Steven Landsburg
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Steven Landsburg (born 1954) is an American professor of economics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. From 1989 to 1995 he taught at Colorado State University.
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[edit] Education
Landsburg received a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1979. He was promoted from adjunct associate professor to professor during the 2005-2006 academic year.
He also spent time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. There, he came into contact with André Weil, renowned mathematician who Landsburg has described as one of the influences on his thinkings.
[edit] Writings and Work
Landsburg's articles in academic journals have dealt with many fields, including algebraic K-theory, quantum game theory, module patching, philosophy of science, and moral philosophy.
Landsburg's less academic work has appeared in Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Recent articles include his review of Freakonomics in the Journal and a heated debate about protectionism and free trade with John Gibson, host of The Big Story on Fox News. Before the 2004 presidential election Landsburg stated that he planned to vote against John Kerry because of his belief that John Edwards, Kerry's running mate, was a "xenophobe" due to his opposition to free trade. He compared Edwards' views to David Duke's racism. [1]
Landsburg currently writes a monthly column on "everyday economics" for Slate magazine. The subjects of the columns are diverse and often draws on current affairs. Landsburg has discussed the national debt, the obesity crisis, payments to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in New Orleans and salary caps in the NFL. Alternatively, Landsburg dicusses recent research in micro-economics and its implications. In this vein, he has discussed the value of mobile phones and driving, the (career) cost of motherhood, and whether or not daughters (as opposed to sons) cause divorce.
Landsburg has been particularly critical of environmentalism as usually considered, devoting both Slate columns and book chapters (in The Armchair Economist) to attack environmentalist principles. Often thought by others to have libertarian views, Landsburg emphasizes the importance of individual choice. This position extends to health care, and his view that those that choose no insurance should not receive (potentially life saving) treatment.[2] This position was asserted partly as a response to an article published by Daily Kos [3].
In much of his work, he has emphasized the importance of regarding economists as both scientists and highly specialized professionals.
He has also authored a price theory textbook, Price Theory and Applications.
[edit] University Service
Professor Landsburg is most known at the university as the primary professor for the intermediate microeconomics course, ECO 207. Additionally, he regularly teaches a course which deals with more advanced microeconomic theory. He also has occasionally instructed intermediate macroeconomics and an introductory course.
[edit] Personal
For several years, Landsburg served on the board of directors of Hutchinson Technology, a manufacturer of suspension assemblies for disk drives.
Landsburg lives in Rochester, NY. In his spare time he reads poetry and enjoys crossword puzzles. He has one daughter, named Cayley, who was featured in his book Fair Play.
[edit] Books by Steven Landsburg
- Fair Play
- The Armchair Economist
- Price Theory and Applications
- Macroeconomics
- A Mathematical Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology (unreleased)
- More Sex is Safer Sex, and Other Surprises (upcoming)
[edit] External links
- Steven Landsburg's personal webpage
- Landsburg's column at Slate
- Price Theory and Applications
- Landsburg on protectionism in Forbes
- Pat Buchanan response to Forbes article
- Landsburg debating protectionism on The Big Story With John Gibson
- City News Interview of Landsburg: Part One, Part Two
- Landsburg's discussion of a problem addressed in Freakonomics
- Landsburg's review of The Undercover Economist
