10 Economics Blogs Worth Watching

Ten Economics BlogsWorth Watching

Paul Ayres, Economics Editor for Intute: Social Sciences

and Bhagesh Sachania, Information Manager for the Economics Network

January 2009

What we will cover

• Ten Economics blogs that you may not have heard of before

• New revised Guide to Using Blogs in Economicshttp://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/showcase/ayres_blogs.htm

• What’s changed in the Economics blogosphere and what will change

10 blogs worth watching

• Two each of:– Teaching blogs– Economics blog aggregators– Economics podcast blogs– Individual academic blogs– Group blogs

Stephen Kinsella

• Great example of using a blog for teaching

• Uses polls, lecture videos and short articles to support each lecture

• Brings together content from a range of Web 2.0 sites – Twitter, Delicious, SlideShare etc.

• http://www.stephenkinsella.net/

Pedablogy by Steve Greenlaw

• Excellent US blog on Economics teaching

• Emphasis on the use technology in teaching

• Useful archive going back to 2005, as well as current commentary

• http://jerryslezak.net/pedablogy/

Economics Roundtable

• Aggregator site of over 120 Economics blogs• Can view latest posts, explore links to

individual blogs and get a feel for what is happening in the Economics blogosphere

• Good for identifying blogs in your specific subject area, but lots of posts to read

• http://www.rtable.net/index/rt/economics/recent/

Palgrave Econolog

• Aggregates content from Economics blogs• Filters posts into: reviews of papers,

conference reports, original research and everything else

• Zeitgeist and Hot Topics features pick out trends in the Economics blogosphere

• http://www.econolog.net/

EconTalk

• Part of the Library of Economics and Liberty website

• Features extended audio interviews with Economists and others

• New interviews added every week

• http://www.econtalk.org/

Economics in Action

• Part of the Why Study Economics initiative from the Economics Network

• Aimed at encouraging broader understanding of Economics, especially among prospective University students

• Films, audio interview and articles aimed at a popular audience

• http://whystudyeconomics.ac.uk/blog/

Greg Mankiw’s Blog

• Supports his teaching at Harvard and his commonly used textbooks

• Uses the blog to keep in touch with current / former students and discuss current topics

• http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/

Robert Reich’s Blog

• Former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, now teaching at Berkeley

• Extensive comments on current economic policy issues that are also accessible to the general reader

• Supplements his many TV and radio appearances

• http://robertreich.blogspot.com/

VOX

• Not a blog but a policy portal to analysis and commentary on economic issues

• Good example of collaborative writing increasing impact

• Articles aimed at a level between journalism and academic journals

• Produced by the Centre for Economic Policy Research – also includes audio

• http://www.voxeu.org/

Crooked Timber

• Another example of a group blog

• Covers a range of Social Sciences subjects, including Economics

• One of the few sites where you can learn as much from the comments as from the original blog posts

• http://crookedtimber.org/

How to start blogging

• Guide to Using Blogs in Economics http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/showcase/ayres_blogs.htm

• Revised and updated for 2009

• Looks at software options, writing and managing content, risks, specific uses for Economics and the future for blogs

What’s changed

• Blogging now seen as a mainstream activity• Basic terms and how to do it still need to be

explained• More portal sites, aggregators and group

blogs for Economics• Fewer teaching blogs as more material

brought into VLEs• Rise of WordPress.com as a blogging

platform

What’s changing

• Microblogging from sites like Twitter.com may have an effect on blogging

• Assumed integration of other Web 2.0 content into blogs from YouTube videos, to Flickr photos and Delicious links

• US stranglehold on the Economics blogosphere may slowly be broken

Thanks for listening

Paul Ayres, Economics Editor for Intute: Social Sciences

paul.ayres@bristol.ac.uk

http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/economics/

Bhagesh Sachania, Information Manager for the Economics Network

b.m.sachania@bristol.ac.uk

http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/