Behavioral Economics

August 29, 2014

Solving the Airplane Seat Problem

According to Ronald Coase, if reclining in an airline seat creates a negative externality, both parties can negotiate because the transaction costs are low.

August 27, 2014

The Costs of Being Prepared for a Natural Disaster

Whereas natural disaster preparation can save lives, it might have too high an opportunity cost to make sense or be a ShakeAlert that has been proven.

August 15, 2014

How Music Can Empower You

Like athletes use music before competing, so too can we energize our human capital at work with music that empowers us physiologically and psychologically.

August 11, 2014

Will You Get Your Social Security Benefits?

The 2014 Social Security Trustees Report says that after we deplete the remains of the program's trust funds in 2033, payroll taxes will not provide all promised benefits.

July 7, 2014

The Difference Between India's Stories and Statistics

There is a village in Southern India called Kadapakkam. It had been a home to farmers and fishermen whose thatched huts had no running water and no electrical appliances. At traditional tea shops […]

June 12, 2014

The Impact of World Cup Soccer On Stock Markets

“Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most  important.” Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) European Central Bank researchers have hypothesized that World Cup Soccer […]

June 11, 2014

Prius Purchases and Conspicuous Conservation

Our Wednesday Environment Focus Reporting that Prius was the top selling car in California, Bloomberg said the reason was tough emissions standards. I wonder… In a 2011 paper, […]

May 27, 2014

The Income Inequality That Doesn't Bother Us

When people talk about the top 1%, they are probably not thinking about NY Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter or Seattle’s MLS forward, Clint Dempsey. For 2014, Jeter signed a […]

May 21, 2014

An Unexpected Cost of Climate Change?

Our Wednesday Environment Focus By Madeleine Vance, guest blogger and student at Kent Place School; edited by Elaine Schwartz Global Warming has become more than just a […]

May 20, 2014

Production Possibility Frontiers: Entering (and Exiting) a Discovery Void

After technological innovation multiplies, might the pace of discovery slow down? Think of the history of antibiotics. Starting with the Sulfa drugs that were first discovered during […]