Scarcity – Sound Economics

Scarcity: Focusing and Tunneling

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Lukie Crowley — No Comments ↓

After a long hiatus, we will be discussing Scarcity by Sendil Mullainthan and Eldar Shafir once again. In this post we will be looking at chapter 1, titled Focusing and Tunneling. This chapter discusses the benefits of scarcity and how much it costs to be in a situation with scarcity. One of the main points made in the chapter is about how people generally become more productive when they face scarcity from a time point of view. One of the examples used in the book is during meetings. Meetings are generally unfocused for the first half or so, and the Continue reading Scarcity: Focusing and Tunneling→

Sound Economics Book Club: Scarcity

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Max Coleman — No Comments ↓

Over the course of this semester, the Sound Economics class will be reading a book called Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir. As we read, we will take turns updating you, our readers, on the general themes of the book, along with the specific themes of each chapter. I was given the opportunity to provide the initial overview, and introduce the introduction. The introduction begins with some anecdotes from the authors about personal experiences with scarcity, and examples of scarcity: a person who recently lost their job, a busy professional, or the extreme Continue reading Sound Economics Book Club: Scarcity→