Sound Economics

As a young woman my dad always told me when getting my oil changed never to buy any of the extra services they offer. Instead, he said I should tell him about it about it and he would talk to the mechanic about anything serious.  While this follows some harmful gender stereotypes it does highlight the asymmetric information between myself and the mechanic.  Although my dad is by no means a car expert, he at least knows a smidge more about cars to lessen this gap between the information that the seller and buyer have.  When the seller has more Continue reading Some Economic Wisdom on Wisdom Teeth→

Living with lots of housemates is a necessity for many people today, from those in college to professionals living in pricey cities. When moving to a new place for a job, your roommates are often your first “family.” Beyond this, finances force many people to live with several roommates for longer periods than in the past. An Atlantic article comments that what was anticipated by some as a cyclical phenomenon actually stuck with us. Living with a handful of strangers is still common, often across the country from family members, as people become increasingly mobile. The economic benefits are pretty Continue reading The Economics of Living with Roommates→

  One of my favorite game theory topics is matching markets. Matching markets are the markets in which both sides of the market have preferences.  Examples of these markets include college admissions., job searches, and dating. I love the intersection of dating and economics because I think it is a cool easily accessible front for which to understand some Econ concepts. This paper, which is targeted towards an audience with a pretty solid economic background walks through some of the applications of Gale Shapley and Adachi model to talk about how this market functions. They then break down some of Continue reading Matching Sorting Dating Oh My! →

When two people have different understandings of a payout matrix then the option that is one persons thinks are the option then it is not really an option.  I am constantly irritating my friends by making them sit down and draw out our arguments as payout matrixes. They hate when I do this but I always have a great time.  This weekend I was sitting on the couch with my friend and future housemate Nate when he made the “joke” that he was going to put water in my cast iron pan. Now if you have never invested in cultivating Continue reading Turning Fights into Matrixes→

Recently, I was listening to the podcast “This American Life.”  You have probably heard about it, it’s a podcast given by Ira Glass where he tells someone’s story.  The particular one I was listening to was a unique one. it was called “Not Fair!” and its focus was on referees.  No one likes referees, at one point in your life they probably made a call in a sport you cared about against a team you cared about.  Even if you have never watched sports in your life, you probably are aware of peoples’ distaste for referees.  Recently, hatred for refs Continue reading Social Media Enabling Loss Aversion→

Below is my conversation with Jadyn Kerns-Funk about her fascinating thesis, which focuses on incentives to collude in online markets. Enjoy! What inspired your interest in studying online markets? Over the summer last year my dad asked me to go through his comics from the 60s and 70s and sell them online (for a percent cut of the profit of course). I turned to eBay first, and was forced to then determine the best way to portray our version of the comic as superior to others— primarily through trust formation and reputation. This was difficult as a new seller, where Continue reading Thesis Corner: Jadyn Kerns-Funk→

In this edition of Thesis Corner I sat down with Sean Wong-Westbrooke to talk about his findings about Amazon and Antitrust laws. To understand Antitrust laws in the United States it’s important to start from a historical perspective. Standard oil had an overwhelming majority of the oil market during early 20th century and started using its size to fix prices and political influence to force deals. This eventually lead to the enforcement of Antitrust Laws and the company subsequently broke up into several segments, birthing companies like ExxonMobil. The perceived benefits of the break-up were essentially rendered void when an Continue reading Thesis Cornerstone: Sean Wong-Westbrooke on Amazon and Antitrust→

Back in December of 2018, the Trump administration announced that it wanted to end federal subsidies for electric vehicles. This may have been in part in retaliation to General Motors for its planned layoffs, however it would also have implications for the future of the renewable fuel and electric car industry. Under current regulations, the subsidies no longer apply to purchases of vehicles from an individual manufacturer after it sells 200,000 of the model. Tesla, one of the most well known electric car brands in recent years, hit this mark in July of 2018. From then, the tax credit was/will Continue reading Tesla: $702 Million Loss Raises Questions About EV Market & Subsidies→

Is increased surveillance an appropriate method for increasing worker productivity? At what point can corporate investments begin to cut into productivity? There have been a collection of developments in workplace surveillance technology and methods that have caught the eye of worker’s rights groups. Recently, Amazon has developed a patent for surveillance band for warehouse workers that would monitor their arm movements to record inefficiencies. Whole Foods has introduced a new inventory management system that scores and ranks employees based on re-stocking efficiency. UPS has implanted sensors in delivery trucks to monitor exactly how long workers take to deliver packages to Continue reading Watchers on the Wall – The Costs and Benefits of Workplace Surveillance Tech→