From poor to unpoor

Submitted by cuz on Sat, 09/14/2013 - 11:54

Michael Hobbes writes in the Pacific Standard about his recent information gathering mission in Zambia. It's a very readable piece that surveys the complex issues facing the country. What I like most about it is that he has the humility to admit that he does not have a clear solution for alleviating  the country's poverty. And I think that is what everyone who isn't trying to sell something probably has to admit. We know much less about development than we think we do.

Hunt's Donuts, Open 25 Hours

Submitted by cuz on Sat, 09/14/2013 - 11:02

Here is an attempt to lay down the history of Hunt's Donuts at the corner of 20th and Mission St. in San Francisco. I lived around the corner on San Carlos in 1996. I could see the shop from my bedroom window. And I could watch people buying drugs (supposedly methodone) from the building right across the street. While I knew the corner was actively illegal, I never knew it was quite like this! Unfortunately, I don't think I ever went inside... But I was also fascinated by the sign on the outside that said it was open 25 hours. There is something so simple and mystical about the claim.

Crisis-induced reform, state–market relations, and entrepreneurial urban growth in China available online

Submitted by cuz on Tue, 08/20/2013 - 16:43

My piece on Chinese urban entrepreneurialism with Lei Wang and Zhigang Li is now available online. Here is the abstract:

The urban entrepreneurialism literature on China has focused either on macro-level state devolution or on micro-level place-making initiatives. Little has been written on the meso-level question of how the mode of regulation in general or institutional reforms in particular have worked to forge China's state-led urban growth by reshaping the state-market relationship. Through an investigation of China's crisis-induced fiscal and land use reforms since the mid-1990s, this paper argues that piecemeal, gradualist reform has transformed local states from protectionist market actors to investment promoters with monopoly power over land markets. Though this shift has supported entrepreneurial urban growth driven by manufacturing and real estate investment, it also tends to aggravate inter-regional and urban-rural tensions. As a country in transition that faces multiple challenges, China needs more holistic reform framework for sustainable growth.

DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.06.008

All settled...mostly

Submitted by cuz on Tue, 08/20/2013 - 16:37

So I've been back for a few weeks now and working to get my world in order for the new semester. And everything seems to be looking up for me. It's a bit frightening.

First, I've just finished editing an article on urban industry for the Korean Planning Association's journal. This acceptance fulfills my requirements for recontracting. So it looks like they won't be kicking me out in March (at least not due to my publications!). And it gets even better. Unless the new scoring or system for evaluating publishing changes (which is a distinct possibility!), the journals I have published in have a high enough impact factor to secure my position for some time to come. (The fact that impact factor does not necessarily represent journal quality or reputation will have to be discussed another time.) At any rate, I have gone from a high level of job insecurity to a high level of job security. And it feels fine!

Best-case scenario

Submitted by cuz on Mon, 07/15/2013 - 18:35

So my latest best-case scenario has been realized, albeit a couple of days late. A couple of weeks ago in the first couple of days of my real vacation, I received notice that my solo piece "Rivers of traffic: The spatial fragmentation of US ports" was accepted by Regional Studies. This means that my recontracting is now almost guaranteed. Only one of three Korean papers in progress has to be accepted for me to meet my requirements. Needless to say, this is a great relief to me. It's nice that it's going to be published, but much nicer is that I can keep feeding my family and teaching my wonderful students.

Once I return to the US from the joint AESOP-ACSP conference in Dublin, I will post my author's version of the paper.

[Somehow it's still a bit difficult to relax completely, though...]

Crisis-induced Reform, State-Market Relations, and Entrepreneurial Urban Growth in China

Submitted by cuz on Sat, 06/29/2013 - 19:13

So my summer is getting a bit better. Yesterday I received news that my article "Crisis-induced Reform, State-Market Relations, and Entrepreneurial Urban Growth in
China" (co-authored with Dr. Lei Wang of Wuhan University) has been accepted for publishing. This puts me much closer to meeting my recontracting requirements and relieves a good deal of stress. I think I still have to write another paper to add to my security and to meet my research fund requirements.

More on the article when it becomes available online.

Visuals for the 1% and the rest

Submitted by cuz on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 18:26

Contrary to the Tufte nightmare in my previous post, this video visualizing the distribution of wealth in the US is quite well done. (I would elaborate, but I'm putting this here primarily for use in class. Just watch it.)

Tufte nighmare #1

Submitted by cuz on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 14:30

I've got too much work to do, but this graphic from today's Korea Herald purporting to show a precipitous decline in labor participation is so bad I couldn't help myself.

I mean, look a this beast. It violates everything Tufte ever advocated. First of all, the data-ink ratio is abysmally low. There are only 11 data points in this entire graphic. 11. Second, the image contributes nothing meaningful to the interpretation of the data. Third, the two-dimensional data is made three-dimensional, both distorting the data with interior escalators suggesting other data trends and disguising the trend line. This is made worse by the fact that the orthogonal perspective exaggerates the decline. Fourth, since the y-axis begins at about 55.5% and ends at about 61.5%, the 2.5 percentage point decline over twenty years is wildly exaggerated. The only redeeming aspect I see in the graphic is the attempt to use the building's windows to provide gridlines for comparing the data. This, of course, would not have been necessary if the pointless images was avoided from the beginning.

Folks, don't do this. It's bad, m'kay?

Origins of Neoliberalism

Submitted by cuz on Sat, 01/19/2013 - 15:22

Philip Pilkington has begun a series on the origins of neoliberalism over at naked capitalism. The first argues that Hayek's political course from the Road to Serfdom on was a result of actively repressing the fact that his economic theory had begun to be at odds with reality. The second shows how his ideas were made palatable for an American audience. The third discusses how the ideas took root in Europe through the ordoliberals of Germany.

This series may be useful for my advanced seminar this coming semester.

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