By combining stories from Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah and statistics, we can create a more realistic picture of African development.
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.
Seeding change: seeds or change?
Cash grants are an alternative form of foreign aid. Tough to accept, cash could have more benefits than other traditional programs.
The Spillover from Refrigerators in China
The spread of refrigeration in China has positive and negative externalities that relate to household diets, greenhouse gases and transport and home waste.
Hamburger Economics
Our Sunday Charts The 2014 Big Mac Index is out and not much has changed. Norway’s Big Macs are most expensive and Chinese Big Macs are cheap. As The Economist explains, starting in 1986, they wanted to take a lighthearted look at whether currencies…
Argentina's (Long) Default History
With Argentina again defaulting on her sovereign debt, she is violating the sanctity of contracts and lessened her borrowing ability at home and globally.
How North Dakota Fuels Economic Growth
A magnet for entrepreneurs and workers seeking high paying jobs, North Dakota’s city of Williston shows how energy wealth fuels economic growth.
Greece Again?
With more austerity resistance to government spending cutbacks, Greece could again be heading for a sovereign debt default and a bailout.
Why the GDP is Much More Than a Number
Seemingly just a statistic, how we calculate the GDP and how it is used can be controversial and affect the lives of millions of people.
Three "Tear-Water" Graphs
The U.S. has had an economic recovery from the Great Recession with sluggish GDP growth, a worrisome output gap and slowly diminishing unemployment.
The Inflated Cost of Car Tires
Because the benefits of the tire tariff are concentrated while its cost is diffuse and invisible, government tend to create this type of regulation.