Sound Economics

Ad blockers have become something of a staple for regular internet users, with plugins such as Adblock Plus and uBlock Origin having more than 17 million downloads between them on Google Chrome alone. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has spent a significant amount of time online, as advertising is simply everywhere, from insidious advertisements on the tops of web pages to more intrusive forms such as the notorious pop-up. According to a study cited by advertising company Pagefair, there were approximately 198 million active ad block users globally. These users put an alleged $22 billion dent Continue reading Advertising in the Era of Ad Blockers: A Brief Introduction→

Donald Trump has made a lot of promises over the past year or so on the campaign trail, some more believable than others. One of the promises that is more believable is the idea that fossil fuel energy will be let loose. Trump furthered his promise in a rally in Baton Rouge about lifting the regulations on the oil and gas industries in Louisiana. These industries are extremely important to the economy in Louisiana but come with the mark of unclean energy, something that brings caution with the continued warming of the globe. However, Trump hasn’t put any stock in Global Warming, Continue reading Trump Promises Lifting of Restrictions on Louisiana’s Oil and Gas Industry→

This week, I sat down with Professor Lisa Nunn to talk about the Washington State tax policy and the regressive features it includes. Take a listen!    

Trump has yet to take office and he’s already delivered on one of his campaign promises. Tuesday evening president elect Trump struck a deal with Carrier Corporation to keep 1,000 jobs previously scheduled to be outsourced to Mexico in the United States. Back in February Carrier announced they would close their Indianapolis plant and send 2,000 jobs to Mexico. This announcement was much maligned by Trump and Bernie Sanders whose campaigns were in part built on anti-outsourcing platforms. Both candidates believe that a key to maintaining a strong US economy is to keep jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs which have been Continue reading Trump Delivers on Campaign Promise→

Economists are infamous for using the ceteris paribus assumption when formulating predictions on economic movement. While this holding all other things constant can be useful in examining particular sources of economic change, it can also be a downfall and lead to partial equilibrium thinking where one assumes a certain outcome based on all other things constant when in reality those other things may not truly be constant. While the assumption can be effective in the short term, it can be damaging in the long term if it fails to adjust as expected. Instead of investing more research into the reason Continue reading The Economist Just Called out Economists→