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Harvard economics professor Greg Mankiw shares observations and advice for students on his blog.

The CIA created a task force to assess the damage from leaked diplomatic cables, including information about the CIA's request for data on UN figures.

via The Guardian

David Friedman shares a conjecture that behavioral economics could be key to understanding macroeconomics, such as business cycles, even if it doesn't impact microeconomics much.

via Ideas

John Papola's criticism of behavioral economics sparks a debate in the comments section, mainly between himself and Daniel Kuehn, on government power, Keynesianism, and Austrian economics. via Econlib

Research from Eric Hanushek, highlighted by Greg Mankiw, finds that teachers exceeding average effectiveness could generate over $400,000 in present value of their students' future earnings.

via Greg Mankiw's Blog

A loaded handgun was accidentally brought through TSA security at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston when a passenger says he forgot it was in his computer bag. via The source of this content is Consumerist.

WIRED offers the latest news and insights on technology, science, culture, and business. via WIRED

Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution discusses the ethics of random clinical trials, citing a New York City housing program that drew criticism.

The Department of Homeland Security is partnering with Walmart to display video messages reminding people to report suspicious activity.

This blog post compares the argument that unemployment relief encourages unemployment to the idea that emergency rooms encourage drunk driving. via ThinkMarkets

Arnold Kling believes David Levine's new paper on economic crises and capitalist economies is an important economic theory.

David Friedman proposes a solution to state pension problems by limiting the enforceability of state contracts to the term of the current governor. This would force governors to fund pensions while in office or explore alternatives.

via Ideas