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The Case Against Education

Sorry for the delay this AM, all.  Long flight over the Atlantic yesterday. There is a new book out from George Mason economics professor Bryan Caplan called The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money.  It’s causing some brouhaha south of the border (you may have seen this article in The Atlantic). There is a longstanding argument in economics about how to measure gains from education.  Basically, there is the “human capital” view, which says that

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February 1, 2018 1 Comment

Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Li…zzzzzz

So, the University of Toronto’s Jordan Peterson, who the Guardian describes as one of Canada’s leading public intellectuals, has written a self-help book called “12 rules for Life”.  I read it so you don’t have to. Honestly, the things I do for you folks. First things first: the book is not some cheap attempt by Peterson to profit from his recent notoriety.  In fact, the book seems to have been in the works well beforehand and has its origins in a Quora

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January 29, 2018 1 Comment

Degrees that Matter

One of the huge – and insufficiently studied – differences between North America and European higher education is the way programs are structured, at least as far as Arts and Sciences go. In most of Europe, entering a program in (say) history means you have to learn a set field of knowledge and skills.  By entering into a 90-credit program in a particular field, you have a fair idea of which courses you will be taking over the next three

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January 26, 2018 1 Comment

A Book Unaware of its Own Argument

One minor Canadian publishing event of note this fall was the release of Anthony Lacavera’s How We Can Win (or possibly, Kate Fillion’s How We Can Win, since it’s fairly clear she’s the one who actually wrote it).  Lacavera is a minor celebrity in Canada for having been a serial CEO, most notably of WIND Canada, which briefly challenged the Bell/Telus/Rogers telecom oligopoly.  Since the book is about innovation policy, it sort of falls into the ambit of this blog, so here we are.

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December 8, 2017 No Comments

Social Science in Capital-less Capitalism

Capitalism without Capital is the title of an intriguing new book from Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake.  The book documents the rise of an economy where more and more value resides in intangibles rather than tangibles (note: intangibles doesn’t necessarily just mean digital products and services – it can also mean things like branding, design, and business processes).  This isn’t the first time someone has made this observation – Charles Leadbetter’s Living on Thin Air comes to mind – but it is the

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December 4, 2017 1 Comment

One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

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