Our Wednesday environment focus Elon Musk just flipped entrepreneurial logic upside down. Rather than building a patent moat around his technology, he announced it would be available to anyone using it “in good faith.” That means Tesla’s 203 patents will be accessible to all…
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.
Note to Self… Entrepreneurial Activity Shapes Our World.
Asked about how much market research he did for the iPad, Steve Jobs said, “None. It’s not the consumer’s job to know that they want.” Art Fry could have said the same thing. His story is a good one… But first, where are…
What Barbie Tells Us About Women
Our Monday gender issue focus Equipped with a smart phone, a tablet and her distinctively shapely proportions, pink-clad Entrepreneur Barbie just arrived. Because Barbie reflects what has become culturally acceptable, I guess we should applaud her newest incarnation. In 1959, Barbie…
Why Mickey Mouse Worries About Monopsonies
No, we don’t mean monopoly. A monopoly is the single seller in a large or small geographic area. Monopsony, by contrast, indicates there is a single buyer. Where are we going? Whereas a monopoly has the power to charge too high a price, the amount…
The Reason That Recession Dates Matter
Asked to define a recession, you can give the mechanical answer. It is 2 or more adjacent quarters of a real GDP decline. So, if Q1 GDP grows by 3%, Q2 by 2% and then Q3 by 1%, is that…
What We Should Know About Monetary Policy
Having heard Janet Yellen’s press conference yesterday, I learned that the Federal Reserve expects that the economy will improve, their bond buying will diminish and, during the foreseeable future, interest rates will start to ascend. And yes, she spoke about unemployment and…
Could You Like a Carbon Tax?
Our Wednesday environment focus Here is my “To Do” list for reducing carbon emissions: Buy a Prius. Install solar panels. Take the train to NYC. Lower my thermostat to 60 degrees during the winter. Raise my AC thermostat to 78 during…
Six Facts About Australia From The "World Cup of Everything Else"
In a long list of categories that they called, “The World Cup of Everything Else,” WSJ created brackets from the 32 World Cup teams and determined the winners. In 6 areas, Australia was #1 or #2: For life expectancy, Australia comes in…
How Big is the Leisure Gap Between Men and Women?
Our Monday gender issue focus Married or single, weekends and weekdays, men have more leisure time than women. Imagine a typical weekend. Yes, mom might spend a bit less time watching the kids and dad does do more housework. However, when it…
How Less Might Be More At the World Cup
In a study of the Barcelona Olympics, researchers concluded that winners of the bronze medal tended to be happier than the athletes who got the silver. Please look at the expressions (below) of the Olympic medal winners for the 200-meter individual medley at Beijing…