Households

May 30, 2014
What's Communicated by a College Degree?
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 30, 2014
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What Signals Does a College Degree Really Send?

Some economists have an unexpected reason for the college earnings premium. First, the premium… In 2011, a diploma from a 4-year college meant you would earn 83% more than your […]

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May 25, 2014
Weekly Economic News Roundup and Medicare worries
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 25, 2014
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When Does it Cost Too Much to Save a Human Life?

Is $1 a day for someone else’s pill too much to pay with your tax dollars? $10? $100? $1,000? Kaiser Health News recently reported that a new treatment for […]

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May 19, 2014
Limited by men who want to take control female power, past and present female literacy is among the major gender issues.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 19, 2014
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Gender Issues: Literate Women

For millennia, men have tried to stop women from learning to read. Before we look back, I wanted to share these World Bank maps that let us see the […]

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May 15, 2014
Experience of a babysitting co-op with scrip provides a monetary policy lesson and a debate
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 15, 2014
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The Monetary Policy Mistakes of a Babysitting Co-op

There once was a French economist whose name was Say. Proclaiming that “Supply Creates Its Own Demand,” Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) entered economic history with Say’s Law. All he meant was that workers […]

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May 14, 2014
The externalities created by attempts at energy efficiency can be positive or negative.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 14, 2014
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Energy Efficiency Surprises

Our Wednesday Environmental Issue: Trying to optimize energy efficiency, we might have unexpected results. First, where we live… Referring to an environmentally friendly community where he once lived, New Yorker writer […]

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May 6, 2014
Gary Becker opened a new world when he used economics to study human behavior
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 6, 2014
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The Rotten Kid Theorem and Other Gary Becker Ideas

Gary Becker image courtesy of University of Chicago. All too often, if you say you are looking at the economics of the family, people assume you […]

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May 1, 2014
Resource allocation involves similar concepts whether personal, for business or a country.
Published by Elaine Schwartz at May 1, 2014
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How To Divide the Rent, a Cake and a Country

Assume for a moment that you have just rented a 4th floor walk-up apartment for $3000 with 2 friends. One bedroom is mid-sized and near a […]

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April 28, 2014
Political gender equity improves human capital far beyond politics
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 28, 2014
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Why Do We Need More King Peggys?

Our Monday Gender Issue: Having a woman as the king of an African fishing village can make a big difference. During 2008, a secretary who works […]

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April 20, 2014
everyday economics and the birth rate
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 20, 2014
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Which Countries Want You to Have a Baby?

It is a recipe for demographic disaster when you have too many old people and not enough babies. The problem is the size of the working […]

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April 16, 2014
economic news roundup and water shortages
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 16, 2014
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How To Cope With (Water) Stress

Being water stressed means you are unusually vulnerable to a water shortage. Sort of like a household where one emergency can push it over the edge because it […]

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April 13, 2014
Published by Elaine Schwartz at April 13, 2014
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One Reason That Quitting is Good

I have read that Fed Chair Janet Yellen is particularly interested in JOLTS. Representing Job Openings and Labor market Turnover Survey, JOLTS data tell an interesting […]

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March 24, 2014
gender pay gap
Published by Elaine Schwartz at March 24, 2014
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Feminism

Our Monday Gender Issue: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian writer, former MacArthur genius, National Book Critics Circle Award winner, author of the book, Half of a Yellow Sun on […]

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