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.

An Offer Sriracha Cannot Refuse?

Hearing tax incentives and “sensible” regulation, will Sriracha move from Irwindale, California to Texas? Last year, Irwindale residents complained that the local Sriracha processing plant was a “public nuisance.” Hearing that their teary eyes, sore throats, heartburn, asthma and nosebleeds…

The World's Top and Bottom Laissez-Faire Countries

Please note that this post was updated here at econlife. I have been seeing more of Adam Smith in the news recently. Reviews of Thomas Piketty’s new book and policy discussions about sluggish growth always seem to oppose or support…

How To Divide the Rent, a Cake and a Country

Assume for a moment that you have just rented a 4th floor walk-up apartment for $3000 with 2 friends. One bedroom is mid-sized and near a fire escape, the second is rather large and has a view of a magnificent…

A Reason for Less “Endless Shrimp”

Our Wednesday Environmental Issue I just read but cannot confirm that in 2011, a Red Lobster employee observed 2 gentleman consuming 782 shrimp during 5.5 hours when Red Lobster had its “Endless Shrimp” promotion. According to a Red Lobster store manager, the…

Dilemmas From the “Sharing Economy”

Today’s story is specifically about Airbnb. More generally though, it involves whether government or the market system should regulate the “sharing economy.” But first–Craigslist and the Sharing Economy from xkcd: An apartment owner in Astoria, Queens (a subway ride from…

Why Do We Need More King Peggys?

Our Monday Gender Issue: Having a woman as the king of an African fishing village can make a big difference. During 2008, a secretary who works at Ghana’s Washington DC embassy  got a middle of the night call at her…

When Did We Get “Tough Love” From the Federal Reserve?

Demonstrating Russia’s current plight, this graph so perfectly illustrates stagflation: When GDP sinks and inflation increases, the stagflation that results is tough to cure. If monetary authorities target inflation with tight monetary policy, then interest rates go up and further…

Can the Supreme Court Change How We Watch TV?

At the Supreme Court this week, broadcasters sought to stop a small firm from competing against them. Saying it was violating copyright law, ABC led a group challenging Aereo’s business model. Aereo uses tiny antennas to send programming to viewers…

The Reason For An Income Tax Default (Form)

In Denmark, the government automatically prepares people’s taxes. Because they already have the data they need, the tax authority calculates everyone’s income taxes and sends them notice of how much they owe or will receive as a refund. With 80%…

The Robot Milkers That Cows Like

It appears that cows prefer robot milkers. Rather than following a human schedule of pre-dawn mornings and late afternoons, the robots respond to what the cows want. Perhaps 5 or 6 times a day, the cows line up in front…