A Sampling of Clips for July 21, 2010

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

Is Divorce Contagious? How You Can Beat the Bug
ABC News, July 20 -- While it may sound like hyperbole, experts say divorce can become "contagious" in close social groups. "Think of this 'idea' of getting divorced, this 'option' of getting divorced like a virus, because it spreads more or less the same way," UC San Diego professor James Fowler told "Good Morning America." More

How to Maximize Pay-What-You-Wish Pricing
The New York Times, July 20 -- Pay-what-you-wish pricing schemes have now been employed by everyone from musicians and restaurateurs to entrepreneurs. But new research suggests that the true path to maximizing profits is to combine pay-what-you-wish pricing with an appeal to charity. Ayelet Gneezy, a marketing professor at UC San Diego conducted a field experiment at a theme park (sample size: over 113,000).  Gneezy presented four different pricing schemes for souvenir photos: a flat fee of $12.95; a flat fee of $12.95 with half going to charity; pay-what-you-wish; and pay-what-you-wish with half going to charity. More

Diabetes Drugs Offered Fresh Start
Nature, July 21 -- When the erstwhile blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia stood trial before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week, its sharpest critics pulled no punches. Among them was Steven Nissen, the cardiologist at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic who first exposed Avandia's heart-attack risk. Shortly before yielding the podium, he unleashed a parting salvo against not just Avandia, but also the drug's family. (Quotes Robert Henry, an endocrinologist at UC San Diego) More

Homeopathic Nasal Zinc Linked to Loss of Smell
U.S. News & World Report, July 20 -- To try and lessen the effects of the common cold, many people have turned to homeopathic remedies, including products containing zinc. However, a new analysis by UC San Diego researchers suggests that nasal gels containing zinc and nasal swabs with zinc have most likely caused a loss of smell in some users. More

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Tianjin Says `Wait a Minute!' to Wen as China Property Slumps
Bloomberg, July 20 -- A cascading collapse in local finances could force the Chinese central government to shore up banks that lent to local government entities, said Jim Walker, chief economist at Hong Kong-based Asianomics Ltd., in a June 7 interview. Banks could “easily” be saddled with bad loans of more than $400 billion over the next two years, he said. (Quotes Barry Naughton, author of the 2007 book “The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth” and a China specialist at UC San Diego) More

A Push to Rein in Lobbyist Leverage
San Jose Mercury News, July 20 -- Voicing concern over the Mercury News finding that special interests increasingly dominate Sacramento lawmaking, key state legislators predicted this week that a package of reforms will be enacted this year to address the issue. The reforms would limit the number of bills lawmakers can introduce, and subject them to closer scrutiny. (Quotes Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego) More

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Santa Cruz Sentinel

Japan's Lost Decade Has Lessons for U.S.
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 20 -- As Japan’s  Lost Decade comes to the end of its second decade, some economists in the U.S. worry that we could be headed down the same path. And UC San Diego economist Takeo Hoshi warns that there are several troubling similarities between the two countries’ approaches to their financial crises. More

Snoop du Jour
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 20 --  A pair of UC San Diego alums are taking in Comic-Con this week. Appearing tomorrow night at the UCSD Entertainment Alliance party at the Convention Center: Ira Rubenstein , now executive VP of Marvel Entertainment (publisher of Iron Man  and Spider Man), and Peter Robbins, the former child actor who supplied the first voice of Charlie Brown for the animated “Peanuts” TV specials of the ’60s. More

Jobless Rate Improves, But Hiring is Flat
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 20 -- Despite massive layoffs of temporary census workers, the unemployment  rate fell in 39 out of 50 states last month, including California, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Labor Department. (Quotes James Hamilton, an economist at UC San Diego) More

The Border’s Bottom Line
KPBS, July 20 — Three million unauthorized immigrants live here in California. The statistics raise an important economic question – just what are the financial implications of such a large undocumented population? (Quotes John Skrentny, a UC San Diego sociology professor and director of The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies) More

UCSD Rady School Adds Faculty
La Jolla Light, July 20 -- Wendy Liu and Vincent Nijs have joined the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego as marketing professors. Liu, who earned her doctorate at Stanford University, was recruited from the faculty of the Anderson School at UCLA. She works in the area of consumer behavior and decision-making. She also studies the role of life experiences and social events in shaping consumers' preferences and economic behavior. More

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