Creative Commons
Blogs I Follow
Category Archives: Economics
“Rule 2 The Ball”
Check out the current version of Rule 2 of the official NFL Rulebook (edited by us for brevity): BALL DIMENSIONS (Sec. 1) The Ball must be a “Wilson,” hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell. The … Continue reading
Optimal sanctions (New England Patriots edition)
What is the optimal penalty for cheating in sports? Take the current controversy involving the New England Patriots, for example. While we sympathize with Michael Wilbon’s (co-host of our favorite TV show “Pardon the Interruption”) drastic position that the New England … Continue reading
Economies of scale …
Did you know that only twelve voice actors have played over 100 cartoon characters on The Simpsons? (In the future, we wouldn’t mind seeing a graph plotting the amount of words or air time allocated to each character.)
Spring 2015 Business Law reading list (honors section)
Readings. Our textbook is Richard A Epstein’s Simple Rules for a Complex World. In addition, we will read several classic legal essays this semester, including our all-time favorites “The Path of the Law” by Oliver Wendell Holmes and Federalist Paper #10 (on factions). Law … Continue reading
Foie gras and freedom
Foie gras is a fancy food delicacy, and until a few days ago, it was also an outlaw product in the State of California. A federal judge in Los Angeles–our childhood hometown, by the way–recently issued a judicial order enjoining … Continue reading
“Trolley problems”
That is the title of our latest paper — in which we offer a novel solution to the famous Trolley Problem from moral and legal philosophy — just published in the Drake Law Review Discourse. (You may also click directly on the image … Continue reading
Clowney and the sunk cost fallacy
Is Jadeveon Clowney a bust? Although the lackadaisical and injury-prone Clowney was the overall #1 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, he has played in just four regular season games this year, with seven tackles and zero sacks. He’s now on injured reserve and … Continue reading
“The market as a creative process”
That is the title of this excellent essay by Viktor Vanberg and the late James Buchanan, which was recently reprinted in Daniel Hausman, editor, The Philosophy of Economics, Cambridge U Press (2008), pp. 378-398. Here is a picture of the book in … Continue reading
Vampire Freakonomics Redux
Originally posted on prior probability:
https://twitter.com/freakonomics/status/528547453524803585 Check out this fun Freakonomics podcast featuring economists Steve Horwitz and Glen Whitman as well as yours truly, and while you’re at it, why not check out the Economics of the Undead blog too?
Ban state-run monopolies, not Uber
*The sign should read “Welcome to Nevada … Except Uber.” Why? Read this report: The only State that allows prostitution just banned Uber. By the way, isn’t Nevada’s decision to ban Uber an unlawful restriction of interstate commerce under the Dormant Commerce … Continue reading
prior probability 