After Setback, Chávez Makes the Clocks Fall Behind
CARACAS (NY Times) -- When all else fails, change your country's time by a half-hour and create a new time zone.
CARPE DIEM
Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
About Me
- Name: Mark J. Perry
- Location: Washington, D.C., United States
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
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2 Comments:
Interesting move on Hugo Chavez' part. The rationale provided is, of course, completely ridiculous:
"Senior officials here recently confirmed that clocks would be turned back 30 minutes, arguing that exposing citizens to more sunlight would improve their metabolism."
What we know about changing the time from going onto daylight savings time suggests some more intriguing possibilities. First, it can save energy, which is something a government might choose to do if they expect that they might have a recurring problem supplying the demand for it.
Second, and more importantly, it promotes economic activity, as people are more likely to be out shopping when its light outside. The more available daylight to encourage this behavior, the better. (See Congressional Finding #4 in Section 260a reproduced here.)
Overall, the action suggests some economic weakness in Venezuela - look for price-controlled goods (especially basic foodstuffs) to become even more scarce as Venezuelans will now have more daylight hours to search for them.
As for the "improved metabolism" claim - wouldn't that be a convenient explanation for Venezuelans losing weight en masse?
Perhaps, we should send Mr. Chavez a little missive to congratulate him on having something in common with George W.
At least, no one will ever be bored living in Venezuela.
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