Recent research explains why and when we experience choice fatigue after seeing the alternatives at a salad bar or options at an auto dealer.
Why HOT Lanes are a Hot Topic
In the high-occupancy toll lanes outside of Washington D.C., you could pay close to $4.00 a mile. Just for a 9-mile stretch along Interstate 66, the toll has totaled $40.00. Should economists applaud? Controlling Congestion On December 5, 2017, commuters…
Why Flood Insurance Creates Unintended Consequences
Flooding 34 times in 32 years, a $69,000 home in Mississippi received close to $663,000 in payouts. Similarly, for 16 floods in 18 years the owners of a Houston home valued at $115,000 got $800,000. The insurance industry calls them…
Why the Philadelphia Soda Tax is Fizzling
Like all sin taxes, the Philadelphia sugary drinks tax has had an unpredictable impact on revenue and the alternatives that people select.
Why You Should Eat Before You Shop
A surprising cause of a change in demand, hunger might make us want to shop more. Traditionally, a change in demand results from a demand determinant.
Weekly Roundup: From Desirable Currency to Rejected Coins
Our everyday economics includes gender gap, human capital, competition, regulation, opportunity cost, money supply, currency and conspicuous consumption.
Our Weekly Roundup: From Being Cool to Being a Wise Investor
This week’s everyday economics stories included spillover, externalities, incentive, opportunity cost, sovereign debt, demand and financial intermediaries.
A Water Shortage During Brazil’s World Cup
A major source of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s water supply has shrunk. Down to 14.7% of its capacity, the Cantareira Basin supplies almost half the area’s water. With little rain until recently (and it’s the rainy season from December to March)…
Cow Burps and Global Warming
As most of us know, cow burps add to global warming. So too do the methane releases of sheep, goats and other ruminant animals. In a recent opinion piece in Nature Climate Change, a group of researchers suggest we should…