Sound Economics – Page 56 – Everyday economics from the University of Puget Sound

The Why Axis Chapter 4: How Can Sad Silver Medalists and Happy Bronze Medalists Help Us Close the Achievement Gap

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski — 1 Comment ↓

Gneezy and List take the book in a completely different direction in Chapter 4 when they use evidence from field experiments to suggest methods to reduce the infamous Achievement Gap in public schools. The authors begin by laying out the facts of the achievement gap, particularly between high income families and those living in inner cities. The U.S. spends the 5th most amount of money per capita on students – $11,467 – yet there is a 9% drop out rate for “low-income” students and drop-out rates of above 50% for inner city kids, compared to a low 2% rate for Continue reading The Why Axis Chapter 4: How Can Sad Silver Medalists and Happy Bronze Medalists Help Us Close the Achievement Gap→

The X(?)Z Axis: Chapter 3

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Janne Deng — No Comments ↓

To what degree are the differences between men and women truly innate? To what degree are they culturally learned?–These are the questions that John A. List and Uri Gneezy have laid the foundation for in Chapter 2 of The Why Axis, but in Chapter 3 the two economists send a very clear message: “Don’t under estimate women. We may have socialized them into a society that suppresses their innate abilities, but they can over come that very easily. It is also profitable for companies and institutions to encourage women to be bold, competitive, influential leaders.” Perhaps we shouldn’t need List Continue reading The X(?)Z Axis: Chapter 3→

The “Anything” You Can Do with an Economics Degree Part 1: Financial Advising

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Jordyn McLuen — No Comments ↓

For many graduating seniors, having a job or grad school admission lined up before you graduate is an important and stressful task. Seniors are faced with finishing their thesis, handling their regular academic responsibilities, applying for jobs or to grad schools, and still enjoying their last year or last semester with friends they’ve made along the way. For senior economic students, things are no different. However, as we go through the process of sorting out the beginning of our “real lives”, a lot of us hear this: “Oh, you’re graduating with an economics degree, you can do anything!” Not as Continue reading The “Anything” You Can Do with an Economics Degree Part 1: Financial Advising→

Bet Against Someone’s Life and Death with Extreme Mortality Bonds

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Lorraine Black — 2 Comments ↓

After the events in Belgium, this post seems in poor taste – but I promise it was written before the tragic events at the beginning of the week, and still offers something interesting. Did you know you could effectively bet that someone won’t lose their life in a catastrophe? And if they don’t – you could make a substantial amount of money? Insurance companies know this – and they’re prepared to offer you a once in a lifetime (literally) opportunity to buy an EMB, an Extreme Mortality Bond. Extreme mortality events are events that result in a substantial loss of life (a Continue reading Bet Against Someone’s Life and Death with Extreme Mortality Bonds→

The Economic Impact of March Madness

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Lukie Crowley — No Comments ↓

With March Madness happening currently (embarrassed with how my bracket is performing), it’s only relevant to talk about the economic impact of the flurry of college basketball games throughout the month. The general thought is that the economy would suffer, with firms paying their workers an estimated $1.9 billion in wages while they aren’t working. Workers are constantly checking their phones and computers for scores (some just watching the games), and The New Republic noted that 86% of workers will check the scores throughout the day. The idea would be to punish the workers, right? That’s not what some businesses have Continue reading The Economic Impact of March Madness→

Why Study Economics? Interview: Layth Sabbagh

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Cole Driscoll — No Comments ↓

A few weeks ago I interviewed sophomore and economics major, Layth Sabbagh and got his take on economics. He discussed many aspects of economics that he liked and thought were interesting. We also talked about what pushed him to pursue a degree in economics and how he intends to use this knowledge in the future. Layth grew up in Dubai and lived in Syria for a few years, where much of his family is from. When I asked him about why chose economics, he said that he “likes the social sciences” and that economics “feels less intrusive” than other social Continue reading Why Study Economics? Interview: Layth Sabbagh→

Jeff Bezos’s Economic Prophecy

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Matthew Moreno — No Comments ↓

A few weeks ago, Jeff Bezos (of amazon.com fame) invited reporters to tour his space venture “Blue Origin.” The company has existed in some form or another since the early 2000’s, but this was the first time that Blue Origin held a formal press event. The New York Times put together a great article on the event, written by Kenneth Chang. While much of the proceedings focused on the business plans and technological achievements of the firm, Bezos also took a little time to extoll his vision for the future of humanity (as you might expect from a billionaire who privately bankrolled a Continue reading Jeff Bezos’s Economic Prophecy→

Thesis Corner | Cydne Pope

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Tesha Shalon — 1 Comment ↓

A few weeks ago I talked about the details regarding the costs associated with products marketed to females versus males. This week I interviewed senior Cydne Pope whose thesis ties in very well and dives into the related topic of the social and economic consequences of gendered toys in America. She explores everything from the difference in cognitive ability that these toys promote to the future consequences of toy segregation. TS: What inspired you to choose this topic? CP: When deciding on a thesis topic, I always knew that I wanted to incorporate gender and gender differences into my paper Continue reading Thesis Corner | Cydne Pope→

Income Inequality: Two Perspectives

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Andrew Monaco — No Comments ↓

[This post was written for Sound Economics by Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski] Here are two videos demonstrating opposing views on what continues to be a hot button economic topic: income inequality. The first video is a Ted Talk describing the problems caused by income inequality. The second is an interview where Richard Epstein attempts to dispel the belief that inequality is bad. What do you think?