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

29 September 2014
Karl Muth explores calls for a Second Constitutional Convention of the United States. America is not in a Constitutional crisis. However, the phrase “Constitutional crisis…
11 September 2014
Karl Muth suggests Detroit’s Somalian community might hold the key to the city’s revival.   After past trips to Somalia and Somaliland, I've argued that…
21 August 2014
What do the BMW i8, Tesla Model S, and Cadillac ELR teach us about policy, subsidies, and consumer behaviour? The answer is: Lots. The BMW i8, which is sold out until the middle…
28 July 2014
Karl Muth asks if there is ever a right way for those about to commit it to warn of violence? I’ve been following with interest the international legal and philosophical…
22 July 2014
Karl Muth argues we must weigh the rights of corporations to arm themselves the same way we have weighed their other rights. The recent Hobby Lobby case looks at corporate…
18 July 2014
Karl T. Muth examines whether the Chicago Police Department’s objections to concealed pistol applications from black applicants constitutes de facto institutionalised racism…
20 June 2014
Karl Muth argues that governments should be easing corporations’ passage from this earth and making sure future generations benefit from their passing. “Corporations…
17 June 2014
Karl Muth asks why no one is discussing the trolley problem that may have faced America’s leaders on 9/11? For the purpose of this blog post, it doesn’t matter what…
06 June 2014
Karl Muth unpacks the political economy of the famous old saying. Marie Antoinette gets a difficult reputation, not least for her alleged “let them eat cake” comments…
29 May 2014
Karl T. Muth argues a new policy allowing Chicago's residents to arm themselves will have disparate effects, making weapons available to the wealthy white minority while…
06 May 2014
Karl T. Muth explores the seemingly-magical ability for New Jersey petrol stations to hire extra workers without passing along the cost to consumers. Is it possible that the…
29 April 2014
In preparation for European Union regulations Karl Muth explores frameworks for identifying corporate nationality. The European Union regulations set to take effect in the coming…
22 April 2014
Karl Muth calls on Obama to make more of the positive signals coming from the American economy. When will Obama realise he's a boom time president? President Obama is…
17 April 2014
Karl Muth lays out a plan for tackling kleptocracy. The riches of Africa have been plundered, and are being plundered. One can argue about whether the kleptocrats on the continent…
10 April 2014
Karl Muth outlines what global collective action to tackle climate change might look like, via giant fighting robots and sea monsters. I’m not much of an environmentalist.…