Thursday, July 31, 2008

John Cochrane and the Milton Friedman Institute

John Cochrane, now a professor at the Chicago GSB, has this tart retort to the letter produced by the Chicago faculty who dissented on the MFI. It is good stuff; I laughed out loud more than once.

Before moving to the GSB John was in the economics department. He taught my first quarter of graduate macroeconomics in what was also his first quarter as a professor. He was one of the two best teachers I had in my first year at Chicago even then, and I am sure that he has gotten better with experience.

On the first day of class John explained to us that he would (and I paraphrase) "spend the first half of the lecture going through the Keynesian model, and the second half making fun of it." That was indeed what happened, and that was indeed all we saw of it in that class.

Also among the students in that class was Beth Fama, daughter of Gene Fama and now John's wife. There was a skit at some point that poked fun at John for hanging out with the "Fama's daughter".

John came through Michigan to give a seminar last year. It was good to see him again; I suspect it was the first time in nearly 15 (!) years.

Hat tip: marginal revolution