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 located at the side of the local, narrow and potholed road, you could meet a friend. One 62…
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.
A Speedy Summary of Spending in the US Federal Budget
Right now, the Congress is supposedly debating the 2015 federal budget. Because the new fiscal year begins October 1, their deadline is September 30. But not really. 1996 was the last time the House and Senate punctually approved all necessary…
Celebrating Economic Independence
Yes, the United States declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and won the American Revolutionary War. But still, we were not truly independent. George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton knew that true independence required a vibrant economy. He had…
A Cranberry Blog
Yesterday morning, during my “rantum scoot” around a Nantucket cranberry bog, our group leader unknowingly presented a supply and demand story. This is the bog: Nantucket Cranberries Starting with some history, he said the island of Nantucket was ideally suited to growing…
What is the Real Natural Gas Trade off?
Our occasional Wednesday environment focus When you discuss natural gas, do you refer to the environment, the economy or the law? Just mention natural gas to some of my friends and they focus on the environment. Concerned about the impact of the process used…
Seeing Why African Development Is So Tough To Get Started
I just finished and do recommend The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty. Written by a Vanity Fair journalist, the book is a good read. On one level, The Idealist is about a dynamic economist who raised $120 million (and then…
California's Proposition 8 Was Also About Economics
Our (occasional) Monday gender issue focus: Yesterday, at the Nantucket Film Festival, I watched the HBO documentary, The Case Against 8. Documenting the court battle against California’s Proposition 8, the film introduced me to a memorable group of people that included 2 same-sex couples who wanted…
Why We Should Look More Closely At the Size of Our Soda
The 6-ounce bottle of Coke was the king of soda when an upstart company called Pepsi-Cola sold a 12-ounce bottle for the same price. The year was 1934 and the price was 5 cents. Pepsi’s competitive strategy has been called brilliant because its biggest costs were advertising, bottling…
Why Didn't The Supreme Court Change How We Watch TV?
We could call Uber and Aereo “loophole startups.” While Uber provides rides and Aereo delivers TV signals, both have been entering established markets through a regulatory loophole. Uber’s loophole was their app. Because customers were not “hailing” their ride service on the street,…
Do Real Entrepreneurs Have to be Rich?
Because startups tend to be small, do not focus on innovation nor growth, they are a less accurate measure of entrepreneurship than self-made billionaires.