Ten years ago, Eugene Fama and Robert J. Shiller were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (together with Lars Peter Hansen) “for their empirical analysis of asset prices.” Fama and Shiller, however, hold diametrically opposing views on asset-price movements, from what drives the decisions of economic actors to whether markets are inherently efficient. Fifteen years after the global economic crisis, it is a disagreement worth revisiting. Fama is a member of the Chicago School of econ

ViewpointsDec. 6, 2023

By Jeffrey D. Sachs As governments gather in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for this year’s climate conference in early December, two things are painfully clear. First, we are already in a climate emergency. Second, the richer countries, and especially the US, continue to turn their back on the poorer countries. This year’s debate will therefore focus on climate justice and financing: how to share the costs of the climate disasters and the urgently needed transformation of the wor

ViewpointsDec. 5, 2023

Sam Altman’s dismissal and rapid reinstatement as CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, confirms that the future of AI is firmly in the hands of people focused on speed and profits, at the expense of all else. This elite will now impose their vision for technology on the rest of humanity. Most of us will not enjoy the consequences. The founders of OpenAI claimed to be creating a philanthropic organization that would benefit all of humanity or at least protect it from potential harm. OpenA

ViewpointsDec. 4, 2023

The Modern Language Association recently released its survey of second language enrollment at US universities as of the fall 2021 semester. Founded in 1883, the MLA is the most prominent organization of college and university second language educators in the county. The survey has been conducted every three or four years since 1958 and offers a window into the state of second language education in the US. The most notable change in the latest survey is the rise of Korean. For the first time ever

ViewpointsDec. 1, 2023

The Korea-China-Japan foreign ministers' meeting was recently held in Busan, with considerable expectations at home and abroad. At the first meeting in four years, the ministers reaffirmed trilateral cooperation and held in-depth discussions on cooperation measures. It is a welcome diplomatic achievement that the three major countries in Northeast Asia met and discussed peace and prosperity amid anxiety over the wars in Europe and the Middle East. However, it is also necessary to point out

ViewpointsNov. 30, 2023

A new analysis from researchers at the American Cancer Society suggests that the distressing disparity in outcomes for Black and white colon cancer patients could narrow if hospitals simply treated all patients with the same level of high-quality care. The disparity in rates and deaths from colorectal cancer among Black people has been a longstanding problem in cancer care. Black individuals are 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40 percent more likely to die from it. T

ViewpointsNov. 29, 2023

South Korea is a country where conservatism and socialism/progressivism have been at war for the past eight decades. Unfortunately, this means that there has been no room for liberalism in the Korean political arena. Surely, there are many liberals, and yet they are invisible in the whirlwind of ideological warfare between conservatives and socialists/progressivists. Watching the chronic war, one might have the impression that the Korean people do not seem to correctly perceive the definition of

ViewpointsNov. 29, 2023

Congressional dysfunction took a dangerous turn this month. In the House, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy allegedly elbowed Rep. Tim Burchett in the kidney (McCarthy denied the claim). Not to be outdone, Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenged the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, Sean O’Brien, to a fight, with the two men exchanging insults. For those inclined to believe that these childish provocations auger the end of the republic, please consider life in the US Cong

ViewpointsNov. 28, 2023

At their recent summit in San Francisco, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a few important issues. Notably, the two countries will resume military-to-military communication, thereby reducing the chances of an accidental conflict, and China will do more to restrict the export of chemicals used to make the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl -- a major cause of death in the United States. But there is one crucial area where progress remained elusive: tariffs. In 2018

ViewpointsNov. 27, 2023