St. Maximos' Hut

As an urban and public finance economist who has spent his career estimating the impact of a variety of things on the value of houses, I couldn't resist the prospect of building a hut. As someone who attempts to undertake both scholarly work and actual work in urban redevelopment, I understand that occasionally huts must be burnt in order to improve the situation. The other thing that I take from the story of St. Maximos (aside from the word "kavsokalybites") is that he went away in solitude for a time before returning to share with others. This is a metaphor for the life of a scholar as well as for the life of a saint.

I used to be an economics professor, but my day job is now dean of academic affairs at York College of Pennsylvania. If you really want to know more about me, you can look here.

For me, the fundamental aspect of Christianity is humility. I think that economists have rediscovered humility, despite our reputation as social science imperialists. This humility comes in the recognition that people are truly individuals with their own goals, not homogeneous social units. In my area of study, I see a strong contrast between the work of urban planners and urban economists. Planners tend to view people as passive inhabitants of the built environment, while economists see them as active participants in shaping the environment. Because our understanding is limited (resources are scarce, or else we're not talking about economics), people will surprise us with what they choose to do. Planners find this to be evidence of the imperfection of the people; economists find this to be evidence of the imperfection of their analysis.