Economic History

April 10, 2014

Why Would the Nigerian GDP Double Overnight?

We might have to say BRINC rather than BRICS. As a developing nation with the highest GDP in Africa, South Africa has been the “S” in […]

April 8, 2014

Unusual Ways to Achieve Deficit Reduction

Hoping to diminish their country’s deficit, last year, Malta’s President and Parliament decided to sell citizenship. The price tag is $891,000 and the perk is that […]

April 7, 2014

Does It Matter That Men Boast?

Our Monday Gender Issue: Teaching at a girls’ school, I continually run into the problem of modesty. My women know the answers and yet go to […]

April 1, 2014

Should Kids Get Paid for Grades?

What happens when you combine a $100 student payment with a teacher bonus for high A.P. grades, better lab equipment, free tutoring, Saturday classes and extra […]

March 22, 2014

The Unintended Consequences of Banning Ivory Sales

New US ivory regulations have had unintended consequences. During November 2013, the US government “pulverized” nearly 6 tons of elephant ivory from Asia and Africa. Intending to […]

March 21, 2014

The One Big Reason We Can’t Really Cut the Federal Deficit

It is tough to be a deficit hawk.   Rather than our typical spike in wartime spending, we have a peacetime deficit. (Please note that the federal […]

March 16, 2014

What We Sacrifice for Pothole Patches

With 150,000 more potholes than last year and $12 for each temporary patch, Chicago has spent close to $3 million on pothole repair and the end […]

March 10, 2014

One Reason That We Need Gender Equity in TV and Film

Our Monday Gender Issue: Citing “gender inertia,” San Diego University professor Martha Lauzen said that: “If you have all white males working behind the scenes in […]

February 27, 2014

B(T)FF… Best Trading Friends Forever

We can say that Mexico believes her top trading partner is the United States because the value of her exports to the US (2013: $370,826,831) added to the […]

February 26, 2014

Tall and Short Populations

Princeton economist Angus Deaton estimates that it will take 500 years for Indian women to reach the height of English women. In The Great Escape, Dr. […]

February 16, 2014

What Can We Learn From Downton Abbey Economics?

Downton Abbey can tell us a lot about the British economy…but not everything. We know the aristocracy is struggling. Many of the 700 families who had […]

February 13, 2014

Problems With Grade Deflation

The number of hours we study is down and our grades are up. Between 1961 and 2003, full time college students diminished their study time from […]