The Why Axis: Discrimination in the Workplace

  Chapters 5 and 6 of the Why Axis focus on economic discrimination. Luckily, overt discrimination and bigotry has been on the decline for a while. However, economic discrimination, discrimination on the basis on economic situation/incentives/opportunities. Economic discrimination includes rejecting a qualified candidate who expresses an interest in starting a family in the future, or charging men 18-24 more for car insurance because they are likelier to get in an accident. Both economic discrimination and certain kinds of animus, or a hostile feeling when engaging with people of different races, orientations or ability, are obstacles to social justice and socially optimal outcomes. Gneezy and List discuss various Continue reading The Why Axis: Discrimination in the Workplace

The Why Axis: Be Careful What You Choose, It May Be Used Against You!

For chapter 7 of The Why Axis, Gneezy and List address the “hidden motives behind discrimination.” This idea looks at discrimination, whether with economic intentions or simply bad ones. You may ask, what is economic discrimination like? In some cases, it could make sense economically for the firm to discriminate, but it Gneezy and List note that it could come off as pure hostility towards the group of people that are being targeted. An example that they use looks at how an airline might address the cost of seat(s) based on a consumers weight. Southwest Airlines, for example, will charge an obese person the cost of two tickets if they meet Continue reading The Why Axis: Be Careful What You Choose, It May Be Used Against You!

Argentina’s Tale of Debt Struggle

Argentina has been the center of global discussion for the past 14 years. No, it’s not because of its amazing soccer players or its spectacular waterfalls. The reason that Argentina has been the topic of debate is due to its decision to simply not pay back it’s debt of $100 billion. Argentina saw it could not provide the government services that their people needed, so they told the world they were going to sweep their debt under the rug. How do global entities and foreign lenders deal with a country that refuses to pay back their loans? Well, Argentina’s investors Continue reading Argentina’s Tale of Debt Struggle

Economics of Sleep

  More sleep is usually positively correlated with beneficial variables such as increased cognitive ability, better weight management, and overall wellbeing. But can the amount we sleep explain important health and economic indicators? Lauren Hale, a sleep researcher at Stony Brook University uses sleep as a social justice issue: “Generally, people who have more opportunities, more control over their lives, are also better sleepers. … Is it true that either racial minorities, low-educated, low job-security individuals, people who live in high-risk neighborhoods, who experience fear at night, are these people who clearly have some sort of social disadvantage, are also Continue reading Economics of Sleep

“The world has not turned on us, we have turned on her.”

“You’re living through a time when virtually half of humanity’s intellectual, social and spiritual legacy is being allowed to slip away. This does not have to happen. These peoples are not failed attempts at being modern — quaint and colorful and destined to fade away as if by natural law.” –Wade Davis; TED Talk The World Wide Web of Belief and Ritual (2008) Eight years and almost two presidential elections since Wade Davis’ TED talk was uploaded onto the internet, we have still only yet begun to understand and articulate the magnitude of our growing environmental catastrophe. We’ve begun to Continue reading “The world has not turned on us, we have turned on her.”

Delaware: Worse Than the Cayman Islands

Can you guess which State is home to the most Fortune 500 companies? I bet Delaware was not obvious. That random State most people rack their brains to place on a map is taking the lead over the equally un-placeable Cayman Islands for best tax haven on Earth. Delaware has more corporate entities than people – 945,326 to 897,934. Last year alone over 133 thousand businesses set up there, and they’re paying very very little in taxes. About $9.5 billion in taxes is assumed to have been avoided just do to Delaware being a lousy teammate. “The Delaware loophole,” as Continue reading Delaware: Worse Than the Cayman Islands

Another Finance Post: What is Private Equity?

What is private equity? For many, private equity just more financial-ese. For others, it’s an investment arena they’ll never get into. For some it’s the only way to keep a business running, and for the lucky few it’s a way to make big money fast. Equity is the portion of something that you own (a share if many people have own portions). It’s the monetary representation of ownership. More specifically it’s assets – liabilities, essentially the amount you own minus the amount you owe. Own minus owe! For example, if you are working on paying off a boat worth $40,000 but you still need to Continue reading Another Finance Post: What is Private Equity?

Revenue Sharing, The Yankees and Hypocrisy

Those damn Yankees! Recently, the Yankees president Randy Levine made comments complaining about the revenue-sharing agreement used in Major League Baseball (MLB) which forces higher-revenue teams to pay lower-revenue teams millions of dollars to help balance the wealth around the league. “What is very burdensome to us, and is unfair, is the amount of money we have to pay in revenue sharing compared,  for example, to teams in our market that pay 10 times less than us,” Levine said (Fox Sports). As mentioned in the excellent New York Times article on this subject, Levine is referencing to the New York Mets, Continue reading Revenue Sharing, The Yankees and Hypocrisy

How Much Luck Do You Have?

How does luck play into one’s success? When thinking about successful men and women, the fact that luck could have played a role in the road to success isn’t always brought up. This isn’t to say that successful people haven’t worked hard to get to where they are. But there are some people who possess hard-working qualities and superior knowledge, who do not catch a break. It possible that people “underestimate” the amount of luck that plays into their success and the success of people around them. If we take a look at the success of an athlete like, say Continue reading How Much Luck Do You Have?

Why Do the Rich Give Less?

What motivates people to give their money to charity? As a college student I have heard many of my peers say things like, “well if I had more money I would donate more to charity”, but is that the case for the rest of Americans? When it comes to giving, humans clearly stray away from the rational model. Charitable preferences are never stable, information is very rarely asymmetric, and utility differs depending on how the donation is given and perceived. One of the most surprising facts of charity in America is that the people who can afford to give the Continue reading Why Do the Rich Give Less?