Georges Simenon was a Belgian writer best known for his detective stories. He wrote literary novels, too, like this one published in 1933. It’s about a young French man, Joseph Timar, who goes to Gabon to take a position with a French company operating there. He finds himself in a world where there are three… [Read More]
Blog
Paying for College: College and Credentialism
One of the many conundrums in labor economics is whether a college graduate has attained skills or acquired a credential. A diploma is just a piece of paper, albeit a pretty one; it is given only after a lot of hard work. But what does it mean? This is what we know: the paper may… [Read More]
Equatorial Guinea: “The Wonga Coup” by Adam Roberts
I’ve been doing this project of learning about Africa one nation at a time for about a year and a half now, and I have read a lot of academic books. In some of these small countries, the only people doing the research are those looking for more and more obscure dissertation topics. I expected to… [Read More]
I’m Charlie, and I am a warrior for free speech. So should you be.
I’m not Daniel Pearl, James Foley, or Edward Snowden. I’m not Steven Sotloff, and I’m really not Charlie, either. I’m a freelance writer with a specialty in business and finance. One of the most controversial stories I’ve written was about gray markets for quilt fabric. A typical reporting gig takes me to a plush conference… [Read More]
