The Problem With Bringing Home the Bacon

Seeing the prices for bacon and oranges soar, we can ask which one of the causes of inflation is the reason.

When Pay-What-You-Want Does Not Quite Work Out

Unexpectedly, Panera’s pay-what-you-want cafes couldn’t bring together the normal lunch crowd and people who could not afford a meal.

Why U.S. Winemakers Can’t Fight the Trade War That the President Uncorked

While facts about China’s wine imports from the U.S. are somewhat surprising, still the impact of a tariff war is predictable.

What a Strawberry and a Chicken Say About Free Trade

More than governments negotiating agreements, free trade is about the variety of strawberries, chickens, pickup trucks and pencils that we can buy.

How Steel Tariffs Impact Whiskey and Whipped Cream

A Riddle: Q: Where do Pecorino Cheese, whiskey and whipped cream lose the same battle? A: In trade wars. Pecorino Cheese Our first story starts with bananas and ends with cheese. Because Great Britain, France and Spain wanted to favor…

Lessons From the App Economy

Tracing the history of the app economy from the surprising first million dollar app to today, we would see how similar it is to a simple pencil.

The Real Eurozone Problem

Although people in the eurozone want a single currency and their leaders want unity, monetary union problems create political distrust and disunity.

Why a Dollar Coin Might Not Be Money

In the U.S. the Federal Reserve tried to introduce metal dollar coins into the money supply but currency demand indicates that people prefer paper.

What Do iPhones and Pencils Have in Common?

Whether looking at the supply chain for a pencil or an iPhone 6, we see globalization because price system incentives create cooperation.

Ethical Dilemmas for College Endowments

The closer you look at ethical investing for university endowments, the more you see the tradeoffs. The headline coverage began when Stanford announced it would “not make direct investments in coal mining companies.” Explaining, Stanford’s President John Hennessy said, “Stanford has a responsibility as a global citizen…