Monday, May 26, 2008

Things the US and Iran have in common

It turns out that there is much concern in both the US and Iran about high ratios of women to men among undergraduates. I am not sure how worried I am in the US case; in the Iranian case having more educated women around seems sure to be good. Nonetheless, it is surely a phenomenon worthy of study in both cases.

Here is a piece by my friend Djavad Selehi on the situation in Iran.

As an aside, my experience in getting to know Djavad and his Iranian co-authors as a result of being their econometrics advisor for a project sponsored by the Global Development Network has been really interesting and valuable. It has changed my views on the value of personal contact with people in places that are our enemies of the moment. Back in Cold War days I used to scoff at people who thought some good could come from cultural exchanges between the US and USSR. I am more sympathetic now.