Sound Economics

This last weekend, the 2023 Nobel Prize winners for Peace, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, and Economics all received prizes commemorating Alfred Nobel’s death on December 10th. While not technically one of the main categories envisioned by the late scientist, the Prize for Economics is a memorial prize paid for not out of Alred’s estate but a Swedish bank. Regardless of the validity of the actual Nobel, the prize has acted as an esteemed Prize in economics, given to the likes of Milton Freidman, his protege Robert Fogel, and now the 77-year-old Harvard economist and historian Claudia Goldin. Goldin is not Continue reading The Work of Claudia Goldin: Gender Pay Gap and The Nobel Prize.→

When Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs were first created, there was an indivisible line drawn between Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s being that Haagen Dazs would only make smooth ice creams and Ben & Jerry’s only chunky. But this only lasted when sales were good. At one point, ice cream sales started to plummet and Haagen Dazs crossed that invisible line into chunky town which caused Ben & Jerry’s to dabble in the smooth ice cream market. This led to more options for consumers and Hagen Dazs even went so far as to reduce their chunky ice cream Continue reading The Fight over Smooth and Chunky Ice Cream→

If you have heard of the otaku culture, then you know more or less about anime conventions. When participating in anime conventions, you will see some people dressed up as corresponding anime or comic characters, they are cosplayers. Imagine Halloween, people dress up to celebrate this day, I like pumpkin heads. It’s just different from celebrating Halloween. The existence of anime conventions is more like a year-round festival for the otaku community. Buy anime DVDs and comics, try out digital games, cosplay, these conventions are not only fan gatherings, but also important economic catalysts, affecting various industries around the world. Continue reading Have You Been to Anime Conventions?→

The funeral industry generates roughly 16 billion dollars of revenue in the U.S. Over the past decade, dying has become more expensive, with the average funeral costing around $9,000. More people are choosing to cremate or have a small service with less expensive caskets and burials. An entirely rational person would try to maximize value while minimizing expenses, but a rational decision-making process, especially regarding grieving the loss of a loved one, becomes quite difficult especially due to the environment of funerals. It becomes easy for funeral homes to take advantage of the emotional vulnerability families are in when planning Continue reading The Irrationality Behind Funerals→

Sam Altman was fired from openAI, then hired by Microsoft, and then returned to openAI to continue being CEO. Commercial agreements aside, the latest artificial intelligence tools, including language models like ChatGPT-4, have become the focus of attention around the world. It’s clear that artificial intelligence may be about to shake up our understanding of knowledge work, as well as the broader economy. Just as the car kicked away the coachman, how to apply AI will become a top priority. How should we hold the steering wheel of the AI economy? Artificial intelligence (AI) is an unprecedented and great technological Continue reading What will determine AI’s transformation of the human economy?→

In my last few articles, I have discussed some of the benefits of raising the federal minimum wage and why we should regulate the federal minimum wage outside of politics. While I have clarified my stance, hearing perspectives from the other side of the aisle is essential. As an economics student who likes to get the complete picture of any issue I am discussing, it would be a disservice to you, the reader, and Myself if I did not fully flesh out this contentious issue. In this article, I will address the issue of Unemployment and the minimum wage. When Continue reading Does Raising the Federal Minimum Wage Reduce Jobs?→

As students across the globe gear up for their standard academic and professional evaluations, a discussed and intense activity burgeons alongside — the economy of exam preparation. This mini-multifaceted market has grown into a substantial sector of the education industry, thriving on the aspirations of students and the demands of an increasingly competitive world. I want to delve into the dynamics of this game, thinking about the players and the products that define the fiscal landscape of preparing for standard exams. Not merely considering that students are the players. Educational institutions such as colleges, tutoring services like Coursera, and Education-Tech Continue reading The Economic Maze Navigation of Exam Preparation→

The infamous British TV game show starring two contestants who would interact with one another to either split or steal a cash prize. It’s a prime example of the classic game of Prisoner’s Dilemma. Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game where two contestants can either work together to share an outcome or betray one another in hopes of getting the entire prize. The catch is that if they both betray one another, then they both get the worst possible outcome. The game’s contestants go through multiple rounds, each with an increasing cash prize. In each round they have a few minutes Continue reading Golden Balls→

In my last blog post, I discussed the possible benefits of raising the federal minimum wage to 15 an hour. I noted that this is a critical discussion to have, and it is also very complicated. Given the issue’s complexity, many people, politicians, and protestors don’t have a complete picture. Instead, individuals rely on the political or physical benefits the minimum wage discussion brings directly to them rather than fully understanding all sides of the issue. While I am by no means different from these people, I hope that this particular blog post will convince you to look at the Continue reading Depoliticising the Federal Minimum Wage→