If you are like many Americans, you made a New Year's resolution, and, if you are like most of those people, you will have given up on it before the year is half over. Traditional economic anal...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2014/01/the-economics-and-egonomics-of-new.html
Economists are famous, perhaps infamous, for disagreeing with each other. Indeed, economists have different views on policies, different scientific judgments, and different values. Even econo...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2013/11/economists-disagree-and-nobel-prize-in.html
The Federal Reserve's decision on September 18th to continue purchasing $85 billion in longer-term bonds each month took financial markets by surprise. Collective wisdom expected that the Fed w...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2013/10/quantitative-easing-steady-but-bond-and.html
The Chicago Cubs hold the record for the longest championship drought in the four major US sports, not giving their fans a World Series victory since 1908. But for as much heartache and disap...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2013/09/finally-something-positive-from-cubs.html
Recently several California towns and counties introduced new rules concerning single-use grocery bags in an attempt to reduce the harmful effects of paper and plastic refuse on the environment...
It’s a good thing I don’t have to watch my cholesterol, because after moving to the Maine seacoast last July, I simply cannot get enough lobster. Though I haven’t had to worry about the h...
The other day I took my car to the mechanic for what I thought would be a quick maintenance appointment. However, I was sadly mistaken when my bill came in at a whopping $800. Because my knowle...
“Buyers know what goods cost.” Some version of that assumption comes up in the very first weeks of just about every introductory econ course. It becomes one of the few assumptions that we m...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2013/03/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-cookies.html
A famous economics joke says it best: A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on an island, with nothing to eat. A can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, "Let’s smash the...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2013/03/assumption-corruption.html
A few months ago, my car was burglarized; the side window was broken and my iPod taken. I had to pay $230 for the window repair and although the 2-year old iPod Touch may only have been worth $...
The other day I woke up, looked in the mirror, and decided it was time for a haircut. Rather than picking up the phone and calling the salon where I’ve gone in the past, I checked my email, t...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/05/who-pays-for-online-discounts.html
Easter egg decorating was more expensive than usual in Europe this year. According to the Wall Street Journal , the annual spike in egg prices—due to their use in Easter food and decorating—...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/04/hunting-for-cheaper-easter-egg.html
In the sports world, it has become cliché for people to say that every second counts. However, we expect that phrase to apply on the field, not to the teams trying to get there. Recently, a fri...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/03/kicking-through-ceiling.html
After my husband signed a contract in October 2011 to work for a Maine hospital, they asked him if he preferred to get his signing bonus immediately or some time in 2012. The seemingly obvious a...
On a recent visit to the Los Altos History Museum with my daughters, I found myself hoping that one day they will appreciate my favorite exhibit: a replica of the wheel-of-fortune used by the Lo...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/02/land-or-dishes-dishes-please.html
A famous quip suggests that if you could teach a parrot to say "supply and demand," he could replace 90% of the world's economists. However, what economics is really about is analyzing the decis...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/02/househunters-meets-econ.html
In September 2010, a natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas & Electric company (PG&E) ruptured in a subdivision of San Bruno, California, starting a fire that killed eight people, destroyed 5...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2012/01/getting-incentives-right.html
Which scenario would you prefer: (a) losing $30, or (b) losing $30, then losing $90, then regaining the original lost $30? While in most circumstances the first option is the unquestionably pre...
"One box will cost you $740, but if you don’t like it, you could try your luck with the Russian smuggler down the street." There are plenty of goods that might be sold based on discussions li...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2011/12/low-carbs-high-fathigh-prices.html
For centuries, gold and silver served as money, but not anymore. Silver went out of circulation in the late 19th century. Gold was effectively banned from circulation in the United States by the...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2011/11/oz-economics-will-your-silver-shoes.html
I recently had to decide between going to a concert for which I’d already bought a ticket and attending a dinner party with friends. Initially I was compelled to “get my money’s worth” ...
While at the Patriots-Steelers NFL game earlier this season, I made a classic economics observation: tradeoffs are everywhere. It was partway into the second quarter, and dinner time was approac...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2011/11/nfl-concessions-meet-economic-tradeoffs.html
Across the country, students are returning to higher education institutions for the start of another semester, except it seems that the federal government may not want some of those students i...
A recent study on longevity provides intriguing data on life expectancy (LE) in the United States. Despite the U.S. having the highest health expenditure per capita, life expectancy in the US...
http://econblog.aplia.com/2011/07/crossing-bridge-do-wealthy-live-longer.html
For the past month, House Republicans and the White House have been in a bitter standoff over the national debt ceiling, the legal limit to borrowing that the U.S. government imposes on itself....
http://econblog.aplia.com/2011/06/raising-roof-on-national-debt.html