Accidentally inventing the Post-it Note, two scientists and one large corporation demonstrated where an innovation can take us.
Economic Thinkers
Starting with Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations, continuing to Malthus, Ricardo, Keynes, Hayek, Friedman, Sen and others, the timeless ideas of economic thinkers provide understanding of the contemporary economy.
How Reese’s Pieces Are Like Ray-Bans
With tectonic shifts in the TV and film business, movie product placement has remained a dependable marketing tool.
Why You Should Bet On a Vaccine
Giving us unbiased insight about the future, vaccine prediction markets can help us predict when the economy could return to normal.
The Mystery of the Disappearing Auto Industry Jobs
GM targeted 2035 for going all electric. Ford said the same for 2030 but only in Europe. Now Volvo tells us that it will sell battery only cars by 2030. To buy one, we have to go online where price…
A China Trade Deal Update
Tariffs and trade deals can have unintended consequences. The Trump tariff war was not supposed to send jobs to China. However, Tesla responded in 2018 to China’s 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. autos with a quickly completed plant in Shanghai.…
COVID’s Divorce Rate Surprises
I suspect that you (as did I) will find the newest numbers on the divorce rate rather surprising. Six Facts: Covid Divorce Rates 1. Pre-Pandemic for the U.S. Before the pandemic began, divorce rates had been trending downward: 2.…
What We Can Learn From a Strawberry Contest
Our story starts with a tomato and ends with a strawberry. They both relate to farm productivity. And that could be the problem. Growing Fruit Tomatoes Close to 90 years ago, a tomato grower noticed that one of her (his?)…
Why Amazon Is Buying a Freighter Fleet
Just 16 years ago, we needed a $25 minimum order to get Amazon’s free Super Saver Shipping for an 8 to 10 day wait. An extra $9.48 got us two-day delivery and $16.48, one day. But then in 2009, they…
Santa’s Unfair Trade Practices
On Christmas Eve, Santa will visit approximately 160 million children. Traveling at nearly 6,214 miles an hour, he will cover 19.3 million square miles. Along the way, he has to stop, drop off each of his 20 tons of presents,…
Where Mount Everest Economics Take Us
Whether looking at its newfound height, the traffic jams, or the role of Nepal, Mount Everest always takes us to the margin.