Macroeconomics

July 17, 2015

The Wright Moment for the Bicycle

As an innovation, the bicycle was a stepping stone that helped human capital move onward to other inventions like the airplane, the auto and better roads.

July 15, 2015

Taylor Swift Gives Apple a Little Taste of Capitalism

By asking Apple to pay her and other artists when customers get their music for free displays Taylor Swift's understanding of the basics of capitalism.

July 7, 2015

The Tax We Should Like

Among the least popular forms of taxation, property taxes are the most desirable because of their incentives, whom they target and their resilience.

July 1, 2015

When to Worry About Sovereign Debt

Comparing debt to GDP is like looking at a mortgage loan and household net worth. It can help us decide when a sovereign debt became too large.

June 30, 2015

Why Children Are More Expensive Than We Think

To the dollars families spend on children, we can add the cost of stress from the time we devote to developing a child's human capital.

June 22, 2015

An Unintended Consequence of Football Helmets

Regulation can have unintended consequences. With football helmets or seat belts or even financial regulation, protection can create more reckless behavior.

June 14, 2015

The Cost of the Squeegee Men

Through a cost and benefit approach to crime control, the limited money available for municipal spending can be spent most efficiently.

June 5, 2015

A Poaching Problem that Regulation Hasn’t Solved

The market solutions and regulatory approaches used to solve the problem of elephant poaching have not worked for wildlife conservation in Africa.

June 1, 2015

India’s Height Mystery

Long assumed to have a direct relationship, the connection between height and GDP becomes more complex when we compare India and Africa.