A New Economic Analysis of the American Revolution

We offer an analysis of the American Revolution in which actors are modeled as choosing the sovereign organization that maximizes their net expected benefits. Benefits of secession derive from satisfaction of greed and settlement of grievance. Costs derive from the cost of civil war and lost benefit of Empire membership. When expected net benefits are positive for both secessionists and the Empire civil war ensues, otherwise it is settled or never begins in the first place. The novelty of our discussion is to show how diverse economic and non-economic factors (such as pamphleteering by Thomas Paine and the morale of the Revolutionary forces) can be integrated into a single economic model.

Making A Story Move: The Art of Film Editing

An in-depth treatise on the process of film editing, featuring 16 original interviews from renowned editors. These editors share insight and anecdotes about the daily joys and difficulties of their careers (and the professional principles they subscribe to), as well as the creative, interpersonal, and technical challenges they constantly face. Discussion of the “MTV influence” behind modern film editing is offered, and this influence is explored in filmmaking history. Advice and inspiration is also shared for the benefit of future film editors; Hollywood editors tell their own stories about how they thrived in a notoriously-difficult field, and what it would take for an aspiring editor to do the same.