Economics
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Chavez Constitution Fails
Monday, December 3rd, 2007Voters rejected the proposed amendments to the constitution 51 to 49 percent. The new constitution would have eliminated term limits, making it possible for Chavez to rule indefinitely. The United States is still the single largest buyer of Venezuala’s oil. However, much of the oil is consumed internally. Petróleos de Venezuela, the state oil company, […]
Republican Agricultural Subsidy Delusions
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007I found the Republican CNN/YouTube debates very entertaining. If you missed them you can check out the transcript here. While I disagree with Huckabee on a number of issues, I found him to be very personable and humorous. Thompson had a great sense of humor, but didn’t seem the least bit presidential. The most interesting […]
From the Latest Economist
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007Two things caught my attention. On oil subsidies in developing countries: In India, as in many countries, the government dares not allow the rising price of crude to be felt in the common man’s pockets. Only a third of the 48 developing countries studied in an IMF review let the market set fuel prices. The […]
Playstation Price Elasticity
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007Video game players apparently have a very high price elasticity of demand for the Playstation 3. According to Bloomberg.com: PlayStation 3 sales have quadrupled since the company cut the price to $499 from $599 and introduced a $399 model, Otzman said. Wii has been the top-selling console since its introduction a year ago. Close substitutes […]
Another Reason Not to Go Greek
Monday, November 26th, 2007My undergraduate university had a very large Greek system. There were 19 fraternities, 9 sororities, and 45 percent of students were in the Greek living system. I had some Greek friends, and was recruited by a couple friends to join there respective fraternities. The idea of buying into a group of “brothers” for life seemed […]
Wal-Mart Controversy
Monday, November 26th, 2007I’ve been working on an essay about corporate social responsibility recently. It reminded me of a local debate a couple years back about whether Wal-Mart should be allowed to open a supercenter in my college town. Proponents of “smart growth” fervently argued that Wal-Mart lowers wages for workers and hurts small towns. Below is my […]
Resilient Markets
Saturday, November 24th, 2007I haven’t blogged for the last few days because I was out of state visiting relatives for Thanksgiving. While there, I read this Newsweek story by Rod Nordland on the improving situation in Iraq: The capital’s neighborhoods have calmed in large measure because each is now dominated by one sect or another, with tens of […]
Rediscovering My Inner Economist
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007The anticipation was too much. Discover Your Inner Economist, by Tyler Cowen, wasn’t available through interlibrary loan and I couldn’t wait. I went ahead and bought a used copy off Amazon. My expectations were really high going in. I had read and listened to a number of favorable book reviews and am a big fan […]
The Voucher Paradox
Friday, November 16th, 2007Economists don’t agree on many things. When they do, they almost invariable face strict opposition from the public. From free trade to Pigou taxes, good economics collides with good politics. So, I was very surprised to find that educational vouchers are widely supported by economists and the general public, yet have had very little political […]
Doctors Don’t Offer Free Check-Ups
Monday, November 12th, 2007In the comments section of Asymmetric Information: Car Trouble, laura notes that: “…the extra money they [mechanics] charge may be a reasonable part of return of the work they did for getting the information we do not have” She makes a valid point that mechanics need to be compensated for their knowledge of car problems. […]
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