Author Archives: Matthew Moreno

Last week, I wrote on the perverse incentive structure of gyms that encourages them to discourage (actively or passively) attendance. This week, I’m writing on commitment devices. These are mechanisms that people use to engineer an incentive structure to set them up for success with a difficult task. A few years ago I heard a story from RadioLab told by a woman who was struggling to quit smoking. She decided to set up a small payment to a cause she found repulsive, the KKK I believe, that would go through if she lit up again. I suspect that it wasn’t Continue reading Commitment Devices→

It’s been a solid 26 days since the beginning of the new year, and I would bet that most resolutions–especially fitness resolutions–have fallen flat by now. Well, it turns out that maybe fitness resolution-makers shouldn’t carry the full burden of blame for their failings. In some ways, the system is stacked against them. NPR’s Planet Money scrutinized the business model of typical gym in a recent podcast episode. A brief summary of their observations: It’s not in the interest of gyms’ financial interest to have frequently-attending members. More use means more cost (replacing machines, cleaning up, providing paper towels for de-sweatifying things), Continue reading New Year Resolutions?→

The impact of the holiday season on our consumer economy can hardly be overstated. In addition to elevated black Friday and other seasonal shopping, we might expect Santa Claus to be a major economic force. In that spirit, researchers have put together some interesting statistics on what Santa’s operations, were they structured as a multinational corporation, might look like. Based on his job’s description of pilot and industrial manager, insure.com estimates Santa would make a salary of $139,924. (If Santa were classified as CEO, that number would likely be much higher.) NPR’s Planet Money crunched the numbers to determine the elven workforce necessary if Santa operated Continue reading Santanomics→

I am writing this post to follow up on a post from last spring, “Anecdotes at the Federal Reserve,” not–however much it may seem so–as an exercise in stalking Ben Bernanke. “Anecdotes at the Federal Reserve” examined Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes to evaluate the use of anecdotal evidence in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Those minutes shed light on the  the personalities and the institutional dynamics behind Fed policies. In that vein, I have three little snippets about the man who was Chair of the Federal Reserve in 2008 and the environment he worked in. 1) This BusinessInsider Continue reading A Three Piece Portrait of Ben Bernanke→

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week’s angle on the outbreak is humanitarian. Beyond social and economic factors that contribute to the disease’s spread, the real reason why Ebola “is so bad” is its terrible human toll. Although empirical, detached analysis is a valuable approach to understanding and addressing social issues, I believe an empathetic approach is equally important. To that end, I am wrapping up this series with two pieces of media that establish a human connection to the crisis.  This NPR article delves into the disease’s human toll, especially Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 7)→

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week’s topic: red tape. Although bureaucratic inertia and hysterical political jockeying are usually mere annoyances, in this crisis they likely cost lives. Consider this disturbing headline from the Huffington Post: Sierra Leone Finally Moves To Use Ebola Aid Sitting Untouched In Port For Nearly 2 Months The article ran October 8th, 2014, days after the New York Times and other news organizations broke a story about how $140,000 of medical supplies were sidelined by missing paperwork and unpaid shipping fees. It appears that the disconnect had been brought Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 6)→

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week, we’ll look at poverty. This may seem like a “no, duh” factor, but the effects of poverty on transmission rates extend beyond just lack of access to healthcare or lack of sanitation, two common explanations for outbreaks of disease in conditions of poverty. I found these surprising observations in the PlosOne article The Impact of Economic Crises on Communicable Disease Transmission and Control: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. + Increased cortisol levels from stress and poor nutrition can hamper immunity, worsening Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 5)→

This post continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week, we’ll look at the impact of Ebola on other health issues in West Africa. In addition to casualties resulting directly from EVD (Ebola Virus Disease)—the statistics we see in the news—the outbreak has likely caused many other deaths. By battering West Africa’s developing healthcare system, Ebola enables otherwise preventable diseases, especially Malaria and other diseases of poverty, to run rampant. EVD has taken a terrible toll on medical personnel in West Africa. According to the World Health Organization’s Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report, Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 4)→

This post continues the discussion from my last post, which raised the question: why has the Ebola crisis become so severe? Another contributing factor: the “dismal” response of the World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations auxiliary organization. As an international public health crisis, this crisis falls squarely in the sphere of the WHO. To be clear, response to Ebola is not the sole responsibility of the WHO. In the words of the director general of WHO, “And we are not the first responder. You know, the government has first priority to take care of their people and provide health care. W.H.O. is a Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 3)→

This post continues the discussion from my last post, which raised the question: why has the Ebola crisis become so severe? One contributing factor: It’s hard to fundraise to fight Ebola. NPR’s Planet Money discussed this dismal fact in a recent episode. The main points of their analysis: + A sudden crisis garners more attention. For example, the Haitian Earthquake in 2010 generated a lucrative media spectacle. However, gradual-onset crises, such as famine or Ebola, are not as well suited for the sensationalist news cycle. + People like to donate to things that they can make better right away; no Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 2)→