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…
The Rotten Kid Theorem and Other Gary Becker Ideas
Gary Becker image courtesy of University of Chicago. All too often, if you say you are looking at the economics of the family, people assume you are talking about money. Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, who died this week (1930-2014), changed…
Should Gender Equity Include Diaper Changing Tables?
Women are used to seeing fold-out diaper changing tables in restrooms. A baby care convenience, they are not required by any law. Now though, California is deciding whether infants’ changing tables should be mandated. One proposal requires diapering stations in…
Surprising Hand-To-Mouth Households
Close to one third of all households (38 million) in the US live hand-to-mouth. Like me, perhaps you have always assumed that a hand-to-mouth (HtM) household is low income. Spending all disposable income each week, the hand-to-mouth household is unable…
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…
