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 have enough. So, when the cash got too gray…
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…more Wednesday 11.04.15 What a pizza can teach us…more Thursday 11.05.15 The tough part of deciding who…
The perverse incentives created by Venezuelan price controls result in shortages, underutilized resources, wasted time, soaring inflation and hoarding.
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, the Venezuelan government has said…
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 to home. Affordability is good. Yes?…
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, now has the incentive to stand in line. Meanwhile,…
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 27.1% inflation rate. President Hugo Chavez responded by…
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