Economic Ideas

Much more than money, economics is about tradeoffs. Thinking economically involves cost and benefit, marginal analysis and seeing that there is no free lunch. Econlife tries to convey these economic ideas, which serve as the foundation of economics and help people make decisions personally, professionally and as voters.

From Estonia: Cheap International Calls, Priceless Tweets

Estonia’s market economy resulted from eurozone membership, human capital and infrastructure development and fiscal discipline.

A Tale of Two Cities… and One Mall

Half of the Valley Fair Mall is in Santa Clara, CA while the other half is in San Jose. Because San Jose has a minimum wage of $10.15 while Santa Clara’s is $8.00, the stores at the mall have a problem. Minimum…

Using Prediction Markets to Catch Match-Fixing at Wimbledon

When supply and demand in tennis match prediction markets created illogical prices, researchers said that 3 matches at Wimbledon might have been fixed.

Economic Thoughts About Presidential Relaxation

In the Great Recession (Bush) and the Panic of 1907 (Roosevelt), we saw that the U.S. President need not appear to be running monetary and fiscal policy.

Bedtime Stories… About the Economy.

From statistics and a satellite image of the world at night, we can see that developing countries lack the electrification they need for economic growth.

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.

The Path of the Shifting Center of Global Economic Power

Led by Chinese economic growth and other emerging markets, the center of economic gravity is moving eastward from the developed world to Asia.

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.

Can an Earthquake Be Good for the Economy?

19th century economic writer Frederic Bastiat warned that a disaster spending GDP boost is misleading because of unseen sacrificed economic activity.

Corporate Tax Dilemmas

When firms diminish their corporate tax rate legally with a corporate inversion, the debate should be about overly complex corporate tax laws.