Elaine Schwartz
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Elaine Schwartz has spent her career sharing the interesting side of economics. At the Kent Place School in Summit New Jersey, she was honored with an Endowed Chair in Economics. Just published, her newest book, Degree in a Book: Economics (Arcturus 2023), gives readers a lighthearted look at what definitely is not “the dismal science.” She has also written and updated Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins 1995) and Economics: Our American Economy (Addison Wesley 1994). In addition, Elaine has articles in the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (Rutgers University Press) and was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom.” Beyond the classroom, she has presented Econ 101 ½ talks and led workshops for the Foundation for Teaching Economics, the National Council on Economic Education and for the Concord Coalition. Online for more than a decade. econlife has had one million+ visits.

Seeding change: seeds or change?

Cash grants are an alternative form of foreign aid. Tough to accept, cash could have more benefits than other traditional programs.

The Spillover from Refrigerators in China

The spread of refrigeration in China has positive and negative externalities that relate to household diets, greenhouse gases and transport and home waste.

Hamburger Economics

Our Sunday Charts The 2014 Big Mac Index is out and not much has changed. Norway’s Big Macs are most expensive and Chinese Big Macs are cheap. As The Economist explains, starting in 1986, they wanted to take a lighthearted look at whether currencies…

Our Weekly Roundup: From Argentina to North Dakota

Today’s weekly roundup includes the everyday economics of sovereign debt defaults, oil boom towns, athletes’ labor markets and the GDP.

The Tour de France Gender Gap

Typified by the Tour de France, male/female athletes’ salary gender gap will diminish when female athletes’ media, consumer and commercial appeal increase.

Argentina's (Long) Default History

With Argentina again defaulting on her sovereign debt, she is violating the sanctity of contracts and lessened her borrowing ability at home and globally.

How North Dakota Fuels Economic Growth

A magnet for entrepreneurs and workers seeking high paying jobs, North Dakota’s city of Williston shows how energy wealth fuels economic growth.

Greece Again?

With more austerity resistance to government spending cutbacks, Greece could again be heading for a sovereign debt default and a bailout.

Why the GDP is Much More Than a Number

Seemingly just a statistic, how we calculate the GDP and how it is used can be controversial and affect the lives of millions of people.

Three "Tear-Water" Graphs

The U.S. has had an economic recovery from the Great Recession with sluggish GDP growth, a worrisome output gap and slowly diminishing unemployment.