The economic way to demonstrate sadness is to look at misery indexes that use macro data to measure changes in our emotions.…
Business Cycles
How a Paper Jam is Like a Recession
Whether it’s the paper in your copier machine or the goods and services in a market economy, flows and jams can be rather similar.…
What Super Bowl Ads Really Say
Ranging from Apple to Amazon, and Pets.com to Ameriquest, decades of Super Bowl ads can demonstrate some major turning points in the U.S. economy.…
The Shrinking Cities Problem
An idyllic mountain village wants you. The town has one shop, a church, houses that have been there forever, and a population that has shrunk to 240. It is located in the Swiss Alps. Albinen’s p…
The Surprising Lessons From Economic Crises
For all economic crises, some economists tell us, “This time it’s different,” while others disagree with their new solutions.…
Not Quite a Goldilocks Recovery
To decide the strength of our economic recovery since the Great Recession, we can use seven numbers or just one that might be most important.…
The Accuracy of the Mashed Potato Index
Mashed Potatoes could be a good way to decide the direction of consumer spending. Where are we going? To consumer spending indices. The Mashed Potato Index (MPI) A pound container of mashed potatoes w…
Blaming the Baby Boomers
Wondering why the economy is sluggish, you can blame the baby boomers for less employment growth, smaller families and longer lives.…
When Not to Build a Super Tall Skyscraper
From the Chrysler Building in NYC to Taipei 101 in Taiwan, the timing of super tall skyscraper construction provides clues about business cycles.…
Unusual Economic Indicators
If you see women in long skirts at “sit-down” restaurants, then the economy is probably expanding. Since 1926 when the hemline index was first expressed, economists have assumed that hemli…