The U.S. dollar is a handy backup when a country’s currency loses its value. After Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation hit its peak (or its nadir) in 2009, they used U.S. dollars but didn’t ha…
How Venezuela Caught an Incurable Case of Dutch Disease
From the very beginning in 1922, Venezuela’s oil industry fueled governmental decisions that created an incurable case of Dutch disease.…
Weekly Roundup: From Venezuela’s French Fries to the Army’s Pizza
Posts Roundup Sunday 11.01.15 How to be inches away from getting hired…more Monday 11.02.15 Why one-child could be here to stay…more Tuesday 11.03.15 The army food we eat at home…mor…
How to Make the Invisible Hand Disappear
With shortages of basic necessities, price controls, lack of foreign exchange and rising prices, Venezuela’s inflation rate is soaring.…
Our Weekly Roundup: From Cheap Gas to Expensive Soda
This week’s everyday economics stories include subsidies, human capital, game theory, price controls, inelastic demand, and monopolistic competition.…
Venezuela's Biggest Economic Problem
The perverse incentives created by Venezuelan price controls result in shortages, underutilized resources, wasted time, soaring inflation and hoarding.…
Price Ceilings: Venezuelan Toilet Paper Shortages
One shopper had to search for toilet paper in 6 stores. Another arrived in a supermarket just after a delivery but was limited to a 4-roll maximum. Attempting to deal with its toilet paper shortage, t…
Do You Like Rent Control?
Asked if it makes sense to mandate lower rents for some apartments in large cities, many of us say yes. Lower rents facilitate diversity and they enable middle income municipal workers to live close t…
Venezuela's Price Controls
Reading that a Venezuelan retiree did not mind the food lines, I started thinking about how President Chavez’s price controls have changed incentives. The retiree, who has more time than money, …
Venezuela's Economic Problems
Venezuela has 2 basic economic problems: The law of supply: Because price and quantity move in the same direction, if price goes down, then producers provide less. This takes us to Venezuela’s 2…