Category Archives: Economics

Students–and the rest of the world–often wonder why academics are awarded sabbatical leaves when no one else seems to have this benefit.  Well, the idea of a sabbatical is to give a faculty member time away from other responsibilities, including teaching, so they can advance their professional development.  Sabbaticals are thus typically periods of focused research. In this post, I share the example of my 2019 sabbatical in Paris. I spent this sabbatical at the Centre Population et Développement located at the Université Paris Descartes.  There, I worked with  Christophe Guilmoto (demographer) and Sara Tafuro (economist), scholars researching “missing women,” Continue reading Patriarchs, Proclamations and Procreation, or What Professors Do on Their Sabbaticals→

Disclaimer: We all know the bureaucracy and have formed our own opinions. The author (that’s me!) has decided that he doesn’t like most bureaucracies. Therefore, the views expressed in this article are his and do not reflect the stance of Sound Economics at large. If you are a fan of bureaucracies, and/or you think this article may hit a little close to home, simply click on over to Brennan’s fantastic piece on umbrella usage. If you feel as though the above qualifiers do not apply to you, I welcome you with great excitement to continue along with me now and read Continue reading Op-Ed: The Swamp needs Draining→

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is closely related to the economic growth of less developed countries (LDCs). Yet over 500 million women and girls globally still lack access to facilities and materials for adequate MHM. The silence, taboo, and stigma associated with menstruation often make it difficult to maintain good hygiene and limit women’s and girls’ potential in society. Restrictions during menstruation, from staying home from school or temple to having to sleep outside, and the lack of adequate washroom access in LDCs have affected women’s and girls’ likelihood to attend school. While this is first a sanitation matter, it is Continue reading The Economics of Menstrual Hygiene Management→

A month to month recap of the US economy in 2019! January Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold interest rates steady February US economy grew by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Trump plans to spend $6.7 billion spent for border security. March President Trump nominated campaign adviser Stephen Moore and  former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. April Unemployment dropped from 3.8% to 3.6%. May US begins increasing tariffs on Chinese goods. US announces ending waivers for Iran and other oil supplying countries. June China and US come to an agreement and resume trade. July Boris Johnson was confirmed Continue reading 2019 Economic Recap→

The holidays aren’t over yet! New Years Eve is just around the corner which means more consumer spending on… you guessed it, Champagne! For New Years celebrations alone more than 39.8 million bottles of Champagne will be purchased in the U.S. But why champagne? How has that become our nation’s and most of the worlds drink of choice for celebration? Champagne is a symbol of luxury in our world today and as we know, luxury goods as opposed to normal goods do not behave the same as far as consumption goes. Some Champagne may even be considered a Veblen good (a good Continue reading New Year, Old Tradition: the history and economics of Champagne→

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most commonly used tool to refer to the size of an economy. It is, in effect, assumed to indicate the well-being of any given country. Born in the manufacturing age, the tool’s failure to count for environmental costs, unpaid work, technology benefits, and the informal economy, have conceded economists’ widespread debate around the dethronement of GDP as an indicator of economic and social success. To understand how this tool fails to paint a comprehensive picture of a country’s well-being, an explanation of GDP as a concept is first necessary. GDP measures the aggregate value Continue reading Gross Domestic Product, Explained→