Category Archives: Economics

Visualization of outstanding IMF loans

Posted on March 12, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

This simple graphic, via the excellent Ada Swanson of the Washington Post, was created by Matt Mulholland to illustrate the fraction of IMF loans outstanding by member country. In summary, Greece accounts for about 60 percent of the IMF’s business ($27.26 billion), … Continue reading →

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What is the “optimal number” of law schools?

Posted on March 12, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

As the number of law school applicants in the U.S. continues to decline, rumors of impending law school mergers are swirling around many North American law school faculties. (Law professor Jeff Redding, for example, writes in this blog post, “The recent news out of … Continue reading →

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McDonald’s menu (circa 1973)

Posted on March 7, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

When was the last time you ate at McDonald’s and how sucky was your meal there? This “old-school” McDonald’s menu from 1973 explains why McDonald’s is so awful today … The fast-food chain tries to do too many different things instead of … Continue reading →

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Nickel and dimed (Winter Park, Florida edition)

Posted on March 6, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

This is what the back of a Winter Park, Fla. parking ticket looks like. Notice how you get only five calendar days to contest the citation, and in order to do so, you must show up in person at a police … Continue reading →

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Glorified tax collectors? (Ferguson, Missouri edition)

Posted on March 5, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Our friend and colleague Alex Tabarrok has posted his thoughts on “The Ferguson Kleptocracy” earlier today. In addition to a grab bag of (representative?) anecdotes, Professor Tabarrok notes, among other things, that “last year Ferguson drivers paid $12,400 in fines for driving cars with … Continue reading →

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The law and economics of Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea”

Posted on February 25, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Here is an edited excerpt (without the footnotes) from our latest paper “Misappropriation and The Old Man and the Sea,” which we shall be presenting at the Cuban Research Institute at FIU this Friday: 

Posted in Economics, Law | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Shadow externalities on Central Park South (before and after skyscraper development)

Posted on February 12, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Should there be property rights in sunlight? The shadow maps below are courtesy of the Municipal Art Society of New York:

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

NYC subway data visualization

Posted on January 29, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is this art or science? Props to the amazing and multi-talented Chris Whong for this beautiful NYC subway turnstile-data animation.

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A 21-word solution for reducing verification bias in the social sciences?

Posted on January 28, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is social science (especially fields rife with fraud like social psychology) completely worthless? How should we solve the massive problem of verification bias in social science research and in related fields like law, economics, etc.? Via Deborah Mayo, check out … Continue reading →

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Example of the “Peltzman Effect”?

Posted on January 25, 2015 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is this another example?

Posted in Economics | Tagged , | 1 Comment