Behavioral economics explains that we sign up for health clubs and then don’t exercise because of unrealistic pre-commitment and upfront payment.
Weekly Roundup: From Drinking Behavior to Dating Decisions
This week’s everyday economics involved 6 economists and such ideas as product differentiation, behavioral economics, marginal utility, price and trade.
How the EU is Like a Dysfunctional Family
Like a dysfunctional family with members who dislike each other, the EU stays together because of the benefits of David Ricardo’s comparative advantage.
Weekly Roundup: From Marijuana to the Metric System
Our everyday economics include globalization, opportunity cost, inflation, employment, monetary policy, negative externalities, recession, business cycle.
Why the Metric Switch is so Tough
The expense and complexities of switching to the metric system have prevented the change, and have affected how standard weights and measures help globalization.
The Ebola Impact on Economic Health
More than the disease itself, ebola’s GDP impact from aversion behavior is rippling through West Africa domestically and in international trade.
A Command Economy: Playing the Game
Queue is now a game. But not always. In Poland, during the 1970s, you might have taken an hour or two off from work, rotating with a brother or sister, to stand in line. Everyone could have been waiting for…
Greek Red Tape
Our story begins with 3 Greek entrepreneurs who want to create an e-commerce business selling olive products. It ends as Oliveshop.com begins to flourish with orders from the U.S., Australia, Japan, Mongolia and beyond. The middle of the story, though, is the…
Friction Free Clicks
Which friction minimizing invention received a patent in 1999? Amazon 1-Click. Described by Amazon in their application for patent 5,960,411, the purchaser just hits a button that activates the movement of payment information from “the client system” to the”server system.”…
A Line Primer
Done with grocery shopping, you scan the registers and select the shortest line. Standing there for 2 minutes, your time flies. Another minute? Okay. But then, according to research, when the time hits 4 minutes, you believe you have been…
