Sound Economics

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week’s angle on the outbreak is humanitarian. Beyond social and economic factors that contribute to the disease’s spread, the real reason why Ebola “is so bad” is its terrible human toll. Although empirical, detached analysis is a valuable approach to understanding and addressing social issues, I believe an empathetic approach is equally important. To that end, I am wrapping up this series with two pieces of media that establish a human connection to the crisis.  This NPR article delves into the disease’s human toll, especially Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 7)→

Over the past couple weeks, the issue of Net Neutrality received a lot of attention due to a clash of opinions between President Obama and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. For those of you who don’t know what net neutrality is, simply put, it is the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the government should treat all data equally, meaning that no Internet Company can pay money for preferential speeds on the side of the consumers. This concept has been the soul of the Internet since its creation, and it has lead to the booming levels of innovation and easy Continue reading Net Neutrality→

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week’s topic: red tape. Although bureaucratic inertia and hysterical political jockeying are usually mere annoyances, in this crisis they likely cost lives. Consider this disturbing headline from the Huffington Post: Sierra Leone Finally Moves To Use Ebola Aid Sitting Untouched In Port For Nearly 2 Months The article ran October 8th, 2014, days after the New York Times and other news organizations broke a story about how $140,000 of medical supplies were sidelined by missing paperwork and unpaid shipping fees. It appears that the disconnect had been brought Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 6)→

Recently, on-demand car service company Uber has received a lot of negative attention from passengers who “unwillingly” spent hundreds of dollars on a car ride during Halloween due to surge pricing (I put “unwillingly” in quotations because the app explicitly tells you if and by how much fares are higher than usual). In fact, a woman named Gabrielle Wathen successfully crowdsourced her $327 Uber bill on Halloween night. She wrote on her GoFund.me page titled “Uber Stole my 26th Birthday”: Last night was Halloween. Great time. Today is my 26th birthday. Not so great time. I feel taken advantage of Continue reading Uber Expensive: the Economics of Surge Pricing→

As you probably know, our ability to track the physical status of the human body is becoming easier with technology like Fitbit etc. The mechanisms for checking things like fatigue have become smaller, and more mobile, to the point that they can be worn while playing sports. Naturally, professional sports teams want to utilize this technology in order to gain a competitive advantage. Using this technology would allow them ensure that their athletes are receiving the correct amount of training, and are not fatigued for games. Alongside the this technology, teams are now starting to use consistent blood testing as Continue reading Medical Technology in Sports→

This article continues a series of posts examining non-biological factors contributing to the Ebola crisis’s severity. This week, we’ll look at poverty. This may seem like a “no, duh” factor, but the effects of poverty on transmission rates extend beyond just lack of access to healthcare or lack of sanitation, two common explanations for outbreaks of disease in conditions of poverty. I found these surprising observations in the PlosOne article The Impact of Economic Crises on Communicable Disease Transmission and Control: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. + Increased cortisol levels from stress and poor nutrition can hamper immunity, worsening Continue reading Ebola: Why is it so bad? (Part 5)→

Some economists and policymakers are currently discussing what they call the “family deficit”. The amount of married couples in America is on the decline, and is having varied economic impacts on varied groups. In 1960, only 12 percent of Americans aged 25 to 34 had never married. In 2010, 47 percent of Americans aged 25 to 34 had never married. Social pressures regarding marriage have lessened since the 1960’s, with the lessening stigma of divorce and birth control becoming more accessible. Large amounts of women began to enter the workforce, those in unsuccessful relationships were able to leave and seek out new ones, and Americans on Continue reading The Family Deficit→