Ich bin übersiedelt.

I have not been writing here lately, as I have been focused on the minor issue of moving this Summer from Holland to Austria. The experience has brought many things to mind -- migration and integration rules in Europe, market failure in the home construction and renovation market, the long way Europe has to go before its service markets are really integrated, variations in education policy across the EU, and such. When I moved to Holland ten years ago a local banking scandal (the South Holland banking scandal) was wrapping up, and as I moved to Austria a comparable banking scandal is unfolding in the local press. (The BAWAG scandal -- and efforts to apprehend the parties involved --makes interesting reading.) And then there is the very real (yet seemingly surreal) question, should we hedge our children's college funds better against currency risk? And most important, what do you do when DHL loses your professional library in shipment? (They did eventually find it, but the experience makes one think.) The dust has not settled, but the teaching term has begun and we are covering the global macroeconomy. The topics we cover in class are being mirrored in the financial markets, so there is much to talk about in class.