This week’s stories on everyday economics include baby boomer dependency ratios, disposable income, human capital, the price system, the money supply and the iPhone 6 supply chain.
Why Would a Firm Not Want 50 Employees?
Economist Casey Mulligan says that the Affordable Care Act will impact labor markets by diminishing productively through perverse incentives.
Weekly Roundup: From Wimbledon to Estonia
Our weekly roundup includes stories from everyday economics that relate to the market, the minimum wage, the price system and productivity & human capital.
Bedtime Stories… About the Economy.
From statistics and a satellite image of the world at night, we can see that developing countries lack the electrification they need for economic growth.
Our Weekly Roundup: From Cupcake Bubbles to Indian Villages
An Econlife roundup for the week 7.06.14 The tough part of cutting federal spending…more 7.07.14 When a village in India got a new road, surprising economic changes quickly unfolded…more 7.08.14 Who ever thought that a reclining chair could resuscitate…
The Economics of Checklists
I just took a relative to a local hospital’s emergency room. Like Atul Gawande described in his book, The Checklist Manifesto, a nurse first noted “four physiological data points–body temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate.” Had we been in that hospital 50 years ago, the…
Starbucks Drive-Through Economics
My new Starbucks has a drive-through. If you look at a high shelf near the window through which the baristas hand the coffee and food to drivers, you see a screen with little cars and numbers. Changing from green to yellow…
How and why does UPS get my package to me so fast?
Occasionally, I have asked the UPS man who is always so gracious to wait a moment at my front door while I go to the kitchen. Taking a minute or so, I grab an apple for him. In a Planet Money interview,…
The Scrap Business is Underrated
Our Wednesday Environment Focus By Madeleine Vance, guest blogger and student at Kent Place School The “scrap” business is a lot more than just scrap. Once you drop your empty soda can into the recycling bin, it could even be…