Karl Muth

Karl Muth is a commentator, economist, and legal academic.

His academic interests include the economics of governance, the portability of risk attitudes across domains, risk measurement and mitigation, and other topics. His thoughts on these issues have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The Journal of Private Equity to the Oprah Winfrey Show to the second edition of the academic text Controversies in Globalization.

Karl studied law in the Netherlands and in the United States and holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees, the latter with a concentration in Economics from The University of Chicago. He earned his M.Phil./Ph.D. from the London School of Economics; his dissertation was entitled “Three Frameworks for Commodity-Producer Decision-Making Under Uncertainty.” Prior to his doctoral work, Karl was an Executive-in-Residence at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and he is currently a Lecturer in Economics, Law, Organizational Behavior, Public Policy, and Statistics at Northwestern University. He divides his time between the United States and Europe.

Post Archive

12 August 2015
Karl T. Muth explores how we should train people who need legal knowledge but do not intend to become lawyers. Each year, thousands of people graduate from programmes designed to…
03 August 2015
Karl Muth explores the world of ‘U visas’ and argues they could have a wider application than many think. There is a special visa that most people have never heard of…
23 July 2015
Karl Muth on discusses his cynicism about claims that foreign advisors, such as himself, can spur development. I struggle with the concept of developed countries “…
16 June 2015
Karl Muth argues that future space races should not be the sole preserve of government.  Like many nerds born in the 1980’s, I attended Space Camp. Part summer program, part…
21 May 2015
Karl T. Muth offers a suggestion to invert how we choose and award academic scholarships in an increasingly competitive education market. One of the things economics and finance…
04 May 2015
In a climate of increasing fear over inequality and the concentration of wealth, Karl T. Muth explains his views on social mobility and taxation in the USA. The U.S. House of…
23 April 2015
Karl Muth explores how we should approach the long term trends in violence in Chicago. I was recently about to fly to Chicago when a friend of mine in London commented that she…
07 April 2015
Karl T. Muth explains his proposal to use a "hate crime" framework in police brutality cases. There is substantial momentum in public sentiment – particularly in urban areas of…
26 March 2015
Karl T. Muth examines whether the mere belief in climate change - regardless of the science - is enough to move markets. The climate change debate is fascinating to me because it…
19 February 2015
Karl Muth explores the seasonal determinants of violence in Chicago. My friend Tom Kirk and I spent some time exploring Chicago two summers ago. At the time, we both had recent…
11 February 2015
Karl Muth on the importance of measuring the unmeasurable. Conceptual measurement is enormously important in public policy. Many policy decisions are made on the basis of things…
28 January 2015
Karl Muth outlines why hip-hop artists should seriously consider unionizing, but probably won’t. I’ve been a fan of hip-hop, and particularly West Coast hip-hop, for a…
20 January 2015
Karl Muth exlores the demographics of question and answer website Quora. I make no secret of how I spend my spare time. Much of it is spent reading. Much of the rest is spent on…
16 January 2015
Karl T. Muth advocates managing, rather than simply slashing, our level of emissions. As the 21st century moves onward, left-wing environmentalism continues to look more like…
06 January 2015
Karl Muth argues that policymakers should approach suicide as a choice, and not a crime or a disease. After a recent suicide in my own family, and having recently revised my will…