Fed watchers seem to have a blind spot

Letter to the Financial Times (May 29, 2013) From Mr Kai L. Chan. Sir, In the game of forecasting the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Edward Luce and the usual Fed watchers are overlooking one obvious choice: Alan Blinder (“Summers has an edge in the race to head the Fed”, May 27). Professor Blinder is one of the world’s foremost monetary economists, with academic credentials remarkably similar to Ben Bernanke – both earned their PhD (economics) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became tenured professors at Princeton University. In terms of practical experience, Prof Blinder was vice-chairman at the Fed from 1994 to 1996; and at age 67 he is also younger than Donald Kohn. As a regular contributor in the media to the policy discussions surrounding central banking, it is surprising that his name has not been mentioned more often. Kai L. Chan, Dubai, UAE Letter as it appeared in the FT Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013.

Radio interview with Dubai Eye (FM 103.8)

Kai L. Chan, PhD Advisor at Emirates Competitiveness Council looks at the issue of happiness and well-being on World Happiness Day (20.03.2013): <<Radio interview with Dubai Eye (FM 103.8)>> Copyright © 2013, Arabian Radio Network. All rights reserved.  

Student life

Letter to the Economist (December 15, 2012) SIR – Although online courses in higher education are a mostly positive development, real learning in universities does not come just from course content (“Not what it used to be”, December 1st). Interaction on academic and non-academic topics with fellow students matters in and out of the classroom, as does time spent chatting with professors. The traditional university model also forces time-scheduling habits, whereas online learning instils no such discipline. The high tuition at Harvard is the price that one pays for the opportunity to learn in an environment with ambitious, talented peers and renowned academic leaders. After all, people still pay good money to attend sporting events, even if they are broadcast live and free on television. KAI CHAN Dubai Letter as it appeared in the Economist. Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2012. All rights reserved.

Time Out Dubai (Home & Garden)

[caption id="attachment_1691" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Time Out Dubai home & garden supplement (December 2012).  Published by & © 2012 ITP Digital Ltd.  All rights reserved.[/caption]

Income inequality is still a major problem

Letter to the National Post (November 23, 2012) This article on the Fraser Institute’s take on income mobility confuses personal income growth with (inter-generational) income mobility. Over a course of a lifetime income rises as people get promoted, etc., and typically peaks in the 40s and 50s. So there’s no surprise that 83% of the lowest earners move up the income ladder over a decade. Income mobility, as it is commonly understood or measured by economists, looks at how well parental income predicts offspring income. What is important to know is where in the income distribution were Charles Lammam’s parents at similar age-experience profile. Studies on inter-generational income mobility (a.k.a. “economic mobility”) show greater portability of Canadian society vis-à-vis the United States; however, this does not negate the fact that income inequality, especially at the very top end, has been on a steep rise in Canada. Kai Chan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Letter as it appeared in the NP © 2012 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.