Talking Travel with economist and traveler Tyler Cowen

by Aaron Hotfelder on

For several years, economist Tyler Cowen has been the man behind Marginal Revolution, one of the world’s most popular economics blogs. In addition to being an economics professor and regular contributor to the New York Times, Tyler is also well-traveled, and often discusses his thoughts on travel and world affairs on his thought-provoking blog. I recently interviewed Tyler via e-mail about his travel experiences, and whether being an economist changes the way he travels.

AH: When and how did your love of travel begin?

TC: My love of travel began relatively late. At 23 I decided to go live in Freiburg, Germany for a year. I was hooked before my first day — spent in Mainz, Germany — was over.

AH: How does being an economist inform the way you travel? What are some surprising or counterintuitive tips for discovering the best a country has to offer?

TC: Being an economist means there is always, and I mean always, something interesting to look for. In the limiting case, if a country or place is really boring, suddenly it is fascinating to try to understand how it got to be so boring. Economics suggests there is always a “why.” Curiosity is what makes travel so fun and economics gives you one way of organizing your curiosity and framing your questions.

My main tip is simply: “Go, go go!” Go. People have a status quo bias when they make decisions and they don’t take enough chances. My colleague and co-blogger Alex Tabarrok makes an interesting point. If you knew your life were much shorter you would travel to those places you always wanted to see. If you knew your life were to be much longer you would have more time to travel; again you would travel more. So, are you trying to tell me that your expected lifespan is just at that length where you shouldn’t travel more? I don’t buy it.

AH: What are your favorite places in the world to visit? Any destinations that you’d really like to visit, but haven’t?

TC: Mexico, Haiti, and Brazil are clear favorites for me. I love the New World and its sense of being fresh and undiscovered. I regret never having been to Cali, Medellin, Santa Cruz (Bolivia), or northern Chile.

AH: “I’d love to travel, but it’s just so expensive,” people always say. What is your response to that?

TC: It’s easy enough to travel cheaply. Just don’t get fixated on Europe, which is now virtually unaffordable. Stay in a rural Mexican village for a week and you will save money and have the experience of a lifetime. The U.S. dollar is still strong in plenty of countries. Is Honduras — a lovely country — really too pricey for you?

Be sure to check out Tyler’s blog, Marginal Revolution, where he’s recently discussed the costs and benefits of long-distance relationships, abolishing cafeteria trays, and congestion pricing to reduce traffic in the air and on the road.

His most recent book is Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist. His ethnic dining guide for the Washington D.C. area is available online here.

Are you smarter than a 5th grader or Kellie Pickler?

by Jamie Rhein on

First of all, I really do like Kellie Pickler. She seems like a lovely person and kind. She certainly sings much better than I do and has made more money than I have–way more. I hate feeling mean, (kind of), but she was mentioned in a recent New York Times article as an example of American fondness for being dumb. Dumb might be too harsh. How about ill-informed? Not intellectual?

On the show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” Kellie Pickler didn’t know the answer to the question, “Where is Budapest?” She’s cute as a button, but she hadn’t heard of this city before and made the situation worse by saying she thought Europe was a country. (see YouTube video)

Susan Jacoby, the author of the book, “The Age of American Unreason” writes about situations such as Kellie Pickler’s geography blunders as a problem in the United States. According to her findings, Jacoby thinks there is a general hostility to knowledge. There is a funny, but very sad anecdote she presents about two men she overhears talking about Pearl Harbor and the Vietnam War. You didn’t know there was a connection? There isn’t. The two men were a bit confused. One of them hadn’t heard of Pearl Harbor. The other said the Vietnam War started after the Vietnamese dropped a bomb in a harbor. That’s interesting. Overhearing the conversation inspired Jacoby to write the book. I’m inspired to read it since I’m a befuddled wondering how people could be satisfied living in the world and have no interest in what is past the borders of where they live.

The 5th grader did know where Budapest is. There is hope. Hopefully, he’ll remember when he hits high school and after he graduates.

Climate change may alter wine-growing regions

by Catherine Bodry on

As the world climate warms up, vineyards are feeling the heat: harvests are earlier, wines are coarser and have a higher alcohol content and lower acidity. Why would that be any big deal, you ask? Well, for one, wine as we know it would change — especially the finer ones.

Former Vice President Al Gore addressed wine experts at the Second International Congress on Wine and Climate Change, arguing that “if the temperature rises two or three degrees (Centigrade), we could manage to see Bordeaux remain as Bordeaux, Rioja as Rioja, Burgundy as Burgundy. But if it goes up five or six degrees, we must face up to huge problems, and the changes will be hard.”

Some of the changes we’re likely to see if that temperature rise occurs are the types of wines grown in specific regions — think Champagne in the Champagne region in France. French Champagne producers have reportedly bought land in Sussex and Kent, England in preparation for warmer temperatures (does that mean we’ll have to start calling French Champagne “Sussex”?).

The conference-goers’ expert verdicts on wines affected by climate change should be out soon. Until then, enjoy that Bordeaux while it lasts.

A Map for Saturday to be shown on MTV

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Back in June, Justin Glow interviewed filmmaker and former Gadling contributor Brook Silva-Braga about his round-the-world documentary A Map for Saturday. In the interview, Brook said that the movie would premiere on MTV some time in the near future, but he couldn’t give an exact date. Well, now he can.

Brook recently informed me that A Map for Saturday will air on MTV in the U.S. on March 1 at 2:00 pm (EST, I think). The film will be a somewhat condensed version, and it will continue to play on MTV throughout the year.

Be sure to check out Justin’s review of the film, which is available for purchase right here.