Through a behavioral economics lens, our reaction to a price relates to a frame or reference point that creates an association with a gain or a loss.…
A New Name for Price Gouging
Yesterday, a friend of mine waited on a gas line for 3 hours to fill his tank. The price was close to normal but the line was not. Hearing about gas lines, I remembered when Boston’s water suppl…
California Consumers and Gas Prices
How might California be responding to $5.00 gas? Let’s start with bread machines. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely explains that when one of the first sellers of bread machines placed it on the s…
Animal Spirits and Gas Prices
Is a 9-cent drop enough to ignite our “animal spirits?” The 9-cent decrease refers to the average national price of a gallon of regular gasoline. And “animal spirits” is the op…
A Tank of Gas
A tank of gas is not just a tank of gas. Isn’t it a spending decision? The national average for a gallon of regular is close to $3.88 and higher in California. July 2008 was the last time we dea…
Oil Dilemmas
The good news? We are driving more again–more miles than any year since 2007. The bad news? We are driving more again–more miles than any year since 2007.. Here are the facts from a W…