Message from Guy

The news that Kostas is going back to Greece and his blog is therefore going to be suspended, at least for now, was probably a surprise for most readers. There are a number of reasons why I this is happening.

First, although it has been fun writing the blog every day it has become a bit of a burden, especially as I have found myself getting increasingly tired after the chemotherapy sessions. I have also sometimes found it hard to come up with a new topic for the daily blog.

But there is another reason too. I have two projects that I am keen to work on and so I need to free up some time for them.

The first thing that I want to do is create a new blog that will enable me finally to provide follow up material for the book that I had published in 2000, Computing for Economists. This book is now well out of date of course. I have been asked on several occasions to update the book but for various reasons I didn't take this on. However I do feel that there is a place for a more current and relevant set of material for economics lecturers and students providing help in the use of technology in learning and teaching. But rather than providing this in a book form, which rapidly becomes out of date, I think a blog would be the ideal format. This way I can write up a bit at a time, gradually building up the content. I can also update any sections that need to be changed due to new developments, or where I have feedback from readers pointing out errors or omissions on my part. The blog will be called something like guyscfeupdates. I am considering using Wordpress rather than Google's blogger facility but I will decide on that only after some experimental work to see what looks best.

The other project that I want to work on is the novel that I always planned to write after I retired. The idea is to have an economist who helps to solve crimes. At the same time the book should be amusing and also provide some insight into key economic ideas.

Originally Mike Rowe was going to be the detective and Kostas his sidekick but the way the blog got written means that now Gus will be the detective and there will be a new Greek PhD student as his assistant. I am not going to rush the writing or publish the book until it is finished but I might send some of you samples to give me critical feedback at some stage.

This won't be the first economist as detective novel. Some of you may have come across Murder at the Margin by Marshall Jevons (1993) Princeton University Press ISBN 0-691-00098-0 I briefly referred to this book in my report in CHEER on the January 1995 ASSA meeting in Washington DC.

Marshall Jevons is actually the pen name of two economists, William L. Breit and Kenneth G. Elzinga, professors of economics at Trinity University, San Antonio and the University of Virginia, respectively. There was also a follow up book in 1998 called A Deadly Indifference and I have now found an even earlier book by these authors called The Fatal Equilibrium published in 1985.