2008 Financial Crisis Under the Magnifying Glass

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

It may be almost a decade after the 2008 financial crisis shook the US economy, but economists and financial managers are still trying to snuff out the causes of this pandemic. The idea of a “housing bubble” has been used to describe the confusion and ignorance around the risks of the housing market leading up to the collapse. This concept connects many different pieces within the US housing market, from borrowers to lenders to big players on Wall Street. But it is difficult for economists to pinpoint one key cause of this crisis. So the magnifying glass has been placed Continue reading 2008 Financial Crisis Under the Magnifying Glass→

Impacts of Wells Fargo Scandal

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Yesterday, news came out that Wells Fargo Bank would have to pay $185 million in fines in addition to the $5 million they had to pay to their customers for accounts that were set up without their approval. Essentially, customers were being charged fees for accounts they had not set up on their own. Patrick Rucker and Dan Freed from the Huffington Post note that, “In a complaint filed in May 2015, California prosecutors alleged that Wells Fargo pushed customers into costly financial products that they did not need or even request.” $100 million of the fines went to the Consumer Continue reading Impacts of Wells Fargo Scandal→

The Why Axis: How to get People to Give More

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

In Chapter Nine of the The Why Axis, Uri Gneezy and John List examined some of the conventional wisdoms about the techniques used in charity fund raising to try to determine if they really work at all, as well as which work better than others. What are the motivations for people to give to charity? How might these motivations be exploited to get people to donate more? The authors noted that in their travels, that most charities rely on the assumptions and conventional wisdoms of the previous decision makers, “rather than verifiable data.” One of the conventional wisdoms John came Continue reading The Why Axis: How to get People to Give More→

The Why Axis: Innovation is Key

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Chapter 10 of the Why Axis discusses the reason behind many people’s willingness to give to nonprofits and how this changes the way these nonprofits run their companies. The chapter starts off by telling of a child who was the star of a 2008 Academy Award winning documentary entitled “Smile Pinki.” This child from India, Pinki Sonkar was born with a cleft lip and faced many hardships early in her life because the way people treated her. But one day she was introduced to a doctor employed by a nonprofit who agreed to preform surgery to rid of this problem. Continue reading The Why Axis: Innovation is Key→

Robo-Econimus

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

There’s been a lot of interesting talk about “homo-economicus” on the blog this semester, so I figured it would be fun to close things out with a post on “robo-economicus.” That is, robots using strategies modeled on economics to cooperate. Let me explain… A few months ago, I was applying for REU positions in mathematics and computer science. One of the programs I considered was Oregon State University’s Robotics in the Real World. In doing my due diligence in preparing an application, I stumbled upon this paper, “Learning to trick cost-based planners into cooperative behaviour.” In the paper, the authors essentially Continue reading Robo-Econimus→

Free Money: Part 2

Posted on by — 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 by — 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 by — 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 by — 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 by — 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→