Reuven Brenner

Reuven Brenner /desautels/taxonomy/term/1902/all en What if economists applied their own theories — to themselves? /desautels/channels/news/what-if-economists-applied-their-own-theories-themselves-257405 Written by Reuven Brenner George Akerlof’s and Robert Shiller’s (Nobels in economics) new book, titled Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception declares on its first page that people “do not do what is really good for them; they do not choose what they really want.” It appears that a main preoccupation of economists – the self declared “behavioral economists” prominent among them – is to show how dumb people are as consumers and in assessing risks. Fri, 18 Dec 2015 15:21:59 +0000 arifa.nitol@mail.mcgill.ca 65409 at /desautels Uncovering the costs and benefits of sports gambling /desautels/channels/news/uncovering-costs-and-benefits-sports-gambling-288573 In a piece for The Wall Street Journal, Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> makes the case for legalized sports gambling – an activity that has only recently been legalized in the US through a Supreme Court ruling. “As in sports, so in high culture – prohibitions, bad regulations and badly imposed taxes destroy businesses and have long-term unintended consequences,” explains Brenner. Tue, 07 Aug 2018 19:15:46 +0000 angela.l.williams@mcgill.ca 71493 at /desautels Professor Brenner on anti-Semitism /desautels/channels/news/professor-brenner-anti-semitism-287145 In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, Desautels Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner </a>traces the early manifestations of anti-Semitism into the present, suggesting that the constant in all of this is the Jewish people’s opposition to dominant ideologies of a given time. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-roots-of-anti-semitism-1525992673" target="_blank">Read more</a> Fri, 11 May 2018 15:55:22 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 68702 at /desautels Professor Brenner on how Asian countries can overcome democratic deficits /desautels/channels/news/professor-brenner-how-asian-countries-can-overcome-democratic-deficits-285628 In a piece for Asia Times, Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> points to history and other geographic contexts to demonstrate how Asian countries, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, can redress democratic deviances. <a href="http://www.atimes.com/democratic-deficits-around-world-asian-countries-learn/" target="_blank">Read more</a> Mon, 05 Mar 2018 21:13:49 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 68475 at /desautels Professor Brenner invited to prestigious panel /desautels/channels/news/professor-brenner-invited-prestigious-panel-284649 Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> was invited to present on a panel that discussed venture capital in Quebec’s biotech and life sciences industry. The high-profile event was attended by Quebec Ministers Mr. Gaétan Barrette and Ms. Dominique Anglade, while the discussion was moderated in part by Mr. Pierre-Marc Johnson, former Premier of Quebec. Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:41:32 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 68362 at /desautels The education reformation /desautels/channels/news/education-reformation-282959 In a piece for American Affairs, Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> takes a pulse of contemporary U.S. education and outlines some of the key challenges in this area, including skewed high school graduation rates and the lack of rigorous training to develop skills and discipline. As a solution, Prof. Brenner proposes an accelerated education program that is complemented by new institutions to better prepare students for their lives and careers. Mon, 20 Nov 2017 20:35:46 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 68111 at /desautels Technological advancement means the rethinking of language /desautels/channels/news/technological-advancement-means-rethinking-language-282683 As society continues to embrace technological advancement, we tend to overlook how the words that our ancestors used have lost their meaning. In an article for Asia Times, Desautels professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> explores what happens when the words used for the physical realm are applied to a digitized society, and how the fit is not always a natural one. Prof. Brenner illustrates his point by referring to the legal system’s struggles with interpreting Google’s business practices. Tue, 14 Nov 2017 16:24:30 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 68079 at /desautels Is bitcoin the new gold? /desautels/channels/news/bitcoin-new-gold-282492 Bitcoin has been the target of much speculation among financial circles with some experts alleging that it has the potential to become comparable to gold, a currency legitimized through social convention. In a piece for Asia Times, Desautels professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> explores what it takes for a new monetary yardstick to emerge, and argues that, historically, social convention must be combined with scarcity. Tue, 07 Nov 2017 17:32:13 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 68055 at /desautels Inflation or recession? The US Fed tries to untangle a financial mystery /desautels/channels/news/inflation-or-recession-us-fed-tries-untangle-financial-mystery-268912 A Weekly Standard op-ed examines the way the Fed is trying to tame a $4-trillion quantitative easing problem in case another recession hits. Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:13:24 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 67631 at /desautels Toward a New Bretton Woods Agreement /desautels/channels/news/toward-new-bretton-woods-agreement-268248 Desautels Professor of Finance, <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a>, was recently published in American Affairs Journal, a quarterly journal of public policy and political thought. Tue, 23 May 2017 14:40:26 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 67478 at /desautels Metaphor, literacy and ‘fake news’ /desautels/channels/news/metaphor-literacy-and-fake-news-267772 Desautels Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> writes in a recent Asia Times op-ed that, as societies become literate, earlier metaphors become codified as literal truths, much to the detriment of those societies and the cultures that exist within them. There are parallels between the “fake news” of today and analogues in early societies, where one people’s superstitions about another group could bring the two into conflict.” Thu, 20 Apr 2017 15:23:02 +0000 julie.lapalme@mcgill.ca 67345 at /desautels James Rickards and the end of the economy /desautels/channels/news/james-rickards-and-end-economy-267492 A recent Forbes book review delves into James Rickards’ The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites’ Secret Plan For The Next Financial Crisis, which makes the case that there is a big-ticket financial collapse coming, one that dwarfs the 2008 recession. Rickards lays much of the blame on macroeconomics, drawing a parallel between it and astrology. Tue, 04 Apr 2017 16:15:24 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 67308 at /desautels Les prédictions économiques prospèrent sur des modèles qui ne fonctionnent pas /desautels/channels/news/les-predictions-economiques-prosperent-sur-des-modeles-qui-ne-fonctionnent-pas-267463 <h2>The permanent forecasting market and its fallout </h2> A piece in Contrepoints takes the whole practise of regular GDP forecasting to task for being based on flawed economic models, referencing Desautels Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a>’s article in the inaugural issue of American Affairs, in which he calls for the abandonment of macroeconomics in favour of a more accountability-based model. Greater accountability would result in maximized potential and fewer squandered resources. Mon, 03 Apr 2017 15:45:56 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 67302 at /desautels The pursuit of happiness through the ages /desautels/channels/news/pursuit-happiness-through-ages-267391 Desautels Professor <a href="/desautels/reuven-brenner">Reuven Brenner</a> gave a lecture as part of the Centre for the Thought of John Paul II’s series on Moral Capitalism, in which he explored the concept of the pursuit of happiness, as first codified in the US’s 1776 Declaration of Independence. He goes into the fact that the Declaration’s use of the term was no more than a promise to set up a legal framework that would let people try their luck or live happily — without even trying to classify just what that happiness meant. Thu, 30 Mar 2017 16:43:05 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 67289 at /desautels Improving innovation policy /desautels/channels/news/improving-innovation-policy-267390 During a debate hosted in part by the Centre for the Thought of John Paul II in Warsaw, Poland, Desautels Professor <a href="http://node/64966">Reuven Brenner</a> explores the military origins of venture capital, as well as the associated National Defence Education Act, which he blames for starting the decline he sees in the quality of university education. Thu, 30 Mar 2017 16:32:25 +0000 thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca 67288 at /desautels