Author Archives: David Shireman

Economic models assume consumers choose the bundle of goods that will maximize their utility. It’s no secret that this assumption holds very little water –that consumers fail to make utility maximizing choices in their day to day lives– and it can be interesting to look at examples of these failures of decision making. One interesting example of consumers incorrectly maximizing their utility is lemming decision making. Lemming decision making is essentially what happens when someone does something incorrectly just because everyone else is also doing that thing incorrectly, without actually evaluating the various outcomes and making a real decision about Continue reading Do you Stand or Walk on an Escalator? Lemming Decision Making→

Arguments over the moral validity of capital punishment have likely been discussed since the beginning of civilized culture. However, one aspect of this debate that is not commonly discussed is the economic dimension of the issue. The public generally believes that execution costs less money than paying for a lifetime in prison. But, research into the topic reveals that conception to be incorrect. Capital punishment is much more expensive than keeping a criminal incarcerated for their life. The first and most commonly cited reason for the death penalty being more expensive is the actual process of killing the criminal is Continue reading A Quick Look at the Cost of Capital Punishment→

Three weeks ago I wrote a blog post about Boeing and Airbus as an example of a duopoly market. The recent Boeing 737 crashes were a hot topic at the time, breaking out of the realm of news for airplane nerds such as myself, and into the realm of mainstream news. During the time when that article was written, it looked like Boeing might be in serious trouble because consumers were beginning to switch flights to planes besides the Boeing 737. Consumers had gained information and acted on it. In my article I included that virtually every relevant country except Continue reading An Update on a Previous Boeing/Airbus Article & The Short Attention Span of the Modern Consumer→

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”→

At this point in human history, technology has advanced far enough for us to see far beyond our solar system. We have the ability to classify various different types of planets throughout the universe, and we have identified that there are trillions of earth-like planets in the portion of the universe we have observed so far, which could potentially sustain life. In fact, after observing such a large portion of our universe much of the scientific community believes that the conditions under which life on earth developed are so common in other solar systems that it is shocking that we Continue reading Why Aren’t There Aliens? Why We Might Be Doomed→

Snow is really really expensive. In 2015 the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials investigated the cost of snow removal in 23 states, and found that the overall cost was $1,131,651,978 (AASHTO). Simply put, snow is a financial burden on cities. But this is not the primary concern of students when it comes to cold weather. The only question that matters to a student, no matter how old, is whether or not there will be a snow day. The consensus among the student body here at UPS is that snow days are amazing, and that a break from Continue reading Why You Should Be Less Excited About Snow Days→