KFeedbackButton

Home > Authors > Business and Management > Economics > Tyler Cowen

Avg. rating

8.3

based on
7 ratings

Tyler Cowen

Marginal Revolution

#3 in Economics

Description:   Tyler Cowen occupies the Holbert C. Harris Chair of economics as a professor at George Mason University and is co-author, with Alex Tabarrok, of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution. He currently writes the "Economic Scene" column for the New York Times and for magazines such as The New Republic. Cowen graduated in 1983 with a B.S. from George Mason and received his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1987, where he was mentored by 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics winner, game theorist, and Harvard professor Thomas Schelling. Cowen's primary research interest is the economics of culture and has written books on fame, art, and cultural trade.

Context Ratings™

Fiscal Political Stance

Fiscally liberal
Fiscally conservative

Tone

Light
Serious

Target Audience

Novices
Experts

What Scribnia users think:

Avg. rating

6

Micro Not Macro

May 22, 2009

Tyler Cowen takes a step back and analyzes a broad
spectrum of economic influences on his blog, Marginal
Revolution. He gathers a wide variety of information
about an assortment of topics – from the fate of a
sex theme park in China to basketball. I think the
blog is geared for readers with fiscal acumen (that’s
not me) or stakes in the game, but even a layperson can
find something to pique their interest due to the range
of subject matter discussed.

1 / 1 found this review helpful:

Avg. rating

9

Should have his own blog

May 15, 2009

Though I'm not interested enough in economic blog posts
to be a Marginal Revolution devotee, Tyler Cowen proves
his topic doesn't have to be dry. He's blunt without
being forceful, smart without being snooty. I almost
wish he wrote the blog without his co-author (who I
don't think is terrible) to maintain the consistency of
his voice.

Worth a read now. Depending on what happens in
America down the road, might be worth more of a read
later.

Avg. rating

6

Exceptional Writer with an Above Average Blog

April 29, 2009

Tyler Cowen is one of my favorites because he asks
challenging and thought provoking criticism without
being just another cynical “Monday Morning
Quarterback”. I started reading Tyler Cowen’s New
York Times and Slate columns long before I ever
encountered his blog. When it comes to popular
macroeconomics, Cowen is a thought leader. When it
comes to his blog my opinion is not as strongly
positive. Both Tyler Cowen and his Marginal Revolution
partner in crime, Alex Tabarrok, regularly make great
posts. However, I find the design and organizational
structure of the blog to be an annoying distraction to
the content. It is incredibly busy and poorly organized
making finding anything beyond the several most recent
posts a scrolling, hunt and peck, pain. It’s not bad
and I definitely prefer good content with lacking
design compared to the reverse, but although I continue
to read Cowen’s writing in other venues, I don’t
frequent his blog as often as I would if its
organization were slighting improved.

Avg. rating

10

Krugman, Say Hello To Cowen

April 09, 2009

Krugman is big, really big, Cowen is not as big, not as
known, but he could be. He deserves to be better known,
and because he is slightly right of center, but not
that far right, he compliments.

Cowen's gift is his knowledge, but also his language,
which is accessible like Krugman's.

He blogs about economic issues, but then he also
blogs about whatever. And his blog has a partner, not
as good.

By akolb

Avg. rating

9

Challenging and entertaining

March 30, 2009

Cowen provides wonderful insight and a healthy level of
skepticism when it is most needed. While he is
considered an econ blogger, he covers a wide enough
range of topics to appeal to readers of all academic
backgrounds.

Avg. rating

9

A sanity check in an otherwise crazy world

March 01, 2009

Cowen consistently impresses through his insightful
economic analysis of both mainstream and, often, quirky
bits of contemporary news and culture. You especially
have to appreciate the sheer volume of his output given
his full time employment as a econ professor.

My only complaint is that Mr. Cowen's choice of
co-contributor in the person of Alex Tabbarok does not
live up to the lofty standard that he has otherwise set
for the blog.

2 / 2 found this review helpful:

Avg. rating

9

One of the best econ bloggers on the internet

February 12, 2008

Cowen is the main draw at Marginal Revolution, and he
deserves his status as one of the most-read econ
bloggers online. Cowen does a nice job of balancing
between easily-accessible econ factoids and
higher-level analysis. I particularly like Cowen's
posts about the economics of everyday life.

Reviews 1 - 7 out of 7

Similar Authors

Browse categories

Click on the arrows in order to expand subcategories.

Community activity

ptmoney - Scribnia.com
Explorer - Level 1
Techsmurf - Scribnia.com
Critic - Level 1
Techsmurf - Scribnia.com
Explorer - Level 1
ADD