You know what happiness is: 'Having a little more money than your colleagues.' And that's not so tough in academic life.

An intriguing paradox of the 1990s is that it isn't called a decade of greed.

The consumer, so it is said, is the king each is a voter who uses his money as votes to get the things done that he wants done.

Two factors explain our success. One, MIT's renaissance after World War II as a federally supported research resource. Two, the mathematical revolution in macro- and micro-economic theory and statistics. This was overdue and inevitable, MIT was the logical place for it to flourish.

Self-deception ultimately explains Japan's plight. The Japanese have never accepted that change is in their interest - and not merely a response to U.S. criticism.

The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions.

Asia's governments come in two broad varieties: young, fragile democracies - and older, fragile authoritarian regimes.