Tag Archives: Public Policy

Added Utility of More Utility Choices

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This past week, I attended a business seminar on campus that discussed energy markets. The lecturer discussed what she had learned as a result of her work in this market, including how geographic location influences the type of technologies one would encounter during daily work. For me, the most interesting concept that was brought up during the seminar was how the energy market operates in the state of Texas. In 2002, the Texas Senate approved a measure that would deregulate the electricity market. This deregulation would take place over several years. As a result, 85% of Texas power consumers are Continue reading Added Utility of More Utility Choices→

Econometrics: A Difficult Tool

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Econometrics an important tool for economists to explore relationships between different aspects in society and measure causality. I like to think it is more than a way to confuse new econ majors and scare off the less mathematical inclined ones. But by combining statistical and mathematical methods, econometrics can be used to answer economic questions such as the progress of African Americans. Russ Roberts and James Heckman discuss this topic as related to econometrics on Econtalk and how this method can be trouble for more than just undergraduates. Heckman sheds light on the African American progress measurement and brings up the issue Continue reading Econometrics: A Difficult Tool→

More Evidence on the Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage

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Following up on Collin’s article “$15 Minimum Wage.. It’s Happening Now”, the CBO has recently released it’s report on the economic impact of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. A New York Times Economix Blog article pulls a few nuggets from the report: -An estimated 16.5 million low-wage workers will see their wages increase as a result of the minimum wage increase. -900,000 people who are currently impoverished will move above the poverty threshold. -Raising the minimum wage will reduce low-wage employment by roughly 500,000. The article even questions the employment loss estimates as being too high, noting that the most precise Continue reading More Evidence on the Effects of Raising the Minimum Wage→