Month: March 2019

ABC’s long-running hit television series The Bachelor (and sister show The Bachelorette) can show a few different principles of economics. One very basic economic principle on hand is artificial scarcity. The premise of the show is to introduce one attractive, single man to thirty attractive and single women, who are all potential romantic partners for the bachelor. Then over the course of several weeks the producers of the show send the bachelor and his assembly of potential romantic partners on competitive “group dates” and intimate “one-on-ones”, where the women compete with each other for the Bachelor’s affection. This all culminates Continue reading Artificial Scarcity in ABC’s “The Bachelor”→

With China looking to capitalize on its national consumerism, Chinese investors are beginning to dump money into none other than the worlds greatest competition; football (not the american kind). Xi Jinping aims to raise the bar in terms of economic standards on the pitch saying that his dream for Chinese soccer is to make its teams “among the world’s best”. Here lies the barriers to that outcome. Of China’s 1.386 billion people, a majority live in cities, renowned for their extremely dense populations. For this reason, space to manufacture soccer fields and stadiums is not readily available in the areas Continue reading China’s Plan to Groom the Next Cristiano Ronaldo→

During a lecture about food, my French professor mentioned that Metropolitan Market’s displays make it difficult for her to avoid spending more than necessary at the grocery store. I too am guilty of purchasing many impulse buys at the Met, especially if I shop while hungry. The bakery greets guests at both doors, the cheese aisle sits against the entrance wall, and customers must pass the hot foods and already prepared meals in order to reach the produce, meat, and seafood. The Met creates the perfect atmosphere for impulse buys. Grocery stores lay out products in configurations that optimize consumer Continue reading Metropolitan Market, Supermarket Layouts, and Impulse Purchases→

While taxation would be a key tool in enabling the government to curb the carbon emissions of the US, there will be lots of pushback. History shows that Americans are always resistant to new taxation, so the process of creating successful pollution controls could take some time. For some, time is of the essence and alternatives to taxes are being employed. For the Ski industry, climate change is the biggest threat to their ongoing profitability. It has been projected that the climate will change so significantly that skiing will no longer be possible in the Colorado Rockies as soon as Continue reading The Key to Ending Climate Change: Making it Profitable→