Japanese government and leadership.
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Going On A Digital Diet
EWeek Blogs | June 06, 2011 | by Samuel Greengard
A recent survey conducted by mobile telecom giant Ericsson found that 35 percent of iPhone and Android users check their e-mail or Facebook account before getting out of bed in the morning. MIT's Sherry Turkle is quoted in this piece about human interaction with digital technology.
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Alone in the crowd | Q&A with Sherry Turkle
American Psychological Association | June 04, 2011
"People today are more connected to one another than ever before in human history, thanks to Internet-based social networking sites and text messaging. But they’re also more lonely and distant from one another in their unplugged lives, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology social psychologist Sherry Turkle, PhD. This is not only changing the way we interact online, it’s straining our personal relationships, as well."
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ECONOMICS
José de Gregorio Rebeco for IMF Chief
The Wall Street Journal | June 06, 2011
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J-PAL | THE ABDUL LATIF JAMEEL POVERTY ACTION LAB
In praise of … Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee
Editorial | June 06, 2011 | The Guardian
Through many microstudies, they make a subtle case for one big argument: aid really can help poor people
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WSJ Blogs | Banerjee and Duflo on Microcredit | June 05, 2011
The authors of a new book that looks at ways to reduce poverty around the world (and whether they work) have suggested one possible reason why the microcredit model may not be creating more entrepreneurs: It rewards cautiousness." This piece is about the new book by MIT's Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.
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MUSIC
Scholz plays with Pops
Boston.com | June 07, 2011
"Among those celebrating Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 150th anniversary over the weekend was Tom Scholz. The MIT alum and mastermind behind the formerly mega-selling band 'Boston' performed with the Pops at Symphony Hall" (Tom received his SB and Masters in MechE, and went on to a storied, ongoing career in music and philanthropy).
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ECONOMICS
Chile seen ending steep rate hikes, more cautious
Reuters UK | June 03, 2011
Chile's central bank has likely ended its sweeping tightening offensive for the year, shifting instead to fewer and smaller rate hikes to further curb inflation without harming a vigorous economic recovery. Under the leadership of MIT-trained Jose De Gregorio the bank has often acted boldly to stay ahead of the curve—slashing rates more than any other Latin American bank during the worst of the 2008-2009 financial crisis."
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Geithner urges global capital rules for swaps
MarketWatch (WSJ) | June 06, 2011
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Citigroup, Citi Foundation Announce $25 Million Research Initiative
Foundation Center | June 06, 2011
Citigroup, Citi Foundation Announce $25 Million Research Initiative Citigroup and the Citi Foundation have announced a five-year, $25 million initiative to support research on issues affecting the global economy and the future of financial innovation. Through the Financial Insights Project, the Citi Foundation will award individual grants of up to $1 million a year, renewable over the course of the program, to select universities in the U.S. In 2011, Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Yale will receive grants to research trends in the areas of innovation, technology, globalization, and consumer behavior. Additional participants will be announced at a later time."
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OPEN COURSE WARE
Free course materials have reached 100 million
Macleans OnCampus | June 06, 2011
"MIT announced that its free OpenCourseWare has reached 100 million people in the first 10 years of the project. The group says its new goal is to reach one billion people over the next decade."
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ECONOMICS | DIAMOND FEDERAL RESERVE NOMINATION
Diamond still seeking answers
Boston Globe | 11 June 2011
With Fed board bid over, retiring MIT professor to explore causes of crisis
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Nobel Laureate Peter Diamond to Withdraw Fed Governor Nomination
Bloomberg Businessweek | June 06, 2011
"Nobel laureate Peter Diamond, nominated three times by President Barack Obama to serve on the Federal Reserve's board of governors, will ask the White House to withdraw his nomination in the face of Republican opposition."
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Do people of distinction have a place in today’s Washington?
Boston.com | June 07, 2011
This editorial discusses Peter Diamond's decision to withdraw his nomination to the Federal Reserve Board.
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Does the country need big thinkers for big problems?
Boston Globe Blogs | June 08, 2011 | Alan Wirzbicki
Do people of distinction have a place in today's Washington? That was the headline on the Globe editorial page yesterday—and the subtext of a debate over the effects of political gridlock on policymaking at the Kennedy School of Government's blog.
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Obama Fed Pick Withdraws, Slamming Politics
CNBC | June 06, 2011
Nobel Prize winner Peter Diamond said on Sunday he planned to withdraw as a nominee for Federal Reserve governor, after his nomination was repeatedly opposed by Republicans. This piece originated with Reuters and ran in multiple outlets including Financial Times.
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Nobel winner drops Fed nomination fight
CNN Money | June 06, 2011
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Peter Diamond withdraws his stalled nomination to Fed
Los Angeles Times | June 07, 2011
The Nobel Prize-winning economist's decision, more than a year after President Obama nominated him to the post, could scare off future candidates from jumping into the confirmation process and result in more top government officials serving in acting roles.
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Failed Fed nominee didn’t get Nobel for politics
MarketWatch | June 06, 2011
Fed battles resembling Supreme Court fights. "(MIT's Peter) Diamond, who announced that he is withdrawing his nomination to be a Federal Reserve governor after getting held up three times in the Senate, wasn’t rejected for being too liberal or for not having monetary policy experience, though those qualities made it easy for Republicans to unite against him."
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NPR | The Tuesday Podcast: Poor Economics
June 07, 2011
There's a lot of hand waving in economics. People make big-picture arguments and throw around equations, but often there's not much good evidence to work with. "On today's Planet Money, we talk to Banerjee and Duflo, who are the authors of a new book called Poor Economics."
Read More | This link has audio podcast embedded)
Peter Diamond withdrawing nomination for the Federal Reserve board
The Associated Press | June 06, 2011
NEW YORK (AP)—Nobel Prize-winning economist Peter Diamond says he is withdrawing his nomination for the Federal Reserve board. This piece originated with AP and ran in multiple outlets including ABC News, USA Today, and WBUR.
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Peter Diamond’s Withdrawal Prompts Frustration Among Democrats
The New York Times | June 06, 2011
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A Constitution Scholar for the Fed
The Wall Street Journal | June 07, 2011
"'Last October, I won the Nobel Prize in economics for my work on unemployment and the labor market," Peter Diamond, an economics professor at MIT, wrote in the New York Times on Sunday. "But I am unqualified to serve on the board of the Federal Reserve—at least according to the Republican senators who have blocked my nomination. How can this be?' Not a bad question for the Republicans to be thinking about in the wake of Mr. Diamond's decision to withdraw his name from consideration for the Fed."
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Diamond Withdraws as Fed Nominee
The Wall Street Journal - World News | June 06, 2011
WASHINGTON—Nobel Prize winning economist Peter Diamond said he is withdrawing as a candidate for the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, a decision welcomed by his chief Republican critic in the Senate.
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The scandal no one is talking about
Washington Post | June 07, 2011
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Lack of Senate confirmation creating a personnel gap, Geithner says
Washington Post | June 06, 2011
The federal government faces huge gaps of leadership in economic and financial policymaking, with about a dozen senior positions vacant or staffed by temporary caretakers, at a time of economic duress and efforts to write hundreds of new financial regulations. The void atop much of the government’s financial machinery was underscored Monday when Nobel laureate Peter Diamond withdrew his nomination to serve on the Federal Reserve."
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Peter Diamond withdraws Federal Reserve nomination
Washington Post | June 06, 2011
"Nobel Prize-winning economist Peter Diamond is withdrawing his nomination for the Federal Reserve board, expressing frustration with Republicans who had blocked his appointment and questioned his practical experience."
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Easier To Win Nobel Prize Than Senate Confirmation To Federal Reserve
WBUR 90.9 FM | June 06, 2011
It's apparently easier to win a Nobel Prize in economics than it is to navigate the perilous partisan waters of Washington politics. That's one lesson to draw from the case of Peter Diamond, the Nobel laureate and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who President Obama nominated to be a Federal Reserve Board governor but who won't be coming to Washington, after all."
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Business News: MIT Professor Not Headed to Federal Reserve Board
Bostonist | June 07, 2011
Image of Boston's Financial District by Nubian ∑agle from photos tagged "Bostonist" on Flickr. Business is happening all over Boston: MIT professor Peter Diamond has withdrawn his nomination to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors after Republicans opposed his candidacy.
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