Author Archives: Cole Driscoll

A Solution to Millennial Skepticism

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The word “Millennials” has been tossed around much in the last decade. It is used to describe individuals born between 1980-2000 by other generations as they have closely watched this young portion of the population to see the direction our world is headed in. After being labeled as lazy, entitled, and addicted to technology, millennials have now been criticized for a loss of faith in democracy. First World countries known for their democratic systems have seen a decline in political participation from their youth. The US, Poland, and Britain saw less than half of their under-25s come out and vote Continue reading A Solution to Millennial Skepticism→

Race as a Variable: The Progressive Era

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The Progressives of the late 19th century and early 20th century paved the way for expanded government and socialistic policies. But when looking back at these the ideas and views of the economists, sociologists, and other experts at that time there is an overwhelming cloud of prejudice behind their ideologies. They sought to change the way of thinking about society as whole and how to better it, but this led them to see “inferior” individuals as negatively affecting society. Of course, it is important to remember that this was a different era, dating back before the civil rights movements of Continue reading Race as a Variable: The Progressive Era→

Keynes vs Hayek

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In the world of economic study there are many different schools of thought, but two influential economists have steered the way for modern economics. John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich August Hayek were both pioneers of the early twentieth century. They developed economic theory that would shape polarizing sections of the economic belief. Keynes was a product of King’s College, Cambridge and his general theory was an examination of the economic forces behind the Great Depression. But while Keynes was developing his own theory on employment and interest rates, Hayek was doing much of the same. Hayek was an Austrian native Continue reading Keynes vs Hayek→

An Unexpected Alignment

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Since the night Donald Trump was elected on the 9th, much of the country has been wondering what the future holds. A wall? A Muslim registry? But for Janet Yellen the question may be, “a job?” The native New Yorker and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was cast in a negative light throughout Trump’s campaign. Trump and his advisers criticized Yellen for playing the “political” game when implementing monetary policies.  This criticism makes sense for Trump as his campaign was based around the idea that growth will come from fiscal policies rather than monetary. Now Continue reading An Unexpected Alignment→

Cuban Real Estate: Untapped Territory

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To follow up Obama’s restoration of trade relations with Cuba about a week ago, it seems worthwhile to look at other aspects of Cuba’s changing economy. The state of the real estate market in Cuba, specifically in Havana, has been on the rise as Americans and foreigners have begun to look for ways to purchase Cuban property. Some of the houses in Cuba are still owned by the government, but since 2011 the state has allowed homeowners to buy and sell property. Cuba law also prohibits nonresidents from purchasing property. But this doesn’t stop foreigners from getting a piece of Continue reading Cuban Real Estate: Untapped Territory→

Dependency on Sponsorship: Professional Gaming

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Video games have been around since the 1950s when the “cathode-ray tube amusement device” was first invented. But now video games have taken a new form of entertainment as “professional gaming” has become popular in the last few years. The video game industry has seen much growth, especially over the 21st century, and the industry has realized a total revenue of about $23.5 billion in 2015. Of course, with this type of money flowing into the industry there must be consumers who are dedicated to these products and there are. The reason that the industry has been expanding is because Continue reading Dependency on Sponsorship: Professional Gaming→

Automobile Industry Feelin the Heat

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On Monday Ford Motor company announced that they will be shutting down production of their F-150 pickup truck for a week. The demand for these American cars has been dropping and Ford has been feeling the heat from it. Ford’s F-150 truck has been the best-selling model in North America and Ford has seen steady growth in the last six years. But Ford was forced to shut down one of its Kentucky plants for the next week and temporarily idle production of several other plants in the US and Mexico. Reuters.com reports that 13,000 employees will be effected by these Continue reading Automobile Industry Feelin the Heat→

Drug Abuse as an Externality

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In the past few months the Economist and Time Magazine have reported that there have been steps taken to develop Ketamine as an antidepressant. This drug is a schedule III controlled substance in the US that is usually used to start and maintain anesthesia. It was first produced in the 1960s for this use, but soon began to run through the “club scene” in the US, Hong Kong, and Canada as a recreational drug. In 2009 the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime recorded 6.9 tons of Ketamine being pushed through the illegal drug market. The drug could be helpful Continue reading Drug Abuse as an Externality→

Relationship between Oil Prices and Inflation

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Economists in the past 20 years have examined the relationship between oil prices and inflation. The common finding has been one of “limited” or “modest” correlation between these two variables. Michele Cavallo wrote on this topic in the FRBSF Economic Letter and made the observation that in the “1970s and early 1980s, rising oil prices were accompanied by double-digit overall inflation in the U.S. and in several other developed economies.” There were studies conducted using data from 1960-2000 and the results were ambiguous as they showed a strong relationship between oil prices and inflation only before 1981. But since 2000 Continue reading Relationship between Oil Prices and Inflation→

Argentina Eyes on Macri

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In Buenos Aires all eyes have been on newly elected Argentine president, Mauricio Macri to fix the inflated state of the country’s economy. Macri was elected in December and promised Argentina’s citizens that he would curb inflation. But 8 months later there were reportedly tens of thousands rallying in front of the presidential palace in an “anti-Macri demonstration.” Some labor leaders and citizens are angry at the trajectory of the economy and for good reason. INDEC, the national statistics institute, stated that prices went up by 4.2% in May and The Wall Street Journal reported that unemployment rose to 9.3%. Continue reading Argentina Eyes on Macri→