HEARD ON THE BEAT / BUZZ FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD

Deep in Thought: Policy wonks and number-crunchers, lick your lips. Soon to be arriving in your mailboxes--if you’re one of the lucky 10,000 executives, politicians and academics on the “controlled circulation” list--is the inaugural copy of the Milken Institute Review, filled with opinionated musings from folks like MIT economist Paul Krugman and former Federal Reserve Gov. Larry Lindsey.

Michael Milken, the former junk bond king, is betting the quarterly review will help catapult his Santa Monica think tank into the big leagues of big thinkers while providing fodder for debate on such topics as capital controls, the year 2000 computer bug and European monetary consolidation.

However, in addition to tackling such weighty topics as the “eerie parallels between 1931 and 1997” and “the unintended consequences of China’s one-child policy,” editor Peter Passell, formerly of the New York Times, promises to infuse his new baby with readable prose and humor. That includes a regular “Ekinomix” political cartoon by Mark Alan Stamaty.

Until demand overwhelms Milken’s deep pockets, the magazine will be provided free of charge.

For the technologically inclined, the review can be perused on the institute’s Web site later this week at https://www.milken-inst.org.