Economics – Page 53 – Sound Economics

Free Money: Part 2

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Janne Deng — No Comments ↓

Free Money trial 2 We made this nice banner because I think my poorly drawn signs and our addition of “no joke, no questions” was a bit deterring. But I’ve gleamed an interesting observation from this: even when the sign (albeit drawn in color pencil and sharpie) specified no questions, people asked questions. Perhaps the two of us (senior blogger Nicky and I) didn’t seem intimidating to back up the “no questions” rule, I don’t think that’s true though. What is clear is that participants just want to know what the heck we’re up to. “Come on guys, somethings up.” Continue reading Free Money: Part 2→

The Why Axis: Discrimination in the Workplace

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Lorraine Black — No Comments ↓

Chapters 5 and 6 of the Why Axis focus on economic discrimination. Luckily, overt discrimination and bigotry has been on the decline for a while. However, economic discrimination, discrimination on the basis on economic situation/incentives/opportunities. Economic discrimination includes rejecting a qualified candidate who expresses an interest in starting a family in the future, or charging men 18-24 more for car insurance because they are likelier to get in an accident. Both economic discrimination and certain kinds of animus, or a hostile feeling when engaging with people of different races, orientations or ability, are obstacles to social justice and socially optimal outcomes. Gneezy and List discuss various Continue reading The Why Axis: Discrimination in the Workplace→

The Why Axis: Be Careful What You Choose, It May Be Used Against You!

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Lukie Crowley — No Comments ↓

For chapter 7 of The Why Axis, Gneezy and List address the “hidden motives behind discrimination.” This idea looks at discrimination, whether with economic intentions or simply bad ones. You may ask, what is economic discrimination like? In some cases, it could make sense economically for the firm to discriminate, but it Gneezy and List note that it could come off as pure hostility towards the group of people that are being targeted. An example that they use looks at how an airline might address the cost of seat(s) based on a consumers weight. Southwest Airlines, for example, will charge an obese person the cost of two tickets if they meet Continue reading The Why Axis: Be Careful What You Choose, It May Be Used Against You!→

Argentina’s Tale of Debt Struggle

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Cole Driscoll — No Comments ↓

Argentina has been the center of global discussion for the past 14 years. No, it’s not because of its amazing soccer players or its spectacular waterfalls. The reason that Argentina has been the topic of debate is due to its decision to simply not pay back it’s debt of $100 billion. Argentina saw it could not provide the government services that their people needed, so they told the world they were going to sweep their debt under the rug. How do global entities and foreign lenders deal with a country that refuses to pay back their loans? Well, Argentina’s investors Continue reading Argentina’s Tale of Debt Struggle→

Economics of Sleep

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Tesha Shalon — No Comments ↓

More sleep is usually positively correlated with beneficial variables such as increased cognitive ability, better weight management, and overall wellbeing. But can the amount we sleep explain important health and economic indicators? Lauren Hale, a sleep researcher at Stony Brook University uses sleep as a social justice issue: “Generally, people who have more opportunities, more control over their lives, are also better sleepers. … Is it true that either racial minorities, low-educated, low job-security individuals, people who live in high-risk neighborhoods, who experience fear at night, are these people who clearly have some sort of social disadvantage, are also Continue reading Economics of Sleep→

“The world has not turned on us, we have turned on her.”

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Janne Deng — No Comments ↓

“You’re living through a time when virtually half of humanity’s intellectual, social and spiritual legacy is being allowed to slip away. This does not have to happen. These peoples are not failed attempts at being modern — quaint and colorful and destined to fade away as if by natural law.” –Wade Davis; TED Talk The World Wide Web of Belief and Ritual (2008) Eight years and almost two presidential elections since Wade Davis’ TED talk was uploaded onto the internet, we have still only yet begun to understand and articulate the magnitude of our growing environmental catastrophe. We’ve begun to Continue reading “The world has not turned on us, we have turned on her.”→

Delaware: Worse Than the Cayman Islands

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Nicky Smit — 1 Comment ↓

Can you guess which State is home to the most Fortune 500 companies? I bet Delaware was not obvious. That random State most people rack their brains to place on a map is taking the lead over the equally un-placeable Cayman Islands for best tax haven on Earth. Delaware has more corporate entities than people – 945,326 to 897,934. Last year alone over 133 thousand businesses set up there, and they’re paying very very little in taxes. About $9.5 billion in taxes is assumed to have been avoided just do to Delaware being a lousy teammate. “The Delaware loophole,” as Continue reading Delaware: Worse Than the Cayman Islands→

Another Finance Post: What is Private Equity?

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Lorraine Black — No Comments ↓

What is private equity? For many, private equity just more financial-ese. For others, it’s an investment arena they’ll never get into. For some it’s the only way to keep a business running, and for the lucky few it’s a way to make big money fast. Equity is the portion of something that you own (a share if many people have own portions). It’s the monetary representation of ownership. More specifically it’s assets – liabilities, essentially the amount you own minus the amount you owe. Own minus owe! For example, if you are working on paying off a boat worth $40,000 but you still need to Continue reading Another Finance Post: What is Private Equity?→

How Much Luck Do You Have?

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Cole Driscoll — No Comments ↓

How does luck play into one’s success? When thinking about successful men and women, the fact that luck could have played a role in the road to success isn’t always brought up. This isn’t to say that successful people haven’t worked hard to get to where they are. But there are some people who possess hard-working qualities and superior knowledge, who do not catch a break. It possible that people “underestimate” the amount of luck that plays into their success and the success of people around them. If we take a look at the success of an athlete like, say Continue reading How Much Luck Do You Have?→