Re: Postrel on liberalization

[Alan G Isaac <aisaac@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 27 Aug 2002 13:05:37 -0400 "Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> It is hopeless to engage Alan Issac.  He engage not to debate but to attack.  The term
> "nominal value" was intrduced by him, not by me.  I suggested that the $1 a day dis not
> fully take into account real inflation.

You are correct: my apologies.
You said:
    http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pkt/2002III/msg00292.html
    "Obviously, the number of prople living on $1 per day  has
    dropped from 1970 to 1998.  But that does not show that the
    number of people living in poverty has fallen.  $1/day in
    1970 would translate into $30 per day in 1998.  The number
    of people living on less than  $30 a day in 1998 is
    definitively larger than the number at $1 per day in 1970."

I found it obvious that you were asserting that the paper
was equating $1/day in 1970 to $1/day in 1998, and thus
my claim that you should know better than to accuse an
economist of comparing nominal values.  I said
http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pkt/2002III/msg00311.html
"Surely you do not think an economist would make such
comparison in nominal terms??  Let us give a reasonable
rather than a silly reading to the abstract."

When you responded
    http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pkt/2002III/msg00313.html
    "please show us some evidence that your
    reading of the abstract is more correct"
I took that to again be saying that you believed
Sala-i-Martin to be making comparisons in nominal terms.

I certainly do no want to put words in your mouth---it would
take all the fun out of watching you convict yourself.
So I apologize for saying that you claimed that
Sala-i-Martin used nominal values---as you say above, you never
used the term "nominal value"---but I trust you will see
from the quotes above that it is hard to see what else you
might have meant.

Let me add that I am not sure how you draw the line between
debate and attack.  I usually let my interlocutor set the
tone on that score, and I have tried to match yours.

Cheers,
Alan

PS I trust we have at least reached agreement that your claim
about changes in the cost of living
    http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pkt/2002III/msg00311.html
    "$1/day in 1970 would translate into $30 per day in 1998."
is factually incorrect.