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 are talking about money. Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, who died this week (1930-2014), changed…

The World's Top and Bottom Laissez-Faire Countries

Please note that this post was updated here at econlife. I have been seeing more of Adam Smith in the news recently. Reviews of Thomas Piketty’s new book and policy discussions about sluggish growth always seem to oppose or support…

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 fire escape, the second is rather large and has a view of a magnificent…

The Big Impact of a Little Salamander

The woodland salamander made me think of Adam Smith. In North American forests, wherever it is dark and damp, under a rock or a log, a very hungry salamander could be devouring her daily diet. Eating 20 ants, 2 flies…

The California/Missouri Chicken Cage Disagreement

Sort of like coach or first class, most of the chickens that lay our eggs live in a battery or a colony cage.  In the typical cage called the battery, a chicken has 67 square inches. By contrast, colony cages…

One Reason That Geography Matters

Have you ever looked closely at Japan and the United Kingdom? Described by geographer Jared Diamond in a fascinating podcast, they look remarkably similar. Today Japan and the British Isles are modern industrial societies.  Both are north/south archipelagos located in…